Embracing Stress

Stress is an important and innate indicator in your body. Stress gets you up in the morning, allows you to arrive on time, and complete your daily commitments. Stress stimulates creativity and expands your comfort zones to be successful in endeavors. It’s when you experience prolonged or chronic stress that your body starts to feel ‘uncomfortable’ and your mental health suffers.

Stress Relief

It’s essential to have a system in place that can be accessed quickly and easily to bring relief and maintain control of your stress filled situation/s. 

One of the most powerful ways to reduce stress and increase positive energy is to practice controlled breathing using the diaphragm.

The simplest way to achieve Diaphragmatic Breathing is to focus on an experience or event that brings you peace and joy. Bring this experience or event to mind. Breathe deeply and savor the perfect moments of bliss that support you and bring a sense of serenity into your being.

Your beacon of light

Tip: It might be a vision of you that connects you to past happiness. 

For example, imagine you are walking on a beach, the sun warms your skin and you hear the gentle lapping of the waves. A deep breath tastes like salt and the smell of fresh clean air. Your gaze travels up to the lighthouse on the point and you remember the pleasant walks or conversations you’ve experienced.

Are there others with you? What brings you such joy and serenity? 

Once you can envision your ‘beacon of light’, continue to breathe deeply and evenly, slowing the breath and enjoying your creation. Stay with the breathing and the vision until you feel calm, in control and know the power of your own ability to control your outcome. You can now move forward. 

Once you have practiced Diaphragmatic Breathing a few times, you will find you move simply and easily into your vision to obtain relaxation and your space of comfort and regeneration. You may also choose to add healing white light and feel it flow throughout your body, calming and soothing. Choose the colour that works for you in the moment, mellow green or sunshine yellow – endless choice.

The Breathing Book: Good Health and Vitality Through Essential Breath Work is an excellent resource. 

Progressive Relaxation: When stress is prolonged or becomes chronic, the body stores tension – even though you may not feel it. Progressive relaxation involves tightening and releasing muscle groups, one at a time commencing at your toes and working your way up to the top of your head. It’s easy to practice and helps manage the physical effects of stress. 

This exercise is best done lying down comfortably flat on the floor. Use a cushion for your head if required and raise your knees if the prone position creates pain. Focus all your attention on the tips of your toes, tighten the toes then release. Move to the top of your feet, tighten and release, your heels, the soles of the feet, the ankles. Begin the process of moving up the body; tightening and releasing.

Tip: For best results, start with the left leg, starting at the toes and gradually moving up before moving to the right leg. Do the same with each arm. 

For more information read Progressive Relaxation and Breathing book by Patrick Fanning, Matthew McKay PhD.

Time Management: Being constantly late or running out of time to complete tasks or commitments adds enormous stress for many. Finding ways to manage our workload and keep us on top of appointments will reduce stress.  

Consider:

•  Delegation,
•  Highlighting priorities,
•  Diarizing your day,
•  Tackling tough jobs first,
•  And letting go of perfectionism.  

Successfully incorporating some of these tips can limit the sense of overwhelm and allow the space for relaxing events. What are some of the ways you can organize your days and life?

Exercise:  Exercise improves your ability to cope and is a great circuit breaker of stress.  It improves our mood, changes our physiology and assists in handling stressful events more effectively. Low aerobic exercise is great for stress reduction - try Yoga, Pilates or Tai Chi as well as walking or stretching.  Getting out in nature to exercise adds another level of bliss.

Positive Mental Attitude: Sometimes it’s hard to see a positive, especially when we’re feeling low. Bringing us back into our own power occurs when we focus on the good things, the things we are grateful for, the things we have achieved; the people we love and care for. When we reclaim our power it brings with it a sense of hope and a way forward. 

Keeping a gratitude journal can help us to reframe events that were stressful into a more positive light. Look back on a difficult or stressful event. In hindsight, what benefit/s did you gain and how has that improved your life? Do you manage similar events more easily as a result?

Remember a time in your life when you knew without any shadow of doubt, you achieved your goal by sheer force of determination, feeling uncomfortable but going for it anyway. You did it! You stepped up. You created the positive outcome for you. When you remember your power, your uniqueness and beauty in the world, you are the beacon of light.