Reduce stress today by
just doing nothing…
“If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got”
People seem to have higher stress levels than ever these days, despite the fact
that we have so much technology around us it is supposed to make our lives
easier.
Everyone seems to be going around in a stress induced frenzy!
Most of the time, a bit of stress is a good thing. We need stress to make us do
things. If we didn’t have the stress of worrying about getting to an
appointment on time – would we bother going? If we didn’t have the worry about
the deadline for our work project – would we ever commit to submitting it?
These are just 2 examples of how stress helps us to get off our butt and DO
SOMETHING.
However, people do too much. We never
stop.
Even when we are supposed to be relaxing, we are always doing something to
stimulate the mind. Music is a form of stimulation. Television couldn’t be
anymore stimulating, even if you find the programme ‘boring’ the mind has to
work so hard to compute all of the images and sounds that are going into your
brain.
So ask yourself, when was the last
time you did absolutely nothing? I mean, nothing at all,
not even sitting quietly and thinking, just…nothing?
Try this & feel your stress levels plummet...
Take 5 Simple Meditation
Step 1 Breathe
- Sit or lie comfortably and just breathe deeply - in through the nose and out through the mouth.
- Concentrate only on your breathing.
- Let it go into a natural rhythm.
- Breathe in ‘peace’. Breathe out ‘tension’.
- Relax and let go of all remaining tension in your body.
- After approx 5 minutes or when you feel ready, open your eyes, becoming conscious of your surroundings before you get up.
Have a glass of water or fruit tea, but try to avoid caffeine and alcohol, at
least for a few hours.
Step 2 Try
adding in simple affirmations
towards the end of the meditation
'I am happy, calm and positive'
'I am totally relaxed'
‘My mind, body and soul is one again’
‘I choose to be positive in every area of my life’
Don’t overcomplicate things,
just pick one or two that feel the most appropriate to you at the time and
stick to them.
You can say pretty much anything as long as it is positive (ie don't say 'I am
not going to get angry' say 'I am calm and in control').
Step 3 Add in some music.
You can also try using music to make your meditation deeper. When I meditate, I
feel like I've slept for about 8 hours and I only do it for up to an hour at a
time, usually much less as I
have 2 children!
If you have an IPod or MP3, source some music which is specifically aimed at
people who meditate.
- Make sure it doesn’t have any lyrics, chanting or strange noises such as animals, gongs(!) or birds.
- This is not the time for power ballads; as much as you may love your favourite music, I can absolutely guarantee that meditation is NOT the time to listen to it.
- Keep it simple. It should simply wash over you, not engulf you.
You can find lots of free music that you can use on ITunes or videos for
meditation on you tube if you don't have an iPod.
Tip: If you are meditating during the day, use headphones to block out any
noises from the house - it really works to send you into a deep state of
relaxation.
Try these 3 simple things for the next
couple of weeks, gradually building up your time from 5 minutes
to 15 minutes and see how you get on – I can pretty much guarantee that you
will feel calmer, more in control and at peace.
Remember; if stress is a major issue for you, nothing will change until YOU
make the choice to change your everyday behaviour and that means taking a few
minutes out each day to de-stress.
# # #
Stress Management; Get back to nature to find your inner peace
Getting
back into the garden is a great way of spending a few minutes connecting
back to nature - it's just as good as a meditation and if you are not
a fan of sitting still doing nothing, this is ideal way for you to recharge
your batteries.
Don't worry, it doesn't involve hugging a tree (but
if you want to, feel free - I've heard they like being hugged!).
Just find somewhere peaceful that you can sit for a
few minutes. If not your own garden, then a local spot in a park will be
fine, but it needs to be away from all action.
Notice how the sun feels on your skin, the colours of
the leaves and flowers, the smells and sounds of nature. Listen to the
birds and switch off your mind from ALL modern life. Make sure you can't
be disturbed by your family or the telephone and don't be tempted to take your
laptop outside.
Once you have spent a few minutes reconnecting with
real life (because nature is real life, not our high tech world), spend as long
as you like reading a book or working if you have to. But if you are
going to work outside, keep listening to the sounds around you as a way of
staying connected. When you've finished, take a minute to appreciate the
sights around you especially the trees/flowers or the sky if it's a nice day.
If
you do this occasionally, I absolutely guarantee that it will recharge
you. Your energy level will feel higher than it did before you started.
Just the fresh air and being cut off from technology (and all of the toxins
that go with it) is enough to replenish you for the day.
I don't do this everyday as, like most people I just don't
have time, but if we have a nice clear day, I try to do this once or twice a
week just for 5-15 minutes. It really makes a difference.
Try it and see if you feel energised after spending just a few minutes appreciating nature.
An
alternative option for bad weather; spend time with your pets.
If you haven’t
got a pet, find one! Because just sitting and stroking a friendly dog/cat/rabbit
will help to literally reduce your stress levels – this has been proven by the
experts and it is why the charity ‘Pets as Therapy’ began.
Spending time with a dog or cat calms you down AND helps your immune system to work better, so therefore speeds up recovery after an illness or operation.
# # #
Reconnect your mind, body and spirit
In many of my Stress Relief articles I advise doing ‘absolutely nothing’ ie deep breathing and a simple 5 minute meditation. The purpose isn’t only to de-stress, although it does a great job of relaxing you, but it is also to reconnect us with our bodies and our energy, something that we often lose in our busy, stressful lives. When we are doing; watching, listening, talking or touching, we are concentrating on everything except ourselves.
When was the last time that you walking into a room
and didn’t switch on the tv, radio, computer, use the phone or read a
newspaper?
Do you ever just sit, have a quick cup of tea and think?
We do it when we need to do a shopping list or a ‘to do’ list, but we hardly ever do this process to think about ourselves, our ambitions, our job or a relationship. In fact, we probably spend more time organising our shopping list than we spend organising our life!
Getting back in touch with your needs
If you often ignore or suppress your daily needs, which we often do when we have families that we are responsible for, you will find that this is a simple way of getting you back in touch with your emotions and needs.
Try this 5 minute simple exercise once a week, or once a month if you prefer, which will reconnect your mind body and spirit;
Sit quietly at the kitchen table, have a cup of tea or coffee if you like but just sit and think. Think about what you want to do, either now or at some point in the near future. It could be that you think ‘I would love to go for a walk in the country this weekend’ or it could be ‘I really want to do that OU course next year’. It doesn’t really matter what you think about, as long as you are thinking about you and your needs.
If you haven’t done this before and don’t know
where to start, you could start by answering these 3 simple questions
I want ____________
I really wish I could _______________
I would love to ________________
Notice that I have purposely kept the tone positive, this is a time for figuring out your needs and this should be based on positive things, not the things that you don’t want. For example; if you hate your job, think about positive ways that you can change it and find a more suitable job or you may even want to consider starting a whole new career and what you need to do to achieve that.
Once you start doing this exercise on a regular
basis, you will find that the more you practice, the easier it will become and
ideas will pop into your head much easier – a sure sign that you are back in
touch with your needs and your mind body and spirit is reconnected.
Be sure to keep the focus of these sessions on you
and your life – we spend more than enough time worrying about everyone else
during our daily lives, this is time to spend focusing on your needs.
# # #
Stress Management; The Art of Being Selfish
Are you selfish?
A recent survey, published on behalf of Radox, suggests that women spend 21 years of their life looking after their loved ones and doing various tasks on behalf of other people.
The same survey also suggests that we spend just 2 years looking after ourselves and our own needs? Quite shocking when you consider the average life span is now over 80 years.
Here are 3 simple tips to bring a bit of balance back into your life and to help reduce the stress of daily life.
Take 5. For the next week, for just 5 minutes during the day, do absolutely nothing. In a whole 24 hours, it really won't make a difference to your busy schedule, but it will make a big difference to your stress levels. Nobody can function well if they have continuous high levels of stress. This 5 minutes will help you to be an even better mum, partner and friend.
How to do it; Sit or lie comfortably and just breathe deeply - in through the nose and out through the mouth. Concentrate only on your breathing. Let it go into a natural rhythm. Breath in 'peace'. Breath out 'tension'. Relax and let go of all remaining tension in your body. When you feel ready, open your eyes becoming conscious of your surroundings before you get up. Have a glass of water or fruit tea, but try to avoid caffeine and alcohol.
Gradually build up the time of the meditations over a period of weeks to 10 minutes and then 15.
Music. Use it to control your mood, it really works. Use music to relax you when you are stressed, to uplift you when you are lethargic and to cheer you up when you are sad.
How to do it; Put on your favourite high tempo song and dance around your living room like you are a crazy person, really go for it - the crazier the better. If you have kids, encourage them to join in, they will it. If they seem surprised at your behaviour, this is a sign that you really do need to let more fun into your life.
Music is fantastic for meditation, try using music with the 'Take 5' tip, but follow these simple rules;
* Make sure it has no lyrics.
* It should wash over you, not engulf you - this is not the time for your beloved power ballads.
* If you are using relaxation CDs make sure that the songs do not contain any strange sounds, chanting or animal noises.
Be selfish. When you read the headline of this article, did you immediately think 'no I'm not'? Most women, especially mums, hate to be thought of as 'selfish'. But the word selfish only means that you are placing your own needs on top of others, and this isn't a bad thing to do, if done in moderation. You are not superwoman and you shouldn't aim to be. It is ok to occasionally say no.
How to do it; Learn to say NO and don't feel bad about it. Be firm but polite, don't feel that you have to excuse yourself, but make sure that the person understands that you will not be able to meet their request on this occasion. This will become easier over time. Stop doing things because you feel you should, only do them if you want to.