There are numerous lifestyle variables and tactics that you can use to help manage stress.
- Here are several surefire ways to promote resilience and stress resistance
Wake Up 15 Minutes Earlier…
“Control what you can, cope with what you can’t, and concentrate on what counts.”
Craig Ballantyne
- Too often, we start our chaotic days behind the eight ball, and instead of being proactive, we’re reactive.
- We end up putting out fires all day long instead of focusing on what’s truly important.
- A better strategy is to wake up 15 minutes earlier—before things start spiraling out of control—and work on your number one top priority.
Practice Gratitude…
- Too much ongoing stress can make even the most optimistic, positive-minded person irritable, anxious, distracted, intolerant, and ungrateful.
- When you’re mired knee-deep in stress, it’s easy to be negative, which is the exact opposite type of mindset you need to be resilient.
- Instead, you think about all your “problems” and all that’s “wrong” with your life and the world.
- Talk about a huge waste of energy.
- Take time each day to practice gratitude. Think about all the awesome things, people, and experiences in your life.
- Not only will this activity give you appropriate perspective, keeping a gratitude journal has been shown to produce sustained reductions in perceived stress and lead to significantly lower levels of stress hormones.
Take a Dump… A “brain dump,” that is.
- It seems like some of our greatest ideas, worries, questions, and concerns enter our minds as soon as our heads hit the pillow.
- Many people’s wheels keep turning in part because they don’t want to forget the thoughts running through their mind.
- That’s one reason to keep a notebook on your nightstand.
- Write down all the thoughts going through your head.
- This exercise gives you peace of mind, and it helps put things into appropriate perspective.
- In most cases, you’ll recognize that “wondering and worrying” will do you absolutely no good at that specific point in time, and when you wake up 15 minutes earlier the next morning, you can do something proactive about it.
Practice Yoga…
- Yoga has been shown to exert powerful “anti-stress” effects, and it has successfully been used as an effective intervention in dealing with stress.
- Yoga has also been shown to possess potent cortisol-reducing properties.
- While a regular yoga practice has numerous health benefits, the stress-reduction effects of yoga are immediate.
- In other words, research shows that a single yoga session can markedly lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Take a Deep Breath…
- One of the most powerful, immediate ways to combat stress and relax is with deep belly breathing, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system, overrides the body’s stress response, reduces cortisol, and increases melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep and protects against aging.
- Find a dark, quiet room to sit or lie down.
- Place one hand on your belly.
- Breathe in slowly through your nose, feeling the hand on your stomach move as you inhale.
- Exhale slowly, as long and steadily as possible (at least 5 seconds).
- Try to empty out your lungs. Start small, just 5 to 7 mins each night.
Re-source: Retreat
The Relaxation Response (coined by Hervert Benson) is an approach to stress reduction through physical relaxation.
Breathe out “AAH” – In Hindu chanting, the “aah” sound is supposed to come from the heart chakra.
- With every exhale, breathe out the sound of “aah” Feel the sound arising from the center of your chest.
- Feel the vibration of the sound in your heart center.
- Let the sound call your heart into greater awakening.
5 minute retreat – 4 elemental breaths
- Spend approximately one minute on each of the following elements.
Earth
- Allow your head to fall forward slightly.
- Bend your wrists so that your palms face the ground.
- Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose.
- Imagine you can inhale through the soles of your feet and the palms of your hands.
- Feel the weight of gravity.
Water
- Tilt your head very slightly up, as if you were standing in a shower.
- Allow your arms to hang freely at your sides.
- Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
- Imagine water raining down onto your face, all around you, and dripping off your fingertips.
Fire
- Stand facing straight ahead.
- Place your arms in the standard “hand up” position from old cowboy movies.
- Breath in through your mouth and our through your nose.
- As you inhale, imagine you are stoking the flames of a fire in your solar plexus.
- As you exhale, imagine you can radiate light in every direction from your heart center.
Air
- Soften your stance.
- Let your arms hang at your sides with your palms facing forward.
- Breathe in through your mouth and out through your mouth.
- Imagine that the breeze can move right through your physical body.
craving from “Change That Up” – changethatup.com
resource from “20 Minute Retreats” by Rachel Harris
