Tempers are rising and stress is increasing as thousands are evacuated, businesses are boarded up, ball games and outdoor events are cancelled, gas stations run out of fuel and long checkout lines and empty shelves greet us at the grocery store. We are emptying out our basements and ground floors of valuables & family artifacts in case of flooding. We are glued to the TV, radio and Internet weather channel. Fear & panic sets in deeper with every news report. We are told to prepare & stay calm...
Stay calm?! You've got to be kidding me!!
There are many tools for creating and maintaining calm in the midst of chaos, but one tool in particular is by far the simplest, the most effective and the most overlooked: your breath.
As adults, we take on average about 22,000 breaths a day. Within all of those breaths is tremendous potential for creating a relaxation response that will not only physically relax the brain and body, but will empower you mentally & emotionally to handle any situation with a calm, deliberate demeanor. The 3 tricks are to practice daily, practice often and practice before chaos strikes. I know what you are saying: you are saying that you are way too busy & stressed & don't have time to practice anything.
If your & your family's well-being and quality of life depended on it, would you make time? It does, and you will.
We tell ourselves (and others) about how busy we are and that we have no time to learn anything-even relaxation techniques that will help us-we can't make 15 minutes a couple times a day-but this just the story we tell ourselves. If you are telling yourself this story, then you need to learn this technique.
Calm is our natural state. The truth is, we tend to get used to and then even begin to like our stress. It makes us feel temporarily 'important', and gives us something to identify & connect ourselves to others with. We try to outdo each other with how much more busy & stressed we are than the next person. I like to call this the language of 'stress-ology' and its really odd & illogical behavior if you think about it. But we all do it to some degree, even if you are denying it to yourself at this very moment.
But if you have time to read this post, or time to update your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter status then you have time to learn this.
I want you to think of a color. The first one you think of is the right one.
Now imagine on your next breath, as you breathe in slowly, your whole body fills up with this color-starting down at your feet. The color is carried into your entire body on your breath. Picture this in your mind.
Exhale slowly and release this colorful breath into the air.
Repeat 14 more times.
If you start thinking of all the stress you have, 'breathe it out' with your next exhale. Keep 'breathing it out' until you can inhale-exhale 10-15 times and just imagine that colorful air filling up your body and the atmosphere.
When you can do that, Imagine you are breathing in 'peace' or 'calm' or 'strength', etc. and exhaling the thoughts & stress you don't need in the colored air.
Practice 3 times daily in a quiet place and as needed. (sometimes the quiet place is the bathroom or in your car. This will work.) Practice until you can do this for 10-15 minutes. After one full day of conscious effort, you will start to feel calmer about everything going on around you. After one full week, others will act more calmly when they are around you, especially your family. After 2-3 weeks this will become your new habit. After a month, you will know instinctively when and how to apply this technique in every situation.
We cannot help our kids or those who need our support, through rough situations unless we know how to stay calm & cope ourselves. Take the first step now to lead by example, by making the time & committing to practice 'Breathing in Calm'.
For yoga-based stress management techniques for children and adults visit: http://www.bodylogique.com/
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