One Simple Tool For Stress Relief

April is Stress Awareness Month. Most of us know that stress can be a problem that affects our health in so many ways: our physical health, of course, but also our mental health, relational health, and spiritual health. One of the things that we are learning more and more about in research that is being done is how to manage stress. Research is showing that mindfulness and breathing exercises can be effective tools to managing stress. Here is one practice that I found in an excellent book I read last year, The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, by the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Abrams called Focus and Stress Relief – A Breathing practice:

1. Find a quiet place where you can practice consistently. This helps signal to your body that this is a time and place for your practice.

2. Sit comfortably. If sitting on a cushion or a chair, try leaning forward, away from the back of the chair so that your back will be straight. If you have physical limitations, adjust accordingly.

3. Close your eyes or keep them slightly open in a restful position.

4. Place your hands gently on your knees or in your lap.

5. Focus you attention on your breath.

6. Breathe in deeply through your nose as your belly expands. As a jug of water fills from the bottom, your lungs should also fill from the bottom.

7. Breathe out slowly.

8. On each inhalation you can think in, and on each exhalation you can think out. Alternatively, you can count each breath after each exhalation.

9. You can count out five to ten breaths and then repeat. If you lose focus and your mind begins to wander, as minds do, gently bring your attention back to your breath. You can start by doing this for five to ten minutes and extend the time as your practice develops.

10. If you are feeling particularly stressed, you can imagine each breath bringing in calming cool air and it spreading throughout your body.  Then, as you release your breath, you can imagine the stress leaving your body from the neck, shoulders, back, tummy, or wherever you tend to hold on to stress.

Take a moment and practice this for just a few breaths. Now take a moment to schedule a time daily to practice this. The more we practice, the more we have built a well of calm within us, and the more we have this tool to hand when we need it.