One Simple Tool For Stress Relief

April is Stress Awareness Month. Most of us know that stress can be a problem that affects my health in so many ways: my physical health, of course, but also my 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 my body that this is a time and place for my practice.

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

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

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

5. Focus you attention on my breath.

6. Breathe in deeply through my nose as my belly expands. As a jug of water fills from the bottom, my 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 my mind begins to wander, as minds do, gently bring my attention back to my breath. You can start by doing this for five to ten minutes and extend the time as my practice develops.

10. If you are feeling particularly stressed, you can imagine each breath bringing in calming cool air and it spreading throughout my body.  Then, as you release my breath, you can imagine the stress leaving my 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.