What’s one of the first words that you’ve noticed people use to describe themselves?
- Rushed.
- Busy.
- Stressed.
- Crunched.
- Swamped.
Saying “I’m busy” is almost like the new “I’m doing good, thanks!”
Stress is practically the wallpaper of the 21st century.
So what do we do about it?
Relax. I know, easier said than done. Which is why we’re going to focus on the “doing” path. You actually have unlimited access to one tool that’s not only inexpensive and free but is guaranteed to help you calm down!
And it’s your breath.
“Just calm down! Take some deep breaths!”
I’m fully aware that doesn’t always work for everyone. In fact, sometimes breathing can initially cause people more anxiety, and that’s because when we breathe full, deep breaths, our awareness is brought back into the body, where we are forced to feel more.
But we want to get into the habit of breathing into discomfort, because that is how to stay with it and process it in real time.
Right now, take a pause and notice your breath.
Are you breathing to your full capacity?
Are you breathing the right way?
Is your breath short and hurried?
Chances are, just like the rest of us - you’re breathing the wrong way! We don’t even use 10% of our lung’s capacity which means we are clearly depriving over 50 trillion cells of oxygen. Every biochemical and physiological function in the human body requires oxygen to sustain itself.
Here’s a simple practice that you can do from anywhere, anytime!
- Sit on a chair, or propped up on pillows in your bed, or in a comfortable position.
- Close your eyes and your mouth.
- Breath in slowly through your nose to the count of five.
- Hold to the count of five and then slowly breathe out to the count of five.
- Do this for five minutes.
In fact if you do this before each meal, you will destress your nervous system, and your digestion and metabolism will work much better. You’ll be more in tune with your hunger and fullness cues!
You can seek out any kind of energy work that helps you get into your body. You can try any and all methods—but you can also keep it super simple and just breathe and feel. They are all just different ways to help us get into our bodies and feel and process!
If you enjoyed this trick, you will LOVE the other mindset tools (including the mental ninja camp) we've developed for our signature SHIELD program! Check it out.