A while back I was just having one of those days, I was in a crappy mood, sort of just blah, focused on everything that was going wrong. We all have them. I know that the best thing is to be present with what’s going on, ask what it is I need right now, can I let this go, do i need to tap on it, blah, blah, blah! Not to minimize what I do for a living, I know there is value in all of those strategies but honestly sometimes I just want to have my little pity party and be miserable. I don’t know why, it just happens. But this particular day I was heading into work and I hate starting my day off mad at the world. So I’m totally in my head beating myself up for not being able to shift the mood and at the same time not really wanting to give it up and not wanting to sit with why I was feeling this way. I was in my car at a traffic light and I happened to look up and to my right and the license plate on the car read BREATHE. I just had to smile, I didn’t even have to breathe, the reminder that I could do something that simple and that it was totally what I would encourage a client to do just shifted my state.
I encourage everyone to utilize deep breathing as a way to lower your stress level. If you deep breathe for a period of 2 to 3 minutes, you slow your heart rate, lower your blood pressure, and induce the relaxation response. You can look up ways to deep breathe or you can simply breathe in through your nose to a count of 8, hold it for a couple of seconds, and then breathe out just as slowly. 2 to 3 minutes is a long time just to sit and breathe but the benefits of it are worth it, and doing it 5 to 6 times a day keeps your stress level lowered, it’s a nice gift to give yourself throughout the day, and it is a great break for your immune system.