Top Tips for Stress Relief

Our mood can be easily influenced by external stressors out of our control. The reactivity of the brain in these situations comes down to conditioning. The more we pattern the neural pathways, the easier it will be to have a calm response. You can think of these neural pathways like hiking trails- when we walk over and over again on a certain trail, the path smooths and becomes easier to experience.

When we practice thoughts and reactions (whether positive or negative) the more that becomes the default in the brain and cements that specific path. We actually have the power to influence these paths, how often we walk them. The positive patterning allows for calmer reactions to any stressful circumstance that then becomes the consistent behavior.

A comprehensive Harvard University study found meditation can actually change the structure of the brain: Eight weeks of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) was found to increase cortical thickness in the hippocampus, which governs learning and memory, and in certain areas of the brain that play roles in emotion regulation and self-referential processing.

These 10-minute meditations are led by my team member Adam Peot, Certified Meditation Coach and Yoga Instructor. Adam has a gentle way of shifting physiology, always creating a sense of ease and zero pressure in a meditation practice.

ENHANCE ENERGY

IMPROVE CREATIVITY

REDUCE STRESS

PROLONG FOCUS

10-Minute Meditations for Stress Relief, Deep Sleep, Sustained Concentration & Accelerated Energy

Meditation has never come easy for me. I do enjoy a variety of wellness experiences, but when it comes to sitting down and meditating, I can officially say that I have never been successful for sustained periods of time. In fact, I have had many meditations using an app where I spent half the time texting. The lovely instructor’s voice was telling me to exhale to let go, while I was holding onto the phone, rapidly replying. Needless to say, I did not experience all of the profound benefits that come with a meditation practice. I was simply just checking a box to think I completed the mental wellbeing part of my routine.

Since my futile attempts, I have learned a much more practical way of experiencing meditation. My great friend and team member, Adam Peot, is a certified Meditation Coach, Yoga Instructor and Holistic Practitioner. He has been immersed in meditation for the last twenty years, creating an accessible way to implement mindful practices for all of us in a 24-7 workweek. For this week’s blog, I will share some strategies I learned from Adam and guided meditations designed for stress relief, strengthened immunity, enhanced focus, and accelerated energy.

This brief outline of helpful practices and tips is designed to support you with incorporating meditation and mindfulness into your daily life for greater clarity, ease, focus, heath and less-stressful living. Approach these practices as free, accessible and time-tested tools for daily renewal.

Sit comfortably in a quiet place, rather than trying to copy an image in your head of how one “should” look while meditating. Find a sense of natural aligned ease that you can carry from your practice into daily living.

Your practice unfolds from interest to effort to practice, to an effortless way of being. Begin with a few minutes and lengthen as you feel comfortable. Silence is great, but some relaxing music or time in nature may help as well, so try both out. Keep it simple.

Stress Reduction

Using breath and body awareness to shift, settle, expand and ease our state,(de-stress) energy.

- from tension to ease
- from contraction to space
- from feeling scattered outwardly to centered inwardly

Sitting in a comfortable chair or lying down with eyes closed. Breath = the link and regulator of body and mind.

Smoothly, naturally and slowly breathe in a 3-2-1 inhale, pausing, and 3-2-1 exhale.

Belly to Full Body Breathing- It is common to breathe shallowly into the chest which can lead to tension and getting stuck in our busy minds. By shifting the awareness to the belly and then full body breathing the entire body-mind and nervous system can settle, expand and calm.

Concentration

Energy and mind centering (vs being scattered and exhausted). Like fine tuning a telescope for closer examination and clarity, we use breath and awareness to sharpen our presence and quality of mind power.

Training the distracted “monkey mind”

- from scattered to centered
- from blurry to sharp
- from shallow to deep

Breath counting (1-10) and then breath following (without wandering off). Session by session you will tame the untrained mind and shift from being run by it, to using it as your tool and ally.

Open Presence- Sitting comfortably with eyes lightly open, focus on the clear space in front of you rather than the objects and sensations that arise. Not too tight, not too loose, you become aware of being aware. Rejuvenating Inner Stillness arises. Sensations and thoughts habitually pull your attention away, but gradually you come back to open clear lucid presence (natural awareness) and the moments of remembrance begin to outweigh the periods of forgetfulness.

In this space you have the freedom to respond rather than react.

Energy

As all of life is made up of energy, we tune in to and use our awareness and movement to center, settle and relieve the tensions that get built up. Then one can build up rejuvenating focused energy.

Dynamic Meditation- Sometimes before one is able to truly benefit from more still meditations, one has to get rid of the tensions that accumulate in body and mind. All dynamic means is to move; to dance, shake, exercise, walk; just do something physical to loosen up the stuck energy before you settle into stillness.

Chi Gathering- First rub your hands briskly together to feel the warm chi energy that energizes your body-mind. Using relaxed breathing and awareness of your body's natural energy centers (palms, soles of feet, pelvic floor) to first gather and then pull the energy from these centers into the space beneath and behind your navel.

Immunity

Using calm breathing and visualization to help guide your body and energy back into homeostasis and natural well-being. Like a cut that scars and heals purely from the internal genius of our body, our entire system wants to “heal” and recover like that cut.

Lying or sitting, begin to scan your body from head to toe first visualizing and then feeling each aspect of your body aligned, pure, flowing, functioning, pain free, using neuroplasticity to rewire “as if” your body's inherent wellness is already underway.

It may be challenging at first, but in time it will become more rejuvenating and your immune system will thank you. These practices will begin to yield direct immediate results with no harmful side effects.