I think that after the year we have had, everyone is a bit stressed in one form or another. We may not understand why we are upset, or why our fuse is so short but what can we do about it?
One thing is to get out into the fresh air and connect with nature! Whether it is going to the beach, taking off those socks and shoes and actually getting down and dirty with the sand and sea, or just heading off into the woods and taking in the energy from the trees, the birds, and other amazing creatures.
I have found that during the past year I spend more time in front of a screen – whether it be the phone, the computer or the TV and I’m beginning to appreciate what I require to do and that is get away from all this technology. Get out walking, get back into the garden once the snow has passed, connecting with the earth.
The few days last week when the sun was out and the days were glorious, I began to appreciate the heat on our vegetable plants in the polytunnel. They became alive! They started to grow strong. It was fabulous to see – things we take for granted. When we go food shopping, we just expect the food to be there. We don’t think of the process.
So what can we change to become less stressed?
Breathe! Get oxygen inside you. How many times are we taking a deep breath in? Do we use our diaphragm or do we breathe from our chest? How do you breathe? Take a moment to just breathe and see where do you breathe from.
Tips: Breathe in deeply through the nose, filling the belly. Exhale through the mouth with a big, cleansing sigh. Repeat three times, and enjoy the peace that will surely follow.
Move! Sitting for prolonged periods has been clinically proven to create strain on the neck and body that can lead to chronic health conditions and back problems. Fatigue is one of the most serious health-related problems that affect not only our work but the quality of our life.
Give yourself permission to take a “movement break.” Stand up and stretch. Instead of firing off yet another email, take a lap around the house or even in the garden. Just a few minutes every hour will make your body feel years younger.
I have been watching Tony Robbins recently and he has an exercise where you stand as though you are about to set off in a running race, keeping the legs still, and you move your arms fast for about 15 seconds. The hips will move as well even though you’re standing still! This gets the heart pumping and it gets the oxygen to the brain. Once you have done one side, change over and do the other. Now how do you feel?
Express gratitude is the next thing. We are constantly looking for something better in our lives but we sometimes forget what we have. Are we grateful for the people in our lives, or the paths we have taken to get to this point? What if we shifted our focus to what is right in our lives at this particular moment?
By allowing ourselves to be grateful for life’s blessings, big and small, we create a whole new reality. Not only does it put into perspective the things we deem to be wrong, but we open our hearts to receive even more abundance. There is an entire universe full of blessings just waiting for you to receive them. Try it and let me know how you get on.