Stress management is a funny thing. You learn all these great techniques for managing stress when you are feeling good and you never remember them when you need them. Or at least if you’re like me you don’t. Even for those of us who are relatively stress free, there are times when it’s essential.
To make it worse, I travel light. And I travel a lot. And I hate carrying things. So usually it’s just me and my brain. So I never have that handy yoga mat. Or relaxation mp3. Luckily I came across this effective technique years ago and it’s really served me well.
It’s simple as heck and really works for relaxing in the heat of battle. So here it is:
- Close your eyes
- Slowly breathe in through your nose
- Let the air fill your belly and let it rise up like a pregnant woman (avoid upper chest)
- Breathe out of your mouth and an make a sound as it goes out
Get totally lost in focus on the air going in your nose, filling your belly, feeling it rise up, the awesome slow pause at the top and making a cool sound like in some refreshing gum commercial as the air exits your rounded mouth.
That’s it. That’s all their is to it. Try that for 1 to 5 minutes. If you’re like me, you’ll feel amazing.
This sounds like just what I need!!
I just did it in the park, lying under the trees in the afternoon. Next thing I knew I’d been out for 20 minutes. Slept like a baby