As I write this article, I can just hear the Cosmic Higher Ups chuckling, “Let’s have Nikki write an article on stress reduction!”
Running two businesses, having three children, a menagerie of animals and a wonderful husband has brought me an incredibly rich life but one that has certainly brought its share of challenges. These challenges can be perceived as stress, but really they have all been opportunities for me to make changes in my life—to make my life less stressful.
My life is not any more stressful than the next person’s, and what I have to say is most likely nothing that you don’t already know. The key to stress reduction is to do whatever it is that you are going to do consistently, even if it is only for 10 minutes a day.
The Breathing Model
My career started off with 20 years as a critical care nurse, and then I began teaching yoga and started a private practice doing and teaching Reiki, Energy Medicine and Intuitive development. What all of these have in common is the breath. Where there is an absence or restricted flow of breath, there is no life.
When this finally registered in my mind, I began using the breath as a model for living my life. Another way to look at it is to consciously pace your life. There has to be both outward expression of our energy as well as inward time or quietude in order to have balance. Inspiration in our life needs to be balanced with letting go or surrendering, giving with receiving.
I realized that when I am stressed, I work, do a million errands and household chores, tend to child related matters and then fall into bed exhausted, only to do it again the next day. With the Breathing Model, I began to plan my day like breathing. I plan an outward event (work, errands, strong exercise) followed by quiet time (yoga, meditation, gardening, spending time with my horses, reading) each day.
Starting the Day – Ten slow breaths, create your intention, 30 minutes of quiet
Upon arising, the day is pregnant with possibilities. Instead of hurrying off to brush your teeth and face the day, try lying in bed and doing 10 slow deep breaths. This takes no more than one minute of your time and sets the tone for your entire day.
Create your intention for the day. How do you want your day to flow? How do you want your interactions to flow between you, your loved ones and people that you must deal with? See it in your mind’s eye and create your intention for the day.
If you can work it into your schedule, it really helps to get up 30 minutes before the household and meditate, pray or stretch. (Now if you are totally sleep deprived, this would just add stress to your life. You need adequate sleep to function.) All I mean by meditating is taking the time to savor the quiet and lack of stimulation. Simply sit and take inventory of your emotional state of mind and your physical body without judgment and breathe slowly and deeply. This is your time to RECEIVE.
Exercise
There is nothing like exercise to blow off steam and re-direct mental over worry. The more stress you have, the more exercise you need. Also if you can do it outdoors instead of at a gym, you have the added bonus of being out in nature.
The endorphins created by exercise bring a sense of calm that is invaluable to our mental well being. Exercise doesn’t have to be a boot camp activity. It is anything that makes you breathe more fully and feel more relaxed afterwards. The type of exercise you need changes depending on the kind of day that you are having, so be sure to have different choices of exercise in your arsenal for different moods and stress levels. Exercise should always leave you feeling more relaxed not depleted.
Of course, I know that time is an issue. If you can commit to exercise as part of your lifestyle, however, you will not only make room for it but will look forward to it as well.
Nutrition
There is a yogic term called prana. Prana simply means life force. Fruits and vegetables have high pranic value. There is no need to become vegetarian. Simply adding more of these food groups to your diet will help you to have more vitality. Every 7 years, your cells have regenerated to create a new you. The energy for this transformation comes from the food you eat. We literally are what we eat. Eating foods that are high in prana will give you the energy that you need to deal with both the good and bad stress in your life.
Unplugging – Being less accessible to the outside world
Many of us are too accountable and accessible to the outside world. We call this being responsible, but it is detrimental when our time is not our own or when we are always “on” for someone else. We can have limits on how accessible we are as well as when.
Being able to let the home phone or our cell phones simply go to voice mail is very freeing. Having boundaries with how much time and how late you are willing to spend returning emails, Facebook messages, and tweets leaves you more able to focus on what you want to create and experience in your life. When we have these types of time and energetic boundaries, we have the option of offering our full presence instead of our scattered, fragmented attention to our loved ones and people that we are accountable to. This is a gift.
Pre-organize your next day
Make a list of things that you need to do for the next day and be sure to schedule in your quiet time, your meals and your exercise. Creating structure for your day allows for the flow that we all crave. When it is written down, you don’t have to keep the ideas bopping around in your head. More important than the “list” is taking time to visualize how you want your day to feel and flow. Visualize the flow of your day and allow yourself to feel excited and grateful for all that is to come.
Ending Your Day – Ten slow breaths and offer gratitude
Sit quietly before you go to bed and take 10 slow deep breaths. Let go of the day. Offer a sense of gratitude for all that is in your life, the good, the bad and the ugly. It is all shaping who you are. Focus on your blessings and let yourself feel lucky. Finally, lie down and imagine that you are floating on a cloud, completely free and unlimited. This is your natural state. Savor it as you drift off to sleep.