Finding Zen: Just a few techniques to remind us to keep on keeping on.

Just a few techniques to remind us to keep on keeping on.

I always like to pick up fresh hints to assist me to remem to live fully each day as much as possible in the present moment.

Here is my latest:

Let morning be your favourite part of the day

Be productive and pleasant  

Be fabulous 

Let ‘happy’ widen your vision 

Here are a few ideas to get you started

  1. Smile for 3 seconds 
  2. breath one conscious slow  breath in and a natural calm breath out.
  3. Name one good thing out loud. 
  4. Fix posture for 10 seconds
  5. Label an emotion . Name it   so it begins to process rather than stay suppressed
  6. Look at something far away 

Soothing Breath Practice

You can practice it anytime you notice stress or anxiety coming up for you. If you pay attention, you can notice it a couple dozen times a day: you’re feeling anxious about a meeting, a conversation, a difficult task, answer an email, all the things you have to do, an upcoming deadline, an upcoming trip, etc etc.

Anytime you notice even a bit of anxiety or stress, here’s how to practice:

  1. Notice that there’s anxiety, fear or stress coming up for you.
  2. Bring slow, deep breathing to your anxiety. Breathe deep into the belly, slow your breath down, and allow it to soothe you.
  3. As you soothe yourself, give yourself a calm reassurance, like you’d calm down a scared child or puppy. A friendly, reassuring voice or presence.
  4. Notice what happens when you’ve soothed yourself a bit — the anxiety might still be there, but are you able to turn towards a difficult task or email, be more present with someone, let go of a typical behavior you might do when you’re anxious?