If you haven't heard, Saturday, April 16th is National Stress Awareness Day. This makes a lot of sense doesn't it, seeing that the 15th is tax day!
Actually, April is National Stress Awareness month here in the States.
But just what is stress anyway?
A definition I like a lot is this...
stress is the body's reaction to any change, and that reaction can be mental, emotional, physical or spiritual...
or a combination of all three.
Notice I said "any" change...
that covers a lot of ground, doesn't it? Also, stress is the BODY's reaction.
It's funny isn't it, because we are a culture so obsessed with our bodies...
yet, most of us really live mostly in our heads. That's the bad news.
The good news is that because stress is a bodily reaction, we can use our bodies to change our reaction to it. By making our bodies more resilient,we can literally increase our ability to bounce back from stress.
How do we become more stress resilient?
One easy way to begin is to simply become aware of our breathing.
What does breathing have to do with stress resiliency?
Everything!
Take a moment, right now, if you are willing...
to try a small experiment with me.
Breathe in through your nose and you may notice...
the slight coolness in your nostrils as you breathe in and the feeling of warmth as you breathe out.
In coolness...
out warmth.
Allow your eyes to close if you would like and continue for a few more moments.
What did you notice?
Perhaps a relaxation of your muscles, a calming of your heart.
This intentional breathing can be done several times during the day, or anytime you feel stressed or anxious. So breathe...
and let go of your worries for a moment. Breathe out worry...breathe out tension...breathe out stress.
Breathe in calmness...breathe in joy...breathe in love.
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