Could you use some stress relief tips to rest, recover and relax?

I once was in urgent need of slowing down too.

I had an ah-ha moment at the grocery store one day while I was rushing around like a madwoman. Out of nowhere, I had this moment of clarity and said to myself, “What am I doing!?” I couldn’t believe the tizzy I was in! I thought, “If I just slowed down and it took me one extra minute to get from the parking lot to the produce section, what effect could that have on my overall well-being?”

You see I had been stuck in this chronic cycle of “there’s not enough time.”

From the moment I woke up in the morning to the time I finally calmed down and got to bed, I never stopped living life like an emergency. And I could feel the nasty effects throughout my entire body. I was irritable and burnout.

We all need downtime to let our bodies and minds rest and heal from all the stress we experience daily. Low-level stress accumulates in our bodies over time and compounds to become dis-ease.

So, what can you do about it?

How do you start to slow down and create that sense of “presence” your body and mind needs?

Build in breaks to relieve stress.

Stress relief tips to build stress resilience

1. Create a morning relaxation break

The ultimate game-changer for me was learning to set my mornings up for success.

How you start your day sets the tone for the rest of your day.

Before you get ready for your day, try taking 5 minutes to yourself.

During that short period of time, do some deep breathing, listen to gentle music, or repeat an uplifting mantra. Any of these simple activities will help set the tone of your day.

Are you thinking, “But I don’t have time in the morning for that?”  I hear you. I felt the same way. But then I realized that my poor relationship with time was keeping me stuck in a vicious stress cycle.

What helped me conquer my morning frenzy was going to bed and getting up an extra 15 minutes early.

2. Go to bed 15 minutes earlier to relieve stress

In order to make that happen, I needed to reverse engineer a positive start to my day by going to bed earlier.

Just 15 minutes. That’s not much right? But it can make a huge impact on your day. By getting up 15 minutes early, I was able to have some vital me-time that helped me feel grounded and centered, instead of rushed and stressed out.

Try setting a reminder on your phone to “wind down” to prepare for bed earlier.

And once these two habits become an established part of your routine, then try adding in a mid-day mini breaks to prevent stress from building up…and overflowing.

3. Add in mid-day stress relief breaks

If you sit at a computer day-in, day-out, try setting a timer every 25 minutes.

When that timer goes off, take 5 minutes to stand up, stretch, drink some water, close your office door and listen to some relaxing music and/or take a walk around the building, or get outside and breathe in some fresh air.

Practice these three stress relief tips and take breaks throughout you day for some “me-time” to stop chronic stress in its tracks, and help ward off future dis-ease.

• Tanya

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