It's been a tough week on the Blog. We wish our dear friends' loved ones continued recovery through light, love and healing thoughts.
Focused Breathing has been proven to be beneficial in times of stress. It helps me when I am anxious, stressed or angry. I thought that the end of this crazy week might be a good time to share them.
The first is called Calming Breaths.
- Take a long, slow breath in through your nose, first filling your lower lungs, then your upper lungs.
- Hold your breath to the count of "three."
- Exhale slowly through pursed lips, while you relax the muscles in your face, jaw, shoulders, and stomach.
The second exercise is called Calming Counts. This is supposed to be more calming that the previous exercise because it takes longer to complete and you really focus on the counting, not what worries you.
- Sit comfortably.
- Take a long, deep breath and exhale it slowly while saying the word "relax" silently.
- Close your eyes.
- Let yourself take ten natural, easy breaths. Count down with each exhale, starting with "ten."
- This time, while you are breathing comfortably, notice any tensions, perhaps in your jaw or forehead or stomach. Imagine those tensions loosening.
- When you reach "one," open your eyes again.
How do you cope with life's stressors?
Note from Roxie and QoS:
Summertime schedules are here, so we plan to have posts only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (unless something exciting comes up on the other days!). We hope this works for everyone. As always, please pass along ideas for posts to either of us!
