If you find yourself clenching your teeth after a heated discussion with a coworker or feeling anxious about an upcoming meeting, give these simple exercises a try.
1. Stop!
Pause to let yourself settle down for a moment. Stress tends to rise in the body. Think of a shaken snow globe and imagine letting your thoughts, like the snow, drift slowly down. Take this time to assess what’s troubling you and let it be what it is, in the moment.
Pausing can help you remember who you really are and how you want to show up in the moment. Becoming still can help you to realign with your own moral compass. The simple pause may keep you from doing or saying something you could regret later.
2. Sigh!
After stopping, heave a great big sigh or two or three. Let your shoulders relax and drop a bit. Research from the journal, Cell Reports Medicine, has shown that sighing and exhaling deeply can be more effective for reducing stress than taking a deep cleansing breath in.
Short breaths in followed by longer exhales can help the mind and body relax. Breathing exercises are an effective way to help an aggravated nervous system chill out. Keep thinking of peaceful falling snow.
3. Shake!
If you’re still feeling tense or want to clear your mind before your next big task, try shaking it off. Yes, Taylor Swift is right! Shaking can be an effective way to clear the body of physical, mental and emotional toxins. Animals shake regularly as do people from indigenous cultures that incorporate dance and shaking into their daily lives. Shaking helps soothe your nervous system and mitigate the impact of whatever stressor you are experiencing.
Try shaking each leg, your arms and your hips briskly. Pretend that you’re shaking off something sticky. After a few shaky rounds, sit back down and scan your body. Does your mind feel a bit clearer? Does your body feel more relaxed? If so, you can learn more about the benefits of shaking here.
Keep this trio of easy exercises in mind for the next time you feel stressed out at work. Better yet, incorporate them into your daily practice. If you or your team would like to learn more about effective stress management techniques, contact us.
Gina Huff is a facilitator at Arête Purpose Consulting.
