It’s been over five months since the COVID -19 pandemic has burst into our reality and impacted everyone’s life around the globe. Recent research by the American Psychological Association
shows a significant rise of stress levels among individuals, parents, and even more among people of color, as a response to this time. The economy, work, parenting, relations, the government, and more are attributed as stressors.
According to
Harvard Medical School
the stress response, also known as “fight or flight” mode, is “what the body does as it prepares to confront or avoid danger”. But as we hold on to our stress for prolonged periods of time, we risk suppressing our immune system, increasing our blood pressure, are prone to develop heart diseases, and increase the susceptibility to cold, viruses and other illnesses.
Yes, this time is challenging to all of us in so many levels, and feels like we have no control of so many things, but as we become aware of the danger of leading stressful life, it is our duty to take back control over our health and well-being.
The late, Dr. Wayne Dyer said “The truth is that there is no actual stress or anxiety in the world; it’s your thoughts that create these false beliefs. You can’t package stress, touch it, or see it. There are only people engaged in stressful thinking.”
If you look around you may notice that everyone is responding differently to external life events, and some people are more stressful than others, would you agree?
So if you are among those who take things to heart, and know that your stress levels are high, first be compassionate to yourself as it is completely normal. And second, know that you can reduce your stress levels by practicing some simple strategies and techniques.
In this blog post, I will share the first technique. I will share some more in future blog posts.
The first strategy to induce the relaxation response in your body and reduce stress
is to be mindful
of your state, and to simply breathe. Yes, we sometimes forget to stop, and take a deep breath in, and exhale all the tension out.
There is a host of benefits for practicing relaxation and mindful breathing:
A deep abdominal breathing encourages full oxygen exchange, and by doing that alone we can slow the heartbeat, lower or stabilize blood pressure, reduce stress levels, calm down, improve the efficiency of our immune system and more.
Practice breathing and you'll find it easier to relax during times of stress and minimize the amount of time your body spends in this stress response.
Allow yourself to find a comfortable position, and simply take a purifying big breath.
Breathe in fully through your nose;
Let your belly fill with air;
Now breathe out through your mouth with a ‘Ha’ sound,
releasing the tension in your shoulders.
Let’s do it one more time.
Now place one hand on your belly;
Place the other on your chest;
Breathe in through your nose;
And Breathe out through your mouth.
As you breath in, feel your belly rise.
As you breathe out, feel your belly lower.
The hand on your belly should move more than that on your chest.
Take three more full, deep breaths, in...and out.
How are you feeling differently now?
I hope you’re feeling more relaxed.
And I’m looking forward to hearing back about your experience.
And if you feel the need for some personal one-on-one holistic coaching,
feel free to connect with me, write me, and schedule a quick consultation call.
To your health!
With Love & Gratitude,
Michelle Guelfand
