Happy Stress Awareness Month!
Stress is a fact of life and is often caused by unavoidable factors like money, work, family, and relationships. Some of these factors are incredibly challenging and it makes sense that they would affect our lives. Sometimes stress comes after a positive change too, like having a baby or getting a promotion. But too much negative stress can be debilitating, and it can also cause or worsen certain health problems. Because of this, it is really important for us all to have strategies to help face stress.
Everyone will find different things that work for them to boost their mood and reduce stress. However, for many, meditation can be a useful way to quiet the mind and deal with stress. Other ways include getting more exercise, reducing nicotine or caffeine, breathing deeply, listening to soothing music, tuning into your body, simply laughing, and spending time with friends or family. Lastly, getting enough sleep is also a really important part of stress management.
Talking to your care team can also be helpful to brainstorm ways to address stress. Our providers at Betances Health Center are here to listen and to work with you to face stress in your life.
Meditation 1: Mid-day Mindfulness
Close your eyes
Shift your posture slightly now whether you’re sitting or standing so that your body feels alert and upright without being rigid
Elongate your spine and relax your shoulders down and away from your ears
Tuck your chin slightly and take a deep breath in through the nose
Exhale through the mouth and imagine that as you breathe out you let go of anything that will prevent you from feeling centered and calm
Continue with two more breaths in the same way
Breathe in through the nose and as you breathe out, extend your out breath, calming any stress you might feel
Set your intention to empty your mind of unnecessary chatter
So that for the duration of your day you can be focused and present
Feel your feet firmly on the floor. Fully aware of the experience of being in your body
Take one last deep breath before we finish and when you’re ready open your eyes.
Meditation 2: Morning Practice
To begin, take a seat
Sit comfortable in a place where you can feel the seat beneath you and find length within your spine
Begin to rock around forward, back, side to side
Until you can feel your pelvis and your sits bones connecting down into the earth
Beginning at the base of your spine circulate small movements with each of your vertebrae
In order to sit a little taller, to invite length and spaciousness within your body
Take a deep breath in through your nose and a deep breath out through your mouth
Take two more deep breaths to clear out your rest and to anchor into this space
As you seal your lips allow for your breath to begin passing through your nostrils, flowing effortlessly in and out
Focusing just on the texture of your breath as it enters and leaves your body
Begin to visualize yourself in a wide-open field
A place without boundaries with no visible end in sight
Start to notice the colors that you see around you. Notice the texture of the earth beneath you
Any sounds that are coming through, any smells, maybe the touch of the air on your skin
As you take a look down begin dropping seeds into the earth beneath you
Seeds of intention
Allow yourself to be guided with whatever comes up
Begin to anchor and connect each of your breaths to the intention that arises
Start to breathe in your intention and as you breath out, send your intention out into the universe
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