Tranquility on Stormy Days: 5 Stress buster tips

Tranquility on Stormy Days: 5 Stress buster tips: 1. When it all gets too much in the run up to Christmas (or any other time) don't get your hands around someone's throat. Go into th...

5 Stress buster tips

1. When it all gets too much in the run up to Christmas (or any other time) don't get your hands around someone's throat. Go into the bathroom, pick up a towel, grasp the long ends and twist it, keep twisting and verbalise about what is stressing you, it's in the privacy of the bathroom so if you want you can swear and stamp your feet as you twist, I certainly find the foot stamping helps. Twist and twist that towel until it can't be twisted any more. By the time you get to that point you have used up all your anger. The towel won't hold a grudge. Flick it out nd hang it back where you got if=t from. Exit the bathroom calm and serene.

2. Go to a private place and breathe in to a slow count of 7 and breath out to a slow count of 11. Keep the 7:11 breathing up until you feel calm and relaxed.

3. Remember, no matter how bad things feel, in a years time you will have forgotten you were  
stressed today.

4. Go for a walk, even a short walk. Walking costs nothing and you will complete your tasks better fo having taken the time to look after yourself.

5. This is my favourite. Feel the stress. Yes, really, feel the stress. Take time out and observe the stress, ask yourself if there are any emotions attached to it maybe anger, frustration, disappointment. Feel the emotion, check out where in your body you feel it, observe it, how is it effecting you? Once you start to observe yourself it is amazing how an unwelcome emotion dissolves under scrutiny.

Stormy Days (outside)

Sitting cosy in my home I can hear the storm raging outside and I realise how lucky I am. I'm warm, comfortable and peaceful. Two years ago I was in the midst of an emotional family storm that made me decide to up sticks and move to the beautiful Isle of Wight. That storm blew down and cleared away a lot of the debris that had for several years stopped me making the move. Storms can do that, but, we often have to wait for the storm to pass before we see that what they have knocked down was not as safe or well maintained as we thought and room is made for the new to come in.
Sometimes we can be so caught up with the storm we feel it will never pass over and it can be handy to have a few tools to help us through. One of the things I find useful under such circumstances is connecting to my heart centre. I touch the centre of my chest with my fingers and look down at my hand (some people might prefer to put their hands together as if in prayer and bring the hands to the heart centre) and take a couple of deep breaths. There is something about looking down to the heart centre and slowly breathing that brings instant calmness. I then think of something that makes me feel happy or for which I am grateful, I hold the position until I feel calm and tranquil or at least back in control of myself.  This really is one of my favourite stress busters. Try it. We will probably all need a bit of calmness as we go through the upcoming Christmas festivities. 😀