AT-HOME ANTI STRESS TIPS

Sustainable relaxation for everyday life

SHORT BREAKS FOR MAXIMUM ENERGY AND STRESS REDUCTION

Hectic phone calls, important meetings, looming deadlines: in short, high stress levels - how can you relax quickly and effectively? Give yourself a break to breathe and recharge your batteries.

Breathing can have a tremendously calming effect when done consciously. Stress of any kind will cause your heart to beat faster and your breathing to speed up, become shallower and thus less effective. This leaves your body with less oxygen and thus less energy.

TAKING A BREAK TO BREATHE

Sit on a chair and breathe calmly, paying attention to it. Breathe in through your nose, slowly counting to three as you inhale. Hold your breath for a moment and exhale through your mouth. Slow down the flow of breath a little, e.g. with your lips, counting to three again, but a little slower than when you inhaled. Then pause briefly until your next breath begins. Slowly and without haste, take three to five of these very conscious breaths. Each breath supplies every body cell with the elixir of life and pure energy: oxygen. As simple as that, you have given your body back the energy that stress took away.

(Based on Dr. Delia Grasberger, MD)