In these times of economic uncertainty people are becoming more and more stressed and anxious about their future. Whilst a certain level of stress and anxiety can actually help motivate us and keep us safe and on our toes, prolonged stress and anxiety can have the opposite effect. It can seriously impact your health, and reduce your resourcefulness, effectiveness, performance and decision making abilities. Therefore learning a simple way to quickly rebalance your mind and body on a regular basis can have profoundly positive effects.
Step By Step Process
Here is a simple but very effective process, which comes from a blend of ideas from meditation, HeartMath and NLP. When practised regularly, it can help you to feel much more emotionally balanced, more positive, feel less stressed and can improve your mental clarity.
Practice it regularly for at least 5 to 15 minutes at a time, or longer if you can. It is also a particularly useful thing to do before anxiety and stress provoking events like meetings, presentations or interviews, or any time you just want to feel more calm and positive. Practice at least once a day for several weeks and remember, you are learning a new skill so be patient with yourself, the more you practice the easier and more automatic it will become.
1. Heart Focus
Place your awareness on the centre of your chest.
2. Slow Deep and Rhythmic Breathing
Imagine that you are breathing in and out through the centre of your chest as you continue to hold your awareness there.
Breathe as deeply as feels comfortable. It should never feel forced or overextended. Allow your breathing rate to gently slow and deepen, until you are comfortably breathing in to a slow count of 5 or 6 and out to a slow count of 5 or 6. Continue this until the breathing feels smooth and natural. Once you’ve achieved a smooth and natural breathing rhythm you can go to the next step.
3. Elicit positive feelings
Recall when you’ve felt a really good strong emotion. Some examples are compassion, confidence, success, appreciation, happiness, a favourite place or activity. Re-imagine the experience again as though you are actually there. See it, hear it, feel it. Immerse yourself fully in it again and allow the good feelings to flow over and through you. Notice the detail in each of your senses. Make the mental images brighter, closer and bigger. Allow any physical sensations to intensify and spread through your body and around you. Turn up the sounds. Imagine doubling and trebling the feelings and sensations. Remember to continue the breathing from the first steps.
4. Transport those good feelings into other areas of your life
Allow the positive feelings from the previous step to continue to intensify and spread through and around you. Imagine these feelings forming a bubble around you, with you at the centre of it, looking out through it as you perceive the world around you. Imagine looking out through your bubble of positive feelings as you experience the stresses and anxieties in your life. You may also want to imagine looking out of your positive bubble as you imagine going through the day ahead. As you hold the positive feelings, remember to continue the breathing and focus from the first steps.
About the author: Nigel Magowan is a hypnotherapist who works with social anxiety, fear of public speaking, generalised anxiety, IBS and phobias. Treatment for Anxiety in London, Harley Street Anxiety treatment in Manchester