3 Simple Hacks to de-stress NOW

Do you sometimes feel like you're falling apart? Does it take everything you've got to hold it together, knowing that you've got a job, a family and friends who have no idea how stressful it is for you?

I get it.

I've been working with a huge group of patients who are exactly like you... Some are going through a divorce....some are SUPER MOMs...(hero to all but herself)..... and some are just plain scared shitless for reasons which are just can't be explained.

Well, the good news is that there's something you can do right now which will take your heart rate down.....take your nervous system to merely "operate" level instead of overdrive....and...well....just clear your head up a little.

So let's get to it.....Ready?

Step 1.  B-R-E-A-T-H-E.

It's hard to remember this one if your mind's on overdrive, but it's absolutely the single best thing you can do for yourself. Start by sitting yourself down in a comfortable chair, but keep your back straight. Drop your shoulders. Peel your tongue off the roof of your mouth and let it rest comfortably between the top and bottom teeth. Now inhale to the count of 4. Hold your breath to the count of 4. Now exhale to the count of 8. 

Repeat the above 5 times.
How do you feel now?

Step 2.  Forward fold.

Stand with your feet hip distance apart, arms by your sides. Take a slow....deep....inhale, and then with an open mouth, let the air out with an "Ahhhhhh!".

Repeat the above 2 more times.

Now slowly drop your chin to your chest, and then keep moving the top half of your body down as though you were going to touch your toes. If you can touch your toes, great! If you can't, that's fine....just go to where you can. This is not a competition! Some people like to rest their hands on books standing on their bottom edge, so that they're tall....some use a chair to rest their hands on. Whatever your body can do is perfect. If you need a slight bend in your knees, then let them soften. Just hang there and breathe gently......at first, you can move your head side to side as if you were saying "no". Then move your head up and down as if you were saying "yes". Do these movements slowly. If you want, you can move your head in circles, or any other movement that feels good to you. Then just let your head hang down loosely....feel it's weight.....

Stay in that position for a minute or more, and then SLOWLY rise up.....one vertebra at a time....to a standing position. (Ninja trick: Try rotating your knees inward so that they're facing each other...then contract your thigh muscles and then stand up. Your knees won't actually be able to face each other, but this will take the strain off your low back!)

How do you feel now?

Step 3.  Bring out your inner baby.
OK....I know this sounds weird, but it works. You might have to go to your car and do this if you don't have a bathroom that is yours and yours alone.....

Stand in front of the mirror and stick your tongue out. Now....make sounds like a baby....(I told you it's weird!) That's right....stick your tongue out and make those "Bah...bah....bah....bah" and "lah....lah lah.....lah.....lah....sounds. Let your voice travel up and down....higher and lower....The more you mimic a baby, the better it works. You might want to let your voice go softer and louder as well.....Play around with this one and see what works for you. I've had people tell me that they found themselves laughing and the spell of anxiety was broken!

Let me know how this worked for you!!