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Christmas can be a frantic time in the southern hemisphere
Preparing for long
summer school breaks, organizing children, as well as all the pre-Christmas
shopping, parties and work deadlines.
The pace seems to accelerate during the countdown to Christmas Day.
We all need to take time out to do the B R E A
T H I N G WORKS MINI RELAXATION .
This is featured in our forthcoming book - Stretch Move &
Breathe, which looks at the current problems of stress in the
workplace. Print it out - give it to a friend.
Employers in most Western countries are now legally required to monitor
staff stress levels to prevent injury and ward off staff absenteeism
and lost working days through 'burn out'. The B
R E A T H I N G WORKS method offers
the First Step in restoring both physical and physiological balance.
Once this is established stress levels drop especially work-related
tensions and symptoms, when used on the job. It's true because our patients
tell us so. And of course we use our techniques ourselves.
B R E A T H I N G
WORKS CALM DOWN BLISS OUT.
It takes two minutes.
First - s t r e t c h your whole body.
Find a quiet place. Sit comfortably.
Feet firmly planted on the floor, hips loose,
Hands cupped on lap. (Mother Teresa)
Or palms flat on knees (Piano player)
Bottom snug to the back of the chair. Stomach
relaxed. Shoulders loose.
One chin tuck - 5 seconds - release. (Make 3
double chins)
Jaw drop 3 seconds - release.
Finger stretches. Separate your fingers and stretch hard, especially
the thumb; left then right hand.
Focus on the quiet breath, in and out through the nose . Feel
the waist expand gently, breathing in and flowing into the out-breath
phase. (No holding at the top)
Notice the small relaxed pause at the end of the breath out.
(No holding, just letting go.)
To still the busy brain, concentrate on silently placing numbers
on the relaxed pause phase. This can be done with eyes closed,
or with eyes open, focusing on something. E.g. a picture post
card or object. Soften your eyes. (Stop hard focusing)
Don't try to stop thoughts - simply dominate centre stage with
the rhythmic flow of numbers.
Starting at 1 count up to 10 and return back to 1 again. E.g.
breathe in & out 'one', breathe in & out 'two' etc.) Breathe
as light & low as comfortably possible.
When you come back to 'one'....
S t r e t c h
Smile & Happy Holidays . . .
copyright: BREATHING WORKS 2004 |
Christmas is supposed to be a happy
family based festival at the end of December. Yet so many people are
complaining at how early the hype started this year, to shop, shop,
shop and shop some more. Newspapers are full of gloomy economic predictions
about inflation, or crashing finance companies. (13 at the last count)
All this bad news leads to hyperinflation - and hyperventilation!
Upper chests fill with anxiety as well as air, over these mixed messages
- Save ! Spend ! Drink ! Eat !
And before you know it, hyper inflated upper chest-breathing
patterns, punctuated with sighs, becomes a habit. (And an exhausting
one at that.) Sleep often becomes disturbed -- and tempers frayed. Neck
and shoulder tension adds to the misery -- the circle is complete. The
original Christmas message is lost …. .
Here are some reminders of how and when to use B
R E A T H I N G WORKS physical coping
skills to reduce Yuletide stress and promote Christmas peace and harmony……
- Stop – pause for a moment and chest check every hour
- Drop – release shoulder and jaw tension
- Flop – sit back and release tension all over
- Low slow nose breathe out, and relax fully
- Pay attention to and enjoy the feeling of release/relaxation
- Make sure to have some good belly laughs every day
And ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’.
Do what you can and if you can’t get everything you planned done
-- it’s not the end of the world. Step off the treadmill for a
breather!
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