Do you find yourself feeling fearful, overwhelmed, worried, exhausted for no obvious reason?
Anxiety can arise before you know it and be even more difficult to release.
If you are aware of your anxiety that’s a good place to start! Next, keep some sort of notes on what triggers you or when you feel more anxious because finding the triggers will enable you to find a solution that will work.
We are all unique with unique experiences and so we manage anxiety according to the skills we have..or have not !
One of the easiest practices is the one we can practice over 19,000 times a day !!!!
Its called mindful breathing! We all have to breathe but can we all use our breath as a tool to relive anxiety and at the same time stimulate parts of brain that help us think more clearly? Breathing in and out and just focusing on how that feels in our bodies is a good start, then add a little pause at the end of the in breath and out breath and then see if you can make the out breath slightly longer than the in breath and you have your first mindful practice and that could be the only one you ever need to relieve anxiety.
If you breathe in through your nose you have the added benefit of stimulating that parts of your brain which bring clarity so why not breathe in through your nose, and out through your nose or mouth which ever you prefer.
For instance – when I am in a place with a lot of people and I feel myself starting to panic, I use the breathing technique to refocus and I can self-calm effectively quite quickly before the anxiety starts to affect my body . In previous times I would have started to feel anxious, hot sweaty, clammy and then dizzy and have to move away form the crowds! I had too many memories of being in crowds running to get out of danger and so crowds meant potential danger in my brain regardless of what was actually happening in that moment!
You need to look at anxiety as a messenger and do something about it sooner rather than later, before the triggers and habits become unconscious.
We are running two retreats in June – July focusing on the tools to help relieve anxiety and stress from your life, which can be taken separately or together.