If you are having stress, notice how your body feels in the present moment without judgment. It’s OK, feelings are just physical sensations.
Tell yourself “I am thinking about something that is not happening right now”
Remember, the emergence of feelings is a gateway to a deeper part of yourself. Trust yourself to be your greatest friend.
Get out of your head, get into your body.
With each breath, shift your attention onto what is happening externally.
Activate your senses. Look around yourself, listen to the sounds, touch your surroundings, notice what smell passes into your nostrils, what taste do you have in your mouth ?
If you are catastrophizing in your thinking:
1) Say “Stop” out loud. Remember the sound of something scratching?
2) Focus on ‘what is,’ rather than ‘what if. ‘
3) Get physical. Stomp, jump, shake.
Belly breathing for calming
1. Sit or lie flat in a comfortable position.
2. Put one hand on your belly just below your ribs and the other hand on your chest.
3. Take a deep breath in through your nose, and let your belly push your hand out. …
4. Breathe out through pursed lips as if you were whistling. …
5. Do this breathing 3 to 10 times.
Guided relaxation meditation can provide relief. Here is one :
Malia Yoga Guided meditation for intrusive thoughts, OCD and anxiety
Cognitive Behavioural exercise for refocussing
The head can easily get locked into set patterns. If an old emotion has become familiar, we often respond to new, similar situations with the same emotion, whether it makes sense or not.
By shifting focus toward your heart and away from whatever problem you face, you divert energy from your perception of the problem.
1. Make a sincere effort to shift your focus away from your racing mind or disturbed emotions to the area around your heart. You can pretend that you’re breathing through your heart to help focus your energy in this area. Keep your focus there for ten seconds or more.
2. Recall a positive, fun feeling or time you’ve had in life and attempt to re-experience it.
3. Now, using your intuition, common sense and sincerity – ask yourself, what would be a more caring and efficient behaviour in response to the situation, one that will minimize future stress, for yourself and anyone else involved?
Extracted from “the HeartMath Solution”
Emotional energy grounding
This clip starts with an introduction to the idea of emotional energy. The guided meditation starts 7 minutes in.
Spiritual Online Activation Retreat
Mantra and music
Music that speaks to you, kirtan and chanting are all effective for centering.
I am light
I release control