Whether you live in the city or in a small village, you have probably experienced some kind of chaos in your life. Missing the bus and getting late to work, car breaking down, your children being late to school, changing work or moving house… any of these can cause stress and make us feel chaotic. Add our daily duties, and current lifestyle to all that and we probably end up with very high cortisol (stress hormone) levels!
Stress directly affect our bodies and minds. It’s a natural response from our nervous system when something goes “wrong” according to us. That may result in illness, autoimmune disease, inflammation, sleep issues, fatigue, sluggishness. It literally drains us.
The good news is, there are ways to balance your nervous system and find stillness no matter what’s happening in our environment.
Acceptance.
Sometimes we have to understand that some situations are not dependant on us. For example, if you’re stuck in the traffic and late to the meeting, you start stressing about it. However, stressing about it will not change the traffic, it will not speed up your journey. It will only cause a stress response in your system which, of course, will affect your body because your body and mind works together. Instead, try to think of something positive while you’re stuck on the road.
Whenever you’re in a difficult situation, try to think if there is anything you can change about it. If it’s not in your hands is best you let go of it.
So, learning to accept things that are out of our control is the first step towards towards finding peace and staying calm in situations like that.
Understanding that we may not always be responsible for the situation but we are responsible for the way we react to it. It is that simple!
Connecting with nature.
It is a great way of reliving stress. When life throws challenges and you feel irritated, overwhelmed or annoyed, find a nearest park and go for a walk. We are all part of the nature, we just forget it sometimes!
Being too busy answering the emails and staring at the screen is definitely not something that will soothe your system. The fresh breeze, birds and greenery around you will. Nature has calming effects, so no matter what you’re dealing with, daily walk in the park is always a good option.
Mindful breathing.
Breath is the essence of life. Without breath there is no life. We seem to easily forget that and let our breath get shallow, not using the full capacity of the lungs. Rolling the shoulders and hunching the back, restricting the oxygenation to our brain.
When feeling off track, pause for a while. Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths. Slow and conscious breathing directly affects the nervous system by sending the signals to rest\digest which is our parasympathetic nervous system.
That is a good thing, that will allow you to process things and think clearly without the fog created by stress. As a bonus, you learn to appreciate your breath, you learn to calm yourself down.
Asana (posture) practice.
You don’t have to have a flexible body for this one, so you cannot use this excuse! All you have to do is to get on your mat and practice some grounding postures, like Child pose or Balasana, Cobra pose or Bhujangasana, Forward fold or Uttanasana, Butterfly pose or Baddhakonasana, followed by a few twisting poses aligned with your breath. Then a good long Savasana and things are better already!
While some people can easily switch off while sitting still, others may struggle. So practicing a few asanas and linking movement with breath can really help you feel more grounded. It is a way to into your body and breathe and that is also soothing the nervous system. That can bring you more clarity and it teaches you to deal with discomfort by just keeping your breath calm. That can be applied directly to the situations in life.
Meditation.
There is many ways to practice this. You don't have to sit still for hours to achieve meditative state. It's great if you can, though, most people, including myself find it quite challenging. So just engaging into your hobby can be meditative in a way that you get completely absorbed by it!
Whether it's journaling, painting, running, singing, dancing or gardening, do what you enjoy thoroughly and let it calm you down. Sometimes all you can do in a stressful situation is just take care of yourself. If that means engaging into your hobby and allowing yourself to enjoy it - that is what you do.
If you want to dive deeper into yogic practices, you could try to start with a walking meditation, mantra meditation, or body scan meditation, or simply sitting and observing your breath.
That way we learn to disengage from the outside world and experience our universal consciousness.
These are my favourite ways to bring some peace and balance into my daily life.
Remember, you don’t even have to all of the above. Whatever works for you. Just allow yourself to process things sometimes, learn to let go and stop being “on the go” in need to do something all the time. Your nervous system will thank you!
Love,
K
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