Yes, that’s right. In moments of utter craziness, don’t forget to breathe..
Oh dear. It happened again, I lost my cool in the turbulance of life.
I dream of riding the turbulence of life like a wave, open and calm. Instead, I often find that when those waves hit, I am struggling to keep my head above water, gasping and shaking with anxiety, forgetting to breathe..
So, I decided it’s time to start learning and put into practice some life saving techniques. Mostly, learning how to calm myself down. Find the best things that work for me. I know we all could use some help with what to do when a crisis hits or just to keep ourselves calm on a daily basis so I thought I’d share the top 5 things I found that I feel can and does work for me, maybe they can work for you too.
- First and foremost, Breathe. There are so many different ways to calm yourself in a stressful situation or simply just stay calm on a regular basis with different forms of deep breathing… My personal favorite is the box breathing or four-square breathing, a deep breathing technique, used by US Navy Seals in stressful situations, athletes or performers to help with anxiety, or anyone to help with stress anxiety, or big feelings, and I definitely have all of these! Check out the Youtube video at the bottom of the page to learn how to do this technique.
- First and foremost, Breathe. There are so many different ways to calm yourself in a stressful situation or simply just stay calm on a regular basis with different forms of deep breathing… My personal favorite is the box breathing or four-square breathing, a deep breathing technique, used by US Navy Seals in stressful situations, athletes or performers to help with anxiety, or anyone to help with stress anxiety, or big feelings, and I definitely have all of these! Check out the Youtube video at the bottom of the page to learn how to do this technique.
- Let’s get physical. Taking a brisk walk around the block or furiously riding your stationary bike can do wonders to calm you down. Really anything that gets you moving, flailing your arms and dancing around, swimming, yoga, etc, can greatly help your mind to release endorphins, which greatly help to improve your mood, reducing stress. Time to put some music on…which brings me to #3
- Listen to some tunes! This is such a wonderful way to calm down and change your mindset.. listening to something upbeat or happy, or even something classical and thoughtful can really rock your world.
- Mindfulness & meditation. Focusing on the present moment through mindfulness or meditation practices can really help calm your mind down & reduce the intensity of your emotions. Currently my favorite form of mindfulness practice is to watch tree leaves blow back in forth in the wind, listen the birds chirp… instant calm. If you can’t get out to the forest today or don’t have access to trees, watch the video below to hear some birds chirping away.
- Seriously, just take a break. stepping away from a stressful and anger inducing situation, finding a place to cool down, be quiet and gain a different perspective can really help.
Next time a stressful situation rolls around, maybe, with the practice of these 5 things, we’ll be a little (hopefully a lot!) better at becoming calm. I personally am making a commitment to trying to do these things as often as possible, and hopefully next time that wave of turbulence comes my way, I’ll be surfing right over the top.