Stress can creep into our lives anytime we let it, and it can come from an almost infinite number of sources. While we cannot control every event that happens to us, we can control our reactions to them. “Remembering the bigger picture” in order to “not sweat the small stuff” can go a long way towards eliminating stress from our lives but it takes practice and is a topic suited for a post of its own. Now, whatever the reason we feel stressed, the good news is that we can always take steps to release it from our bodies. The key is to set aside time to do so. Combine that “de-stress” time with a few of the powerful tools described in this post, and you’ll be well on your way towards releasing held tension to feel lighter, freer, and more at peace.
How do we know when we’re feeling stressed? Usually stress is perceived as an inability to calm our thoughts or feel relaxed in our bodies. We often try to “work through” these signs instead of slowing down and acknowledging that we’re feeling stressed. But that is exactly what we need to do! You see, stress has a way of remaining in our bodies when we don’t take the time to process it. Muscles stay tensed, joints stay compressed, and even our breathing stays restricted. This has the long term effect of making our movement feel restricted and difficult, decreasing our perceived level of energy, and lowering our resilience to additional stress. This affects how we experience the world around us and can creep into many aspects of our lives, including our relationships and feelings of day-to-day “okayness”.
By allowing ourselves to recognize and experience stress in the moment we can prevent it from being stored within our bodies. However, much like changing our outlook on life, this too requires practice to do effectively and should be viewed as a more advanced technique. Fortunately, it’s never too late to release the already accumulated stress from our systems by using our awareness and our breath to seek out and let go of tension. To do so, simply assume a comfortable position either seated or lying down (preferably outside if the weather’s nice), take a few deep cleansing breaths, then allow your breath to settle into a natural rhythm. Let your awareness settle on your breathing for a few rounds before venturing into your body.
When you feel calm and relaxed, complete a full body scan, lingering for at least ten seconds in each location. For example, focus on your crown, then your face, then neck, and so on. Try to feel every sensation with objectivity; does it feel heavy or light, hot or cold, sharp or dull? Your goal is to scan every part of your body, simply noticing how it feels without reacting, while keeping an easy and free breath. Notice how the sensations change over time. Allow yourself to feel them until they fade or you feel like moving on. Like any skill, this takes practice to get good at so take your time and have fun with it. Don't be hard on yourself if it seems like too much of a challenge at first.
It should be noted that stress can be stored in the form of pain, muscle tension, irritable nerves, emotions, and even negative thoughts. By simply remaining open to the experience of any and all of these sensations, we allow the stress response to pass through us without leaving lingering issues. It's natural to want to ignore, avoid, or close ourselves off from unpleasant sensations, however we must resist the urge. Feeling is all or nothing and if we stop feeling a particular area of our body, we lose our ability to control it well, like a musician getting rusty with a song they haven't played in a while. This is a problem because when we stop moving skillfully in a specific part of our body, say the shoulder or spine, we start increasing the risk of injuring that area. Plus, moving it feels plain difficult. So, do your body a favor the next time you're feeling stressed and feel it!
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