02/14/2022
Be kind to your mind and body. We all experience the ups and down of life and need the flexibility to check in with what we are feeling in the present moment.
Here are eighteen ideas to help release tension, manage emotions, and boost your ability to be intentional in the present moment. Any one of these tools can become a mini break for your mind and body to use at any time, wherever you find yourself. The trick is to practice using them with kindness and a sense of curiosity, without the need to fix or change anything for now. Like I repeat often, these are tools for observation. However, the result of frequent, consistent repetition is that you’ll build intentionality, the ability to create the life you truly want.
Observe the Breath
Focusing on your breath helpfully grounds you in the midst of whatever thoughts you are experiencing. Put your focus on the feeling of breathing and observe them without intending to change anything. Are your breaths relaxed, short, uneven, or heavy? Do your breaths change on their own while you observe them?
Measured Breathing
Count up to four as you inhale, and back down to zero as you exhale. This can be a way to help yourself breathe a little more slowly and deeply. It can involve you a bit more in the present, or if you count to a larger number as you exhale, help you to prolong the sense of release and relaxation.
The Internal Body
Notice parts of your body that feel more tension, pressure, tingling, pinching, release, or any other sensation. Observe how what you are feeling emotionally is embodied in muscle tension.
The External World
Observe the world around you with all five senses, one at a time. How do the clothes you’re wearing feel? What about the air in the room or outside? What objects do you see, what are their colors and textures? What do you hear when you are still?
Describe the Sensation of Emotions
Name whatever emotion is most present for you and identify how that emotion is showing up for you physically. Sometimes emotions feel fast, slow, hot, or cold. You might feel that they have a character you can describe with a color, a texture, or a shape. For example, I might describe the feeling of anxiety as prickly, neon yellow, and it vibrates intensely in my chest. The words make the emotion more concrete for the mind, less mysterious, and more manageable.
Shake it out
Stand up for a minute and shake it out, arms, legs, shoulders, and hips. Observe how this shifts your emotions a bit. If it feels silly or awkward, you’re doing it right.
Stretch
Learn stretches that target areas where you feel tension, and practice doing these stretches throughout the day. They’ll work best if you use them before you feel tense, and repeat them frequently, every half hour, or even more often.
Get up and move
Go for a walk, take the stairs, go outside, anything to get your blood flowing.
Let your limbs be heavy
What if your muscles shut off, and you went totally limp? Try it, just not when you’re driving or sitting upright on a stool or folding chair without good support.. Let your head hang down, your arms hang, and your legs collapse. It takes practice to notice all the places where your muscles are still holding you up automatically. Just like number 5, if you feel goofy, you’re doing it right.
Breath in through the nose and out through the mouth
This is another way to engage with your breaths consciously. Also, it encourages a healthy balance between the inhale and the exhale.
Lead with your eyes
Allow your vision to be an anchor for your movement. Prepare yourself to stand up by picking a spot across the room. Remain focused on that spot and move toward it. How can this change the way your body moves?
Feel yourself expanding upward and out
This is an exercise for your imagination. Suppose your body is continually expanding. How would that feel? You can think of your back being tall, your neck extending up, and your head feeling weightless and free. What sensations do you experience when you take time with this image?
Relax and breath into pain and discomfort
Suppose you have heartburn, a headache, muscle soreness, or are recovering from an injury. Take a few moments to describe how the pain feels, and where the pain begins and ends. As you breathe let the air into the pain. Try letting your body be heavy, like number 8, and notice if any muscle tension has accumulated near this pain. Don’t expect this practice to replace any other pain treatment or plan prescribed by a doctor or your own common sense. Simply take a moment to check in with the body and observe what you can do to accept this pain, and bear it without unnecessary resistance.
Maximum Exhaling
This step goes right along with numbers 2 and 9, but can also be its own thing. Breathe in the to count of 4, and then breathe out to the count of 8, or 12. You’re doing it right when there’s nothing left before you get to the end, and continue to release the last trickle of air. Remember, exhaling is about relaxing. Don’t make yourself light headed or dizzy.
Do a body scan
My favorite way to body scan is to imagine I’m a giant hourglass with sand slowly flowing from the top of my head down to my toes. Is that weird? If so, that’s fine. The idea is to observe your body from head to toe and become aware of whatever sensations are there.
Drink more water
You can never drink too much water. Unless you do, in which case don’t drink more water. But let’s be honest, you’re not drinking enough. Divide your body weight in half, and drink that number in ounces by the end of the day. Or if you’re not measuring, make sure you drink water before and after you eat. It’s not rocket science. You probably always need more water.
Have a snack, consciously
Pause before you eat, and imagine how you expect eating the snack to feel. Eat slowly. As you eat and afterward, be curious if what you feel matches what you imagined beforehand. Are you as full as you want to be? Is feeling hungry really that bad? How long until your next meal? Are you burning more calories than you normally do, and therefore more hungry? Don’t judge yourself, simply be interested in your honest thoughts.
Take a nap
Naps are good for many of us, even if you don’t actually fall asleep. Take time to be alone, in the quiet, lying down or in a relaxed position, even if it’s only for a few minutes. Schedule a nap time once a week if you don’t already, preferably not too close to bed time or waking up in the morning.
