When you feel stressed, your brain triggers a "fight or flight" response from the prehistoric era, when fighting or running away were humanity's primary problem-solving techniques. Because starting a fist fight with your coworkers or running away from your cable repair person aren't practical in modern society, try meditation, visualization and guided relaxation to give your stressed brain some help.
Meditation
A simple meditation exercise is described in an IDEA Fitness Journal summary of Dr. Herbert Benson's ideas. Dr. Benson was the modern founder of scientific studies of meditation and its positive effect on stress.
Set aside 20 minutes to be alone. Sit in a comfortable position. Choose a calming phrase. Shut your eyes. Relax your muscles. Breathe in naturally and slowly. As you exhale, repeat your phrase silently. Do this breathing and repetition for 20 minutes. If your mind wanders off, gently bring it back to focusing on the repetition. When your 20 minutes are up, sit quietly for a minute, then open your eyes. Remain seated for another minute. Then get up and go back to your work.
Visualization
If keeping your mind focused on a phrase is too difficult when your brain is stressed, try visualization. Visualization consists of running a mental movie in your mind, showing yourself a restful refuge or a positive outcome to a situation. Shakti Gawain's classic text, "Creative Visualization," is a good way to learn about positive visualization. Free visualization audio files are available for download from the University of Southern California's website at "The Relaxation Page."
A typical stress visualization sequence usually suggests that you go to a quiet place for 20 minutes. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position. Close your eyes. Envision yourself in a beautiful place, such as a garden. Look around at everything in this setting. After 20 minutes, open your eyes, rest quietly for a few minutes, then resume your normal activities.
Guided Relaxation
If your brain stress has also tightened the muscles of your body noticeably, try guided relaxation. Guided relaxation usually combines visualization with instructions on gradually relaxing various muscle groups. Guided relaxation scripts are available as free audio file downloads from Inner Health Studio's "Free Relaxation Scripts" web page.
Guided relaxation instructions generally ask that you seclude yourself in a place where you won't be disturbed for a half hour, and get into a comfortable sitting or lying position. Shut your eyes. Envision yourself in a personally appealing location, such as a beach. Focus on each limb of your body, one at a time, imagining the muscles of that limb growing warm and heavy. When your entire body is relaxed, glance around at the beautiful scenery and listen to the sounds of that environment. When your half hour is up, start tuning back into your actual location and the sounds you hear there. Gradually open your eyes. After resting for a few minutes, get up and go back to your activities.
