If you are stressed out, experiencing anxiety or pain, have difficulty sleeping and/or have symptoms caused or worsened by stress, this blog is for YOU.
An excellent tool to help you calm down and decrease/resolve symptoms is to establish a regular deep relaxation practice.
“I can’t do relaxation exercises. I just can’t stop thinking!”
I frequently hear this statement. For most of us, learning to quiet the mind and “stop thinking” can be challenging. Our minds want to be busy- just get used to it. This is the way it is. We tend to constantly think, plan, problem-solve, organize, worry, criticize, judge and so on.
We are able to quiet the mind when we come to accept this and not struggle against it. With time, practice, gentleness, and patience it does get easier.
Here are some ideas when trying to quiet a busy mind:
- Accept the fact that your mind wants to be busy. The mind likes to think and plan and organize and problem solve. It’s the way it is, so accept it! Don’t fight with it. Just let it be the way it is.
- Breathe- deep, slow, belly breaths. When your belly moves your diaphragm is moving. That means you are getting in lots of oxygen and you are activating the calming part of your nervous system (PNS).
- Choose one thing to focus on. Your breath is always an excellent focus. Something that I frequently recommend to my clients is the use of guided relaxation exercises. This is especially helpful for the person who is new to a relaxation practice and/or needs extra help with mind quieting. (Check out The Store for guided exercises to download)
- Acknowledge any thought that comes to mind. Observe it. Do not engage with it. GENTLY acknowledge and accept the thought, and re-direct your mind back to your focus: the breath, the voice.
