Don’t let Stress Stick
*Don’t let Stress Stick*
“Love the life you live, live the life you love.” Bob Marley
Love this life because it is amazing no matter what life throws at you. There are always going to be things that can cause stress. Stress can make a huge impact on our mind, body and spirit but we can keep it from consuming us. We each have a place in our bodies where we respond to stress and it creates a holding pattern. When the stress is continuous it becomes a chronic holding pattern resulting in physical pain.
The good news is you can learn to take on life’s challenges without letting the stress consume your mind body and soul. This is through using your breath to help you feel expansive and have a sense of resource in your own body.
The following exercise can be done sitting, standing, in movement, etc. When first getting the hang of it I recommend laying on your back (place a pillow under your knees to feel more comfortable if you want to) or sitting in a comfortable position.
- Take Deep slow breaths to allow yourself to settle in
- As you continue you to breathe imagine that your breath is surrounding your whole body, giving you a sense of feeling expansive. You can even imagine your breath creating a layer off of your body
- Play with the contrast next by bringing your breath as close to your center and very small. When you internalize the breath and feel small it lets the stress in and allows it to affect you on a very deep level.
- Next go back to that feeling of expansion. This is a place where one is very resourced giving you a place to take on the world. You can find this sense of expansion any time you need it. It will take awareness and practice to embody this feeling. Use this as a tool to keep yourself centered
If you have places where there is chronic holding from stress you can focus your breath into that place in the body. You breathe follows thought so even if it is your big toe you can send your breath there if you can imagine it.
What was it like to feel expansive? What was it like to feel small? How can you bring this into your awareness more so that it is something you embody?
Lauren Harmon Certified Advanced Rolfer™
Certified Equine Structural Integration Practitioner
Rolfing ® Structural Integration Longmont and Fort Collins Colorado