Have you been feeling stressed lately?

Stress can show up as incessant worried thoughts, overthinking, a clenched jaw, tight shoulders, shallow breathing, increased heart rate or blood pressure, sleeplessness or chronic avoidance of things you really need to get done.

Or maybe stress shows up for you differently?

Maybe you don’t realize you’re feeling stressed (because you’re so preoccupied with whatever is stressing you out).

You only notice that things are off because you’re suddenly finishing a bottle of wine every night with your partner (where you used to make a bottle last for a couple nights) or polishing off a gallon of ice cream (much faster than normal) or you can’t seem to stop checking your phone (even if you don’t want to be on your phone all the time).

Whatever it is for you, pause for a moment, take a breath, and see if you can identify what’s stressing you out (if you can, not knowing is also OK) and then say this out loud: “I’m feeling stressed right now because of _________.”

OR

“I’m feeling stressed and I don’t know why yet.”

Now that we’ve identified that “Heck yes. You’re freaking, fracking STRESSED,” let’s talk about some ways to bring your stress levels down.

Step #1: State the obvious out loud.

The idea is that by stating the feeling out loud, you create some separation between the emotion (which is temporary energy) and you. Also when you admit that, “Hey, I’m really stressed,” you can then make a plan to do something about it. Your subconscious mind has finally gotten your conscious mind’s attention with all the wine drinking and ice cream eating and now your conscious mind can go about making some changes.

Step #2: Clarify what one big thing is stressing you out.

I’ve written about this concept before here. In my experience of working with clients, when they are overwhelmed with stress, there’s usually one thing that’s pushing them over the edge. When you’re neck deep in stressful thoughts and emotions, it can feel like EVERYTHING is pushing you over the edge. If you can identify, “It’s this one uncomfortable conversation with a client that I can’t figure out how to approach that’s stressing me out,” then you know that that’s the one thing to focus on.

Step #3: Take action.

The next step in the above situation? Take action. Talk about your situation with a skilled communicator—maybe your therapist, a trusted (and emotionally intelligent) friend, or your coach.They may be able to help you solve the issue. Taking action on a stressful situation gets that stuck emotion (energy) moving.

Step #4: Set your brain up for success.

Here’s where meditation comes in. (Listen, if you’re over there rolling your eyes at the thought of meditating, I really want you to pay attention. Chances are you are a natural meditator and you don’t even know it because you’re so passionately against it. Passionate hate is still passion. Give meditation a chance. Now…)

Meditation helps your body create a natural state of relaxation. It teaches your mind (and your nervous system) to stop acting like a bunch of sugar-crazed kids in a bouncy house the day after Halloween.

When you meditate, you’re literally training your brain to remain calm and not react as quickly. When you create a daily meditation practice (which is key and no it doesn’t take that long every day), your body produces less cortisol (the stress hormone), you use oxygen more efficiently, your blood pressure normalizes, your heart rate and breathing slow down, you become more creative… it basically makes you a superstar. AND, it sets your brain and body up to not react as dramatically to stressful situations in the future. BONUS.

Here’s the kicker though, meditation only works if you find the kind of meditation that works for you.

If you find meditation to be impossible, chances are you haven’t found the kind of meditation that actually makes you feel like you want to keep doing it.

That’s the kind of meditation I teach.

I’ve got two Meditation 101 workshops coming up:

One this Saturday, November 6th and one Saturday, December 4th. If you’re at ALL stressed, you need to sign up, Gina.

And get this: once you’ve signed up for one workshop, you attend subsequent Meditation 101 workshops for 20% off.

Again, if you’re feeling like you’d rather pet a porcupine than learn to meditate, sign up. You need it the most.

Questions? Reply and ask! I love email chatting!

Until next week,

Rebecca*

PS: Know someone who’s feeling stressed? Be an information CareBear and share this email with them. <3

THIS SATURDAY: 

Meditation 101

I’m SO excited about this workshop! I LOVE watching people sink into a deep meditative state as I teach them all different kinds of ways to quiet their minds. It’s really,SO cool to see people find meditation that actually WORKS for them!

When was the last time you could really let go and feel the calm warmth of a quiet mind?

Mm hm. It’s probably been a long time.

Come learn how to do this for yourself this Saturday!

You’ll walk away with:

• Four different meditation methods to try (because one size doesn’t fit all)

• A system set up (in your phone) to keep you on track with your practice

• An overall feeling of calm, peace, and centeredness

• The confidence to start your own meditation practice