Effective ways to calm yourself down

Hi guys, I have taken time to observe and have realized that human beings tend to be easily overwhelmed, or over-aroused. With the mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) skill that I have, I am going to make known to you, the ten best  effective ways of calming yourself down in different situations.

1. Hand Massage

 What’s great about it is that you can do it while attending a lecture, listening to your kids fight, or sitting at your desk working. No one will notice. Simply use the thumb of one hand and press around the palm of the other hand. It’s very soothing.

2. Palm Push

By pushing your palms together and holding for five to ten seconds, you give your body “proprioceptive input,” according to Brukner, which “lets your body know where it is in space.” I like this one because it reminds me of tree position in yoga, which is the last of the standing series postures in yoga. By then, I am quite happy to hold the tree position. The palm push is like a mini, portable tree position I can pull out any time to calm down.

3. Close Your Eyes

According to Aron, 80 percent of sensory stimulation comes in through the eyes, so shutting them every now and then gives your brain a much-needed break. She also says that she has found that highly sensitive persons do better if they can stay in bed with their eyes closed for nine hours. They don’t have to be sleeping. Just lying in bed with our eyes closed allows for some chill time that we need before being bombarded with stimulation.

4. Mindful Sighing

this has to do with taking a few mindful sighs when transitioning from one person speaking to another. Basically you breathe in to a count of five through your mouth, and then you let out a very loud sigh, the sound you hear your teenager make. I always get amazed at how powerful those small sighs are to adjust ones energy level and focus.

5. Mindful Monkey Stretch

this made me remember those days in class, we would stand in back of our chairs, move at least an arm’s length from each other in a circle, and do these exercises that I call mindful monkey stretches. We brought our hands, arms extended, in front of us, then brought the arms down. Next we brought our arms (still extended) to our sides, and then down. Next we brought our arms all the way past our heads and then swooped down, our head dangling between our knees, and hung there for a second. This exercise is extremely effective at releasing the tension we hold in different parts of our body. Our teacher said she does it before her lectures and it works to release the jitters.

6. Hug Yourself

Hugging yourself is also another techniques of calming yourself down. Did you know that a ten-second hug a day can change biochemical and physiological forces in your body that can lower risk of heart disease, combat stress, fight fatigue, boost your immune system, and ease depression? You can begin by giving yourself a hug. By squeezing your belly and back at the same time, you are again giving yourself proprioceptive input (letting your body know where you are in space), which can help stabilize you.

7. Wall Push

Another great exercise that will help to ground people with sensory integration issues, is the wall push, where you simply push against the wall with flat palms and feet planted on the floor for five to ten seconds. If you’ve ever experienced an earthquake, you can appreciate why this gesture is calming … placing the weight of our body against a solid, immobile surface and feeling the pull of gravity is stabilizing, even on a subconscious level.

8. Superman Pose

If you do yoga, the superman pose is basically the full locust position (airplane position), except the arms and the hands are stretched out in front of you, not to the sides. “Lie on your belly on the floor,”  “Extend your arms in front of you, and hold them straight out. Extend your legs behind you and hold them straight out.” Hold that pose for ten seconds. It’s a great exercise if you are groggy, overexcited, distracted, or antsy.

9. Shake

Wow… (Chuckle) I think you should count on DOSKEY in this aspect cos I do a lot of this and I think I also have some gentle men that apply this. Did you know that animals relieve their stress by shaking? Lots of animals like antelopes shake off their fear after being frozen in panic to escape a predator. I have practiced shaking, for like 15 minutes at a time. I can’t say it looked all that pretty, but neurologically, I do believe it was beneficial.

10. Bubble Breath

This can also be called calm breathing .Most of us tends to do this subconsciously, My favorite exercise is the Bubble Breath, because it is so simple and calming. even swimmers do this on two strokes, from unilateral to bilateral. Doing calm breathing can help lower your anxiety, and gives you a sense of control Calm breathing is a great portable tool that you can  use when feeling anxious or when anxiety invades.

How to do the bubble breathing technique

·        Take a slow breath in through the nose (for about 4 seconds)

·        Hold your breath for one or two seconds

·        Exhale slowly through the mouth (over about 4seconds)

·        Wait 2-3 seconds before taking another breath(5-7 seconds for teenagers)

·        Repeat for at least, 5-10 breaths

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