James Allen once said, "The more tranquil one becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom." Calm is not always an easy thing to achieve, however this week we will learn some tips to help keep calm in check.
If you are still keeping up with the Gratitude Photo Project, keep it going! If you aren’t still doing it feel free to pick it
back up at anytime throughout the Challenge.
Action Step:
Review ideas on how to stay calm & think through ways to conquer triggers that push your buttons.
- Plan ahead
- Be flexible
- Don’t sweat the small stuff
- Stay positive
- Breathe
- Remember we all make mistakes
- Exercise
- Get your sleep
- Practice meditation techniques
- Take a break and close your eyes to reduce sensory overload
- Let it go
- Ask yourself… will this will matter in 10 mins, 10 hours, 10 days…
- Practice patience
Do any of these ideas interest you? Think about some common triggers at work and at home, that can cause calm to go out the window. Write down some ways you can keep your cool and stay calm.
Action Step:
Learn and implement some calming stretches.
Review the steps below for a stretch called the Cat-Cow and give it a try. Notice how you feel before, during, and after.
Cat-Cow
This is a great way to start the morning. It wakes up the spine after a full night of rest.
- Start on the floor with your hands and knees in a tabletop position. (Hands underneath shoulders and knees in line with the hips.)
- Do the cow pose by inhaling and dropping your belly, arching through your lower back and opening up the chest.
- Now, for the cat pose. Exhale and round your back, dropping the head and bottom, filling the space between your shoulder blades, and pressing the belly button into the spine.
- Repeat these movements several times. While doing them be sure to move slowly and take full breaths, savoring the movement in your spine.
- End with a nice full, stretch with your arms out and your bottom resting on the back of your legs.
Action Step:
Try a relaxation breathing exercise.
Review the steps below for Progressive Muscle Relaxation and give it a try. Notice how you feel before, during, and after.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
This is best at night to help you sleep, but you can benefit from it at any time throughout the day.
- Close the eyes and focus on tensing and relaxing each muscle group.
- Inhale deeply through the nose, tense the muscles and hold the breath for a count of 5.
- Exhale fully through the mouth as you allow the muscles to relax.
- Pause for 10 seconds to breathe normally and continue to the next muscle group.
- Start at the head or the toes and repeat until you have reached every muscle group.
