I am not a glass half full type of person. I am a glass brimming
over and splashing down on the table, staining the tablecloth type of person.
It goes with my plate already full personality. I like my life this way, even
though it causes me stress. It causes the most stress in December when there is
more to pile on to my already full plate. Here is what is still left on my
to-do list: a Christmas letter, Christmas cards, Christmas cookies, Christmas presents,
stocking stuffers, maybe I should make gluten-free Chex mix for my neighbors (and
what about the people in the office building?), plus year-end accounting, my
2017 business plan, and, and, and.
My husband says that the list is completely under my
control, therefore I create my own stress. He’s right, of course. Other people
have other stressors that they have less control over. An article
in Psychologist World reports that 70% of people have work related stress and
half worry about their weight. Then there’s stress about money and stress because
of gridlocked traffic. The point is that all of these things are magnified in
December. The to-do list is longer, the expenses are higher, it’s scarieer to
drive in the dark and the rain, and after we’re stressed out about finding time
to make the cookies, we are stressed out about how much weight we’ll gain after
eating them.
A voice inside our head says, “You should relax,” but it's not as easy flipping a switch in the brain. Stress is as much in the body—maybe more so—than in the mind. The
most successful stress management strategies involve changing tension in the
body. This article gives you three concrete ways to manage your stress. All
three have helped me through the holidays.
Fingertip breathing
meditation
The beauty of this technique is that you can do it anywhere,
while waiting at the checkout line or while sitting at a stop light.
As you inhale, open your hands and spread your fingers. On a slow exhale, bring your thumbs and little fingers together. Slowly open your hands again in time with your inhale, and on the next exhale, bring your thumbs and ring fingers together. Inhale and open, on your next slow exhale thumbs and middle fingers together. Open on the inhale again and on your fourth exhale bring the thumbs and pointer fingers together. Repeat the sequence until you feel less tension. For example, my to-do list overwhelms me at times and I don’t know where to start. At some point during the fingertip meditation, I will gain clarity and the next step will become obvious. It might take me four or five rounds, but the “time out” from my scurrying gives me the ability to focus and find the next best step.
Variations
I think it’s helpful to vary the amount of pressure on the
fingers. What’s the difference if you press them firmly together or try a
feather light touch? How about pressing the finger pads together or the finger
tips? Trying to touch left and right thumbs and fingers at the exact same
moment seems particularly helpful to me.
Why does this work?
Focusing on and slowing the breath is calming and can shift
your nervous system from “fight or flight” to “rest and digest” mode. Adding
movements from the hands helps unlock stress patterns all the way from your
fingers to your neck, patterns like clenching your fists, gripping the steering
wheel, or hunching your shoulders.
Being aware of your body is also calming. In the days when
we were outside and subject to danger more often, knowing where the body was in
space (technically called proprioception) was vital to surviving stressful
situations. Even though we aren’t in danger from wild animals or falling tree
branches, our nervous system is still soothed by developing proprioception.
Also, you might recognize each of these hand positions as a
gesture used in yoga or other meditation practices, called mudras, which are
purported to channel energy in certain
ways. When I taught this meditation practice in yoga class, my students found
that one finger position was more comforting than the others. I invite you to explore
if there’s a mudra that is most effective for your stress, and if different
mudras are more effective in different situations. (The sitting in traffic
stress relieving mudra might not be the same as the arguing with your spouse
stress relieving mudra.)
Stress shaker
undulation
This one is easy and depending on how self-conscious you
are, you might not want to do it in the checkout line, or maybe just do so on
the sly. Simply shake your wrists so that your fingers wobble around. Try to
make your hands rubbery.
To extend the undulation, change the movement from your
shoulders so that your elbows also have that rubbery feeling. Wobble your
shoulders up and down and front and back and let your arms and body follow easily
along.
Variations
You can also “shake a leg” if you are holding on to a chair
or wall for balance and try to get that rubbery feeling in the ankle and foot.
You can also wobble your head, but do so gently.
Why does this work?
We spend so much time being still and this shaking movement
is very unusual. Your body has to orient itself differently to do the movement
and has to figure out how to let go of tension to be able to feel rubbery.
Isn’t this the type of thing we did regularly when we were limber
kids? We like to think that we did unusual things when we were more limber, but
actually, we were more limber, because we did unusual things.
Animals naturally shake to relieve stress. You often see it
when watching nature programs: zebras and pronghorns shake after being chased
by a lion. Dogs do the same thing for smaller stressors as shown in this video.
Go outside
This one is simple. If you are stressed in your work cubicle
or building tension when you can't find an appropriate, affordable gift, get up, put on your coat (and hat if
needed) and go outside. In the outside air. Feel the temperature difference.
Feel the breeze, maybe even rain or snow, on your face. Walk around a bit, or a
lot. Find a plant to look at, hopefully some birds as well. Let your eyes focus
on things far away instead of that computer screen 18 inches in front of your
face. Let your peripheral vision open up.
Variations
Going down the hall to the bathroom or getting exercise by
climbing steps won’t substitute for this one. This isn’t taking a break from
sitting by standing and walking. This is taking a break from being inside where
most stress now happens and going outside to the natural environment. Outside
can be a city street or just walking around your house or apartment. But it
needs to be where you are under the sky and have space around you.
Why does this work?
Taking a break from a stressful situation gives you the opportunity
to create a new perspective according to the American Psychological
Association. Since most stress today involves inside activities, getting
outside expands the perspective even farther. It also gives our eyes a break
from short-distance focus, and for those of us, like me, who believe in a
mind-body connection, the expansion from physical focus translates to mental
focus as well.
Things we find outside—fresh air, plants and animals, the
sky—are resources to the nervous system. Even the sensations of cold, wet rain
will initiate a change that allows you to let go of stress. Bonus: there aren't any cookies to tempt us outside.
Whether you use these tips a little or lot during this
holiday season, I hope they help you relieve tension in your body and give you more
peace of mind. After all, that’s what this season is supposed to be about.
Post script for my grammarian readers. For consistency, I
had to choose between overwhelming this article with hyphens or eliminating
them. Yes, it is missing hyphens, a lot of them.
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