5 Minute Breathing Hack for Stress Management

Our internal chatter is a huge contributor to stress and most of us aren't aware of this going on in our heads. Constantly replaying memories, annoyances and past mistakes or worrying and projecting how things will turn out is exhausting and turns out also activates our stress response.

A moment of mindfulness will really good for taking you out of your head. It helps to reset the body to a better state of ease. Try this quick technique to activate the Parasympatheic Nervous System (also know as Rest and Digest!) and return to calm.

Do a quick body scan and see what is tight – usually the neck, shoulders and jaw.
Relax them, peel your shoulders away from your ears and pull them back if you have been hunched over the laptop
Slow everything down by taking a few slow, controlled, deep belly breaths to help you calm yourself and give yourself some space before you begin.

Breath deeply into your belly on a slow count of 5, hold for as close to the count of 5 as you can, then breath out slowly for a count of 5.

Repeat this a few times to help bring a state of calm and centered energy to you.

If you are in an interaction with someone that is heightening your feelings of stress, just 'pause before action' and examine your thoughts and decide how best to respond. Ask yourself: am I jumping to conclusions here, am I reacting rather than responding, what is the perspective of the other person in this interaction and what will serve me best when I respond?

This is a great quick hack to break the cycle of automatic behavior and improves decision making to being based on a place of calm and coherent thought.