10 Techniques to Relieve Stress, Anxiety, and Worry

Notice how all ten techniques listed below shift your attention to a place in your body, and out of your mind.  This is truly the quickest and most efficient way to relieve stress, anxiety and any type of tension. Try one out!

1. Notice your breathing and start by taking in a breath for 6 counts, pause, and exhale for 6 counts. Repeat this 8-10 times and then notice how you feel.

2. Close your eyes, then cover your eyes with your palms, create the deepest black you can. Direct your eyes to look towards the bridge of your nose. Continue to focus here for 8-10 breaths. Notice now how you feel. What were you thinking before?

3. Close your eyes and bring your focus to the inside of your mouth. Get a sense of the space inside your mouth then slowly begin to have your tongue explore the upper right side of your teeth. Start on the right coming around to the front, and then over to the left. Move your tongue along the bottom of the upper teeth, then the area between the cheek and gums, and then along the inside area of the teeth. Repeat each area three times before shifting to another area. Repeat with the lower teeth going from the left side to the right. Repeat the movement at least three times. How do you feel now?

4. Bring your awareness to your right foot, starting with the right big toe. Can you slowly bend the right big toe and then straighten it? Then gently bend all of the toes and straighten 8-10 times. Repeat with the left foot. How do you feel?

5. Bring your awareness to your toes. Think about the toes on your right foot and spread your toes wide apart and then let go. Then try bending the toes (like in exercise #4) then spreading the toes apart then bending again. Repeat this 8-10 times on each foot. How do you feel now?

6. While sitting down, bring your awareness to your pelvis. Slowly round your back, sit sloppily and slouch. Now begin to arch your lower back to sit tall. Repeat 8-10 times. Notice how the rounding and arching of your pelvis affects your spine. Do you grow tall as you arch your spine? How do you feel now?

7. Bring your arms straight out in from of you, cross your right arm over your left, interlace your fingers and fold your hands under the gap in your two arms, bringing the hands towards your chest. Only go as far as is comfortable and then reverse the movement. Each time go a little further until the arms/hands are coming up through the hole your arms created, and begin to lengthen the arms straight out in front of you. Never let the grip go but remember to stay comfortable. Repeat 6-8 times. How do you feel now?

8. Bring your awareness to your head and begin to tilt your right ear towards the right shoulder. Repeat 5-6 times. Next try to bring your right shoulder up to the right ear 5-6 times. Now begin to move them together, focus on the two moving at the same speed coming together and moving away from each other. Repeat 6-8 times. Now try the same movements with the left ear and left shoulder. How do you feel now?

9. While sitting or lying down, close your eyes and begin to move just your right wrist. Imagine you are pulling a Kleenex out of a box. Your wrist drops down and all of the fingers come together, then lift the wrist and begin to spread the fingers apart. Repeat 10-15 times with each hand, going very slowly and paying close attention to the fingers coming together as the wrist drops and the fingers spreading apart as you lift the wrist and the hand opens and the fingers fall back.

10. While sitting, bring your awareness to your pelvis. Notice your two sit bones and then begin to lift your right sit bone so all of the weight is on the left sit bone. Lift the right sit bone and then let it down. Pay attention to the lifting and lowering of the right side. Repeat 6-8 times. Can you keep your right foot on the floor as you do this? Can you maintain your breathing while doing this? Can you repeat on your left side? Now how do you feel?