Let’s talk about what happens when life (read: work) seems overwhelming, and you’re struggling to find air to breathe. I have been there many times myself … from those years when I was a caregiver to my first husband, to later in my life when I was running multiple businesses at the same time, to my current situation where I am mastering the job with no real name: “kids-husband-business-parents-friends-self”.

After so many years of experience, here is my two cents’ worth: I have four golden techniques that help me to reduce stress, stay healthy and still get everything done on time.

Technique 1: Take A Break

If you’re overwhelmed by what’s going on in your life at the moment and feel a little lost and confused, you might need to stop everything you’re doing for a while. People tend to get so buried in their work that they’re barely able see the light of day, let alone take a look at where they are in life. In order to catch a break, to release all the built-up tension and the self-doubts, you need to clear your mind. This will help you feel more centered and get you back on track.

If you have been following me on social media, you may have noticed that I get out of my routine very often. The main reason I do this is to clear my mind and recharge my energy. If you don’t take a moment to recollect yourself, the situation can only get worse. You will lose hope that anything can change and you’ll be trapped inside a cage you have made yourself.

When you start to feel confused and hopeless, you need to make some changes in your routine. Taking an immediate break can often save your business, marriage and your own sanity.

Technique 2: Yoga And Meditation

If you are not “on the edge” and things are more-or-less under control, but you would like to have more energy, better health, more peace and a greater ability to handle difficult situations, I strongly recommend yoga.

“Why yoga?” you might ask. I have been doing yoga and mediation since I was eight years old. Yes, eight years old! And this is what I have learned along the way … yoga is a very effective way to get your body in harmony with your mind. This is because yoga gives the utmost importance to breathing, and you must have experienced the benefits of correcting your breathing in stressful situations. When you’re tense and negative, you start to breathe poorly. This can result in a lack of oxygen to your brain and your muscles, so you’ll feel much more tense. And the tension brings us to the next key benefit of yoga – the stretching.

I would strongly recommend attending yoga classes, but you can also practice these techniques wherever you are, whenever you feel the need for it. When you feel that negativity is building up, correct your breathing with simple breathing exercises (in yoga, we call that pranayama). There are many breathing exercises you can try to calm yourself down, but all of them focus on slowing down your breathing and breathing in deeply.

Even if you simply spend five to ten minutes a day focusing your attention (preferably with eyes closed) on a very slow inhalation and a very slow exhalation, you will feel calmer, more balanced, better rested and more able to handle the stresses of our modern life.This works because by slowing down your breathing, you will slow down your heart rate and provide your mind and body with enough oxygen to think and act more clearly. By slowing these processes down, you will be able to clear your mind and feel more centered. Try to incorporate this kind of meditation into your daily routine and you will start feeling the benefits in no time.

Technique 3: Get Moving

Another thing you can do to get rid of the tension is stretch periodically. If this doesn’t help, you might need to change your environment. If you’re in the workplace, take a short break and go out for a walk. During all corporate workshops I run, I always ask participants the same question: “How many times a week do you exercise?” I would say if it is less than twice, you better start moving your butt today!

Technique 4: Visualize Your Success

One more technique that you might find helpful is thinking about the solution to your problem and visualizing the desired outcome.This is one of my favorite tools and I use it before each workshop or talk that I am conducting.

Spend five to ten minutes by yourself; breathe slowly and deeply and focus your attention on the desired outcome. Visualize details, people, environment, what you will do or say, how they will react, what music will play, how will you celebrate your success. The more details you are able to visualize, the better it is. You are not just imagining something; you are programming a desired outcome. This technique is used worldwide by the top athletes and performers before all important matches, games and qualifying events.

Remember…

I want to give you really simple things you can do immediately at your desk right now. Nothing big, nothing crazy, nothing too over-the-top. Do these, and I know you’ll immediately start seeing results as you let tension go and release stress.

Contact me and let me know how it goes.I love to hear from you! And feel free to share some of the things you do to release stress, too.

To a more relaxed you!

Yana

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