Stress is an imposed force.
Strain is the deformation that does the damage.
Controlling the effects of stress is about three things:
- reducing the causes
- reducing the deformation
and, perhaps most important… - reducing the damage that the deformation does
Think of a supple young tree.� It can bend and move in the strongest winds, without damage.� It is resilient.
Building Resilience
In a workplace with more pressures to perform, shared among fewer staff, stress can only increase.� One strategy to deal with this is to build your personal resilience, and a powerful technique is to learn simple five-minute workplace meditation.
This is the simplest of routines that requires no training � just five minutes of your time and a little practice.� It will get easier the more you do it.� It is not designed to take you into a deep meditation, but simply to relax and calm you quickly; just enough to be more resourceful in the face of a demanding day.
Step 1: Choose an Action Word
Before you even start practicing your five-minute meditation, it helps to choose an anchor word that you can use when practicing.� Once you have used it often enough, just thinking of the word can trigger a start to relaxation. Good words to choose include: calm, warm, relax, soft, breathe, �
Step 2: Are you Sitting Comfortably
Find somewhere to sit comfortably for five minutes.� Sit upright, with your hands resting lightly in your lap, or on your thighs.� Softly close your eyes (if you wish.� This will help, but it is not essential.)
Step 3: Relax
Start with your face, then your neck, then your shoulders.� Notice any tension, then gently relax the muscles.� Mentally repeat your anchor word as you do this.� Continue down your body to your chest, arms, tummy, thighs, legs, ankles and toes.
Step 4: Melt
Fell your muscles like warm butter, gently softening and melting.� Imagine your feet warming, melting and spreading out.� As you notice each part of your body melting, mentally repeat your anchor word.� Work your way up your body from your feet to your knees, your hips, tummy, chest, shoulders, neck and head.� If you notice a lot of tension: let it go.
Step 5: Breathe
Then open your eyes.� Yawn.� Take three deep breaths.� Blink a few times.� Then slowly get up and move around.� Notice how much sharper your senses seem.
That�s it.� Done.
