Calm your nerves
Mindfulness is not about eliminating stress, as stress is a given in life, but it can help us deal with stress and other challenges more effectively. ― Corinne Sweet
👥 Serves: 1 person
🎚 Difficulty: Easy
⏳ Total time: 1-10 minutes
🥣 Ingredients: A quiet place with no distractions, “The mindfulness journal” book by Corinne Sweet (if you’re curious to find out more about it!)
🤓 Wholebeing Domains: Awareness, Discomfortability, Positive Emotion
💪 Wholebeing Skills: Breathing, Calm, Centring, Mindfulness, Perspective, Relief, Self-regulation, Stress management
Calm your nerves
📝 Description
A little mindfulness can go a long way.
Many of us become anxious and stressed before an interview, an important phone call, or a presentation, so it is essential to learn how to cultivate mindfulness to help us stay calm, focused, and clear. The following activity has been taken from Corinne Sweet’s book The Mindfulness Journal. The book offers a varied selection of mindfulness-based exercises and practices to help people live more mindfully.
This exercise will help you to regain control over your thoughts and emotions when you find yourself in a potentially nerve-racking situation. By closing your eyes and focusing on your breath, you can go a long way. Also, this exercise helps you stay grounded. Corinne recommends not to “engage in chit-chat with anyone, or read to ‘distract’ yourself. Smile when you face your challenge and make eye contact.”
👣 Steps
Step 1 – Find a quiet space
Find a quiet, private spot where you can be comfortable for five minutes. Sit with your eyes closed.
Step 2 – Breathe deeply
Breathe in and out, deeply. Notice where the tension is in your body – butterflies in the stomach, clenched teeth, stiff neck, wobbly knees, pulsating heart. Breathe deeply, in and out, five times. Make each breath go deeper than the last.
Step 3 – Release tensions
Squeeze your shoulders up towards the ears, then drop them. Repeat three times. Breathe. Be aware of your jaw, your hands, your feet rooted on the ground. Open your mouth wide, like a cat yawning, then relax it. Yawn if you can – it’s a great tension release. Breathe in, breathe out. Open your eyes. Smile.