Inner-Stress Management
Release Daily Stress
Rebalance? Emotions
Reduce Future Stress
?It?s gotta be fun?
WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
OBJECTIVE: To provide educational materials and practices that support having more fun & less stress.
GOALS: The 3 Goals of Stress Reduction Meditation are to:
- Release daily stress.
- Restore the emotions.
- Reduce future stress.
STUDY: What is taught?
- How use mindfulness (attention) of the body to releases stress.
- How to care (intention) for what is what is happening in our body, heart and mind.
- How to inquire and understand the stressors, and there by allowing more enjoyment of life.
PRACTICE: We practice the development of intention and attention. The 3 practices are:
- ?Stopping & Dropping? (to release daily stress)
- ?Opening & Smiling? (to restore the emotions)
- ?Inquiring to Understand? (to reduce future stress)
APPLYING: These mindfulness practices result in learning new skills that can then transfer into our daily life. This results in reduced stress and improved relationships, creativity and increases our emotional intelligence quotient (EQ).
PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS:
- Decreased, anxiety, depression, irritability and moodiness
- Increased, happiness, emotional stability, learning ability and memory
MEDITATION TIPS:
*Continuously, let go of expecting too much of ourselves or self-judgments and aversions.
*When confused or concerned always gently return to the grounding sensations of the hands.
*Life can sometimes be taken too seriously, the Stress Reduction Yogi?s motto is. ?its gotta be fun?
CONCERNS:
- If you have any concerns or questions please let us know.
- Not religious, based on western science, eastern meditation & experience.
- In all movements and meditations, please do only what feels comfortable for you.
Disclaimer:
1. Generalizations are used sometimes to simplify the complexities of the body, heart and mind.
2. All materials are for educational purposes only and do not to take the place of professional care.
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THE STUDY TOPIC OF GROUNDING:
Stress Loops
How Stress Loops are Formed
How thinking and stress loops work.
* 1min: If an experience is perceived to be threatening, it causes stress to form.
* 10min: If the mind adds stressful thoughts. This is the called a stress loop.
* 1hr: If the stress loop continues, our hormone levels become unbalanced.
* The MINDFULNESS practice of ?Stopping & Dropping? breaks the stress loop.
BEING GROUNDED
?Grounding, allows us to accept all of life?
Introduction, when we meet someone who is grounded in the present moment, someone who is not caught up in their own moods and options. They stand out for us. We have a sense of respect and trust towards them. We may even remark fondly about their ability to be present “she/he is really down to earth” or “they are grounded”.
Why ground back into the body?
* Grounding provides trust and self confidence
* Grounding reduces anxious thoughts of the future
* Grounding weakens the harmful emotions from the past
Grounding Practices:
Stress Yoga Practice: The Body Scan
Stress Meditation Practice: “Stopping & Dropping”
Closing Discussion:
Words of Wisdom: Don?t judge yourself too harshly – Anger has a lot of energy.
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THE PRACTICE OF GROUNDING:
?Stopping & Dropping?
Grounding into to the body weakens the stress loop.
Stress Yoga: Body Scanning & Body Postures
1. Chose a posture and or a body scan that you like and is grounding for you!
2. Become aware of the body?s sensations as you breath and move in a posture.
3. Offer a gentle caring intention to our body and its posture ?may my body be well?.
Stress Reduction Meditation:
When staring to meditate, please bring attention & intention 2 things:
- Intention- To be interested, To be non-judgmental
- Intention- Sitting in an Alert Posture,? Open Chest
- Attention- To the bodies sensations as it breathes in
Next:
1. Stop without thinking, and drop down into the grounding sensations of the body.
* Guide the process with a phrase of intention ?breathing in deeply and letting go completely?
2. When distracted, bring the AWARENESS back to sensations of the body and breath.
* Gently guiding the process ?no place to go?, ?no thing to do?, ?no one to please?
3. Just continue to stop and drop the AWARENESS back into the body.
* This breaks the emotional thought stress loops, and no thing more needs to be done!
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APPLYING THE PRACTICE:
Stopping & Dropping makes a difference in daily life. The more often that we remember to be interested in:
* the intentions of the mind
* the sensations of the body
* the qualities of the breath
The sooner we will recognize and release stress, before it builds up to a unhealthy level.
Homework:
Chose 1 one of these 3 triggers to stop.
* Each time you are stopped in traffic or in a line up
* Before you make a phone call or receive a call
* Each time you feel angry or sad
Suggested Short Readings
Summary:
. But when the negative emotions are strong, what is simple works the best. The more we practice coming back into the present moment. The more trust develops in the power of this practice. The more we trust it, the more we will use it.