stressed Archives - Custom Calm

Posted by Ellen Sichel on March 8, 2012

My husband and I went on a weekend retreat at a Bed and Breakfast in the country. It was a cozy, beautiful facility with great food, a massage and other activities that I could choose to do if I liked.

A single woman showed up late the first evening, looking quite harried and stressed. She had gotten a late start and drove through the rain. As the weekend progressed, she began to unwind and get so relaxed that she did not know how to deal with her state of mind. She had never taken a full weekend to be pampered while letting go of her responsibilities of being a single mom and full time employee. It was as if her mind shut down. Physically she felt relief from a chronic medical condition.

It was a pleasure to watch her smile, taking her time and really enjoy the easy, quite pace. If we don’t take breaks in our week for relaxation, then our well-being is compromised.

In our busy world of autopilot, we need to learn and experience what it really feels like to relax.

What does relaxation feel like to you? Let me know in the comments below.

Get Centered in 3 Steps

Posted by Ellen Sichel on May 9, 2011

There are times when we feel stressed or upset and we need to calm down quickly. There is a meeting, test, or some other task that needs us at our best and time is of the essence.

Try this simple calming and centering technique to use when you need to quickly be calm and focused:

1. Stand with your feet side by side.

Imagine a plum- line dropping down from above:
It goes though the center of your skull
It moves down through the center of your body, following the front of your spine
It continues down between your hips and drops through your pelvic floor
It moves down between your legs
It lands right between the arches of your feet.

2. Keep your awareness on the plum line and feel your feet planted in the ground.

3. Take a few easy breaths

You are ready to face the day!

Let me know if the comments below how this worked for you. Were you able to use this to help with a challenging situation? If it did not help, what do you think happened?

Tags: calming technique, centered for meeting, centering techniques, focus, stressed, upset, work stress

Posted in: Technique of the Week

Relax- What is That?

Get Centered in 3 Steps