Releasing Stress

How I got through:
Many times I share my stress dealing tips with others, but never have to practice them myself. This was put to the test recently when I had to deal with a dump truck full of situations within two months, any one of which could have stressed me out in my twenties for weeks.
1) Deal with situations head on. In my family, when we have conflict, we deal with it right then and there, even if it involves heated words, and passionate feelings, then we resolve it and move on. We try to let it go and not let it linger on and on. I have to realize, some people do not deal with conflict this way. Some run away from it and never resolve it. We have three choices, fight, flight, or deal. When we can deal with the situation at hand, talk it out, find a solution, it can be released and resolved. I always remember the saying, it is not what happens to us, it is how we deal with it. Dealing with it is the only way to not carry it around, suppress it and have it manifest later. So with each thing that came up for me, I tried to confront it, resolve it and move on, not put it off until later, run away or ignore it and hope it would go away on its own.
2) Shake it off. There is a ton of research to support this simple idea. We can release physical stress caused by situations in life through physical activity. Unresolved stress, stuffed down and repressed can and will manifest as illness, emotional blockages that resurface later, and result in repeating the same patterns of destructive behavior and required counseling. In Yoga we call it Samskara. For me it is my Yoga physical practice that releases stress in my body, joints, muscles, and mind. For others it is running, boxing, dancing, swimming, or weight lifting. Whatever activity you can find, shake it off. Get it out of your mind for an hour, build up heat that burns out stress, get a massage, get it out of the physical body. The best I felt over these last two months wsa after teaching/ doing a very vigerous yoga class. In balance postures, our minds simply can not think of anything else but being in the present moment, or we fall over.
3) Write it down. This is one I do not practice enough, but over the last two months, it has been a lifesaver. Put a note pad by the bed with a pen; make it the only thing on the night stand. Every night just before falling asleep, jot down a list of what you have to d the next day, set it aside, do not analyze it, and then close your eyes and let it go. The next morning review your list; leave it on the night stand. At the end of the day, cross off everything you accomplished, add whatever is unfinished to the list for the next day, then throw away the previous list, and make a new one, close your eyes and go t sleep. This way, you get out of your head, worrying about what you have to do the next day, or about what you did not get done. It simply cannot set there as you are trying to sleep and roll around in your mind. It is out of you and on a physical piece of paper. Simple, takes practice, but works.
4) Date yourself. One day out of the week, have a date with yourself. I try on Sundays to take myself to the movie alone. I take myself to a simple place to eat, and then go to a movie I want to see, have a bag of M&M’s, and enjoy my own company. No scheduling with others, worrying about what they want to eat or what movie they wants to see, just me and myself. This allows me to ‘check out’ for a couple of hours. I can reset my mind and relax. I tell myself thank you at the end. This is a practice I try to do at least twice a month and have made mandatory for years. I leave the phone in the car and simply ‘check out’ It is like a reset button for my energy, allowing me to refocus on my wants and needs without the demands of external sources. Treat yourself the way you want to be treated and then tell yourself thank you. In the end, all we have is ourselves anyway.
5) Rest. The hardest one for me. Finding the right amount of time to rest the body, rest the mind, rest the heart. Being a type A, I always want to go the extra mile and believe sleep is for when I am in the grave, but under times of stress, the body and mind need to sleep/ Plain and simple, sleep heals all. The first thing the Dr. said to me was going home and sleep. Boy was he right.


Now that I am on my way, I can get some of that sleep. I hope these fairly simple techniques help you someday, that your life is free of stress and that you can sleep. See you soon.
TrainerTroy