Live a happy, inspired, and stress-free life
Stress dramatically affects the quality of our or other people’s lives.
If our loved ones are stressed, we become stressed. This exercise is not only something you can use for yourself, but if you are worried about a loved one under stress right now, you can print out and hand it to them. Or send them the link.
Stress not only affects us negatively at a physical level but also at a mental and spiritual level. When we are over stressed we can have difficulty thinking clearly or we may find ourselves getting sick more often. Some of us may resort to self-medication such as alcohol, excessive sugar consumption, binging on television or even drugs to make ourselves feel better. We just want to get into a state of being comfortably numb so that the stress we are feeling doesn’t make us crazy.
We are taught that stress is not only natural to us but necessary and helpful to get us to succeed in life. But this is not true. Our natural state is one of happiness, contentment and satisfaction. We naturally sleep well, rest well and have lots of energy, easy thoughts, a full life and excellent experiences.
I have created an exercise that anyone can use to release over-stress from our bodies. It is an exercise that will support you in getting to your natural state of being.
This exercise is not designed to replace medications or psychological or mental treatments. It is designed for natural over-stress release and can be used by healthy individuals who know their own minds and are in control of their own life and health decisions. If you are presently under mental or physical medical supervision, take this exercise to your doctor and get their approval before you use it. Yes, it’s that powerful.
You can do this exercise at any time, whenever you feel over-stressed.
For best results, do this exercise in a quiet and private space. Create a list of things that stress you out and start working through them on a regular schedule.
A very important aspect of this exercise, is that when you are doing it, it is important not to do the exercise “to get rid of stress”. Although this sounds like a contradiction, if we go in with the energy of removing stress, it will get stronger. What this exercise does, is that it allows stress to fully express and spend itself. Stress is a natural reaction from our bodies, mind and emotions that is telling us something is wrong. If we don’t listen to it, or don’t let it tell us what is going on, it gets bigger and louder.
Another way to see it is that the stress is already very big and hurtful, it already exists in your life. Trying to get rid of it, numbing it down, silencing it, has not worked. Now you will let it express itself properly, listen to what is being said and acknowledge it. Really listen and acknowledge it. Once that is done, the stress has done its job and is free to go.
For best results, record the exercise yourself on your phone or other device, and listen to it rather than try to read it while doing it. Or, you can download an audio version: jump to download.
Here we go:
Sit or lie down comfortably with your back straight and your eyes closed.
Breathe in deeply and slowly into your abdomen, then breathe out as fast as you can.
Repeat, breathe in slowly, then out as fast as you can.
And once more, breathe in slowly and slowly, then out fast.
Now continue breathing at your own pace.
Find the stress...
Scan your physical body, mind and energy field from head to toe, to find the energy of stress.
It’s possible that you may find more than one.
Look for the stress. It can be a pressure, a color, a point of light, a pain, a thought form... it can present to you in a variety of ways, so be open to allowing yourself to find it however it presents itself. and wherever it may be as it can appear, for example, in your tummy or in front of your face.
Once you find stress in your body, or around your body simply look at it.
Don’t analyze it, just look at it.
Allow it to be there.
Allow it to exist.
Allow it to grow and to be.
Just look at it.
Observe it.
Feel it.
Allow it to be here.
Allow it to be there...
And say, “stress, you are welcome here.”
Welcome here.
Welcome the stress and allow it to grow.
Let it get bigger and bigger.
Let it get as big as the room you are in. As big as the building you are in. As big as the city you are in.
Allow it to grow, and grow... as big as it can go.
As big as the country you are in.
As big as Earth.
Let it be as big as it can possibly get.
See if it will get as big as the Universe.
Allow it to express itself to you.
But don’t analyze what you perceive.
Simply allow whatever comes to express. Acknowledge those expressions, thank them and release them.
Whether words, thoughts, memories, let them express, thank and release them.
Follow the stress if it changes into another emotion, or changes locations in your body and whatever it does, welcome the new expression: “you are welcome here, thought... you are welcome here emotion, words, memories, you are welcome here stress.”
You are welcome here.
Watch it. Observe it.
Now, allow yourself to get closer and embrace this stress in whatever expression it has chosen.
Give it light and love, and allow it to exist.
Thank it for whatever job it had for you, for being with you for so long. Acknowledge it.
Feel to see if you are ready to let go of it.
Check to see if it is fully expressed and ready to be released.
If the answer is yes, let it go, let it dissolve and transform into light. If the answer is no, acknowledge this fact and continue with the exercise.
Breathe deeply now.
As you breathe in, breathe in light and love. And as you breathe out, allow that light and love to go to and fill the space where the stress used to be. If it is still there, allow the light and love to infuse the stress.
Now, simply breathe deeply and slowly.
Breathing in light and love, and as you breathe out, allow that light and love to expand
throughout your body and out into your environment.
Now, scan your body from your toes to your head and see if there is any of that stress left. If so, repeat the exercise straight away. If not, you can use your list to repeat the exercise, or end now by opening your eyes and having a good stretch.
Repeat this exercise every day until there is no more stress in your life.
Make sure you plan and participate in things that make your heart sing every day. Once you learn this exercise, you can use it quickly and spontaneously whenever you feel stress.
It is important not to psychoanalyze the information you receive while you are doing this exercise. Simply nod your head, acknowledge and thank it for expressing to you, and release it. Your body doesn’t really know the difference between imagination and reality, and playing a stressful scene in your mind over and over, will simply stimulate the stress back again.
IF AT ANY TIME YOU FEEL OVERWHELMED WITH THE EXERCISE OR THE STRESS GROWS PAST YOUR COMFORT ZONE, STOP AND DO THE FOLLOWING:
“I can’t feel anything”
“It’s not doing anything”
“I can’t find the stress in my body”
“Nothing works for me”
These sentences are typical ones that come up in our self care and self growth. When they come up, you will see they have a few things in common. One of them is that they are “absolutes”. These sentences are like full stops in life. I call them “firewalls” and they are easily dealt with with the Firewalls Exercise. The Firewalls Exercise is an excellent companion for the Stress Release Exercise and it is also absolutely free.
Your mind went off into analysis. How to spot it, and how to correct it.
Whenever you start finding reasons or excuses for your stress, and then start going into blaming yourself or others, or trying to understand why you or others did something, you are involved in psychoanalysis and need to stop. Psychoanalysis, or self analysis is a mental health therapy that needs a professional to control it. Don’t do it on your own.
What does “allow it to express” mean?
It means that you allow yourself to feel and experience the energies and feelings fully. What it does not mean is that you go to a person or pet and express your feeling and stress on them with unkindness, or “to get things off your chest”. The second action increases stress not just for you but for the other person or pet too. It feeds it. Don’t do that.
Why am I allowing the stress to grow bigger and bigger? It is already taking over my life.
It feels like the stress will take over and kill me/damage me/overpower me. Whatever. I will get lost in it. Why don’t I allow it to shrink smaller and smaller?
When we diminish or push down on, suppress and deny stress, it becomes stronger. It is like a pressure cooker which, unless it is allowed to release its steam, will eventually explode. When we allow it to grow, we are actually releasing the steam valve. The stress is already that big and powerful, and allowing it to get bigger and bigger will work to express its real size. Eventually it reaches its full expression and is totally spent. Like after releasing the steam valve in the pressure cooker, you can eventually remove the lid safely.