Ten Daily Stress Reduction Tips
1. Be present with whatever you are doing and whomever you are with.
2. Add something beautiful to your life on a daily basis (e.g., flowers).
3. Do some enjoyable activities whenever possible.
4. Walk, work, and eat at a relaxed pace.
5. Take a short break after meals to relax.
6. If possible, go outside at least once per day and notice the simple things such as the weather, scenery, etc.
7. During the day, whenever you remember, notice and tension in your body (jaw, neck, diaphragm, shoulders, etc.). Breathe deeply and gently stretch and relax any tense areas.
8. If you notice your mind racing or worrying about the past or future, take a minute to breathe deeply and gently focus on something in the moment such as your breath, scenery, birds. Try an emotional shift.
9. Wear comfortable and loose clothing when possible. Take off your shoes when you can.
10. Avoid holding in feelings day after day, but instead, find a safe place to feel, express and embrace them.
From the center for Spirituality & Healing, University of Minnesota
http://www.csh.umn.edu/
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The Quick Coherence® Technique:
The Quick Coherence Technique helps you release stress, overcome negative emotions and thoughts and feel better fast.
• Coherence means being in sync. When you are in sync you perform at your best — it’s what athletes call being in the zone. You feel  more confident, positive, focused, and calm yet energized.
• When the brain and heart are out of sync, the signals in the nervous system are chaotic. It’s like driving a car with one foot on the gas pedal and the other on the brake. That makes a jerky ride; burns up more gas and wears out the car quicker. When our heart and brain are out of sync, we tend to more easily feel frustrated, anxious or angry.
The Steps of Quick Coherence
1. Heart Focus - Shift your attention to the area of the heart, or the center of your chest.
If you don’t understand how, try this: Focus on your right big toe and wiggle it. Now focus on your right elbow. Now gently focus in the center of your chest, the area of your heart. If you lose focus, just keep shifting your attention back to the area of your heart. Now you’re ready for the next step, Heart Breathing.
2. Heart Breathing
Breathe slow and deeply. Imagine the air entering and leaving through the heart area, or the center of your chest.
Heart Breathing helps you begin to get in sync and draws the energy out of the head, where negative thoughts and feelings are amplified. This helps neutralize stressful feelings. If it’s hard to disengage from stressful feelings, don’t worry. Just really wanting to disengage can help you release a lot of emotional energy.
3. Heart Feeling
Remember a time when you felt good inside, and try to re-experience that feeling. Focus on this good feeling as you continue to breathe through the area of your heart. (This could be a feeling of appreciation toward a special person or a pet, a place you enjoy, or an activity that was fun.)
This is the key step to getting and staying in sync. Many people find that when they experience positive feelings like care, love, or appreciation while breathing through the heart area, they immediately feel and think better. Holding a positive feeling makes it easier to stay in sync for longer periods of time, so that it becomes easier to remain calm and balanced even in tough times.
With the Quick Coherence technique, it takes only a minute to get in sync and reduce stress right in the moment. It takes some practice, but it’s way worth it.
You can do Quick Coherence anytime, anyplace and no one knows you are doing it.
www.heartmath.org
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