Coping With Stress: This Simple But Powerful Exercise Really Works!

This the first of a 3 part strategy for coping with stress that I teach in Emotional Peace: A Clear Step By Step System for Mastering Your Emotions & Unlocking Your Natural Joy. Click here for details on the upcoming teleseries by the same name. But it’s also a fabulous stand alone exercise that can bring you lots of rewards when done repeatedly and with intention.

I taught this strategy during my free teleseminar last week, “3 Things You Must Do To Gain Control Of Your Emotions In Any Situation.” Click here if you want access to the recording of this powerful free teleseminar.
You will receive it as a gift for signing up for my free ezine, Lovin' Life! If this is the first time you’re hearing about The Releasing Process for coping with stress, get ready for a powerful yet simple technique. If you remember how to do it, great! A refresher course is always helpful when learning new concepts. And at the end of this article, we’re going to take the Releasing Process and multiply it’s effects by adding the 5 Breath Exercise.

Approaching potentially stressful situations with a tense demeanor weakens your ability to respond effectively and lovingly to any situation. You will find that when you do the Releasing Process on a consistent basis, that you’ll feel more and more relaxed, regardless of what’s going on around you, you’ll feel more centered, and have more confidence to handle life.

It’s more effective for coping with stress every time you use it, and if you can remember to do so many times during your day, you will see that you become better and better at it. You will actually experience the increased effectiveness of your mind to influence your body at will with practice. So set yourself some hourly alarms on your computer or your phone, put up post it note, and commit to practicing the releasing process—it doesn’t take very much time, and it’s so worth it!

Now, most people don’t breathe properly, in fact they unconsciously hold their breath and close their eyes to much of their life experience…we wish some things were not the way they are, and that causes us to resist and push away so much of our lives, that we actually push away the good stuff too without realizing it sometimes. First it’s very helpful to know how to breathe deeply and properly when you do the releasing process. Go ahead and try this exercise with me, if you would: put your hand on your stomach, and take a big breath. If your abdomen expands when you inhale, and air seems to flow in deeply to the pit of your stomach, you're on the right track.

When you breathe in this manner, when you exhale, your navel will pull in toward your spine. If you are breathing incorrectly, you’re instead taking a shallow breath and pulling in your stomach, which pushes the diaphragm up, so the air has nowhere to go. So the Releasing Process consists of 3 parts which you basically do simultaneously, and they are “Breathe-Slow Down-and Release.”

So you catch yourself in the middle of whatever you’re doing, bring your attention to your breath, breathe deeply, and notice how when you breathe in, your shoulders and chest rise up, and when you breathe out they naturally relax…and noticing this slows you down. Then, use your mind to consciously tell your body to release the tension it is holding all at once, direct your mental energy toward the tension with the intention of releasing it.

This process is not just a nice little technique that you can use from time to time, although it does serve that purpose for some people. Releasing can be a conscious act of intention and will, a moment of reconnection with Spirit. It’s rich with the potential to transform the rest of your life, as simple as it sounds.

Repeating this cycle throughout your day is really the key to coping with stress most effectively!

Now, if you want to take the Releasing Process one step further, click here to learn the 5 Breath Exercise for coping with stress.