Stress Relief

Hi everyone, and welcome to The Stress Release Exercise. So one way that we can work with stress is simply by slowing down, slowing down the breath, slowing down the body, and most importantly, slowing down the mind. So in this exercise, we will be noticing the different sounds that I have here in these instruments, like the crystal singing bowls, the swinging chime, and the ocean drum. And this allows us to anchor and redirect our focus to something that's more soothing, instead of focusing on all the things that we're stressing about. So when you're ready, inviting you to settle in, and let's begin. (gentle music) Sitting upright while we do a grounding breathing exercise. So coming into an upright position, lengthening the spine, relaxing the shoulders and feeling the weight of the body pressing down into the surface beneath you, and just connecting with the natural rising and falling of the breath. In this breathing exercise, we'll breathe in through the nose, filling the lungs with air, and expanding the belly to the count of three, holding the breath for six, and exhaling out through the mouth to the count of nine. The goal here is to make the exhale longer than the inhale. So if this counting doesn't work for you or it feels uncomfortable in any way, see if you can simply lengthen your exhale, slowing down the breath as much as you can. So let's try this together. Breathing in, two, three, hold, two, three, four, five, six, out, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Again, in two, three, hold, two, three, four, five, six, out, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. If it feels hard to hold your breath, just simply breathe in and out slowly. So I'll let you do this on your own now, continuing at a pace that feels right for you. Again, breathing in for three, holding for six, and exhaling for nine. And on your next exhale, returning the breath back to its natural rhythm, allowing the breath to flow naturally and effortlessly, and noticing how you feel. So for the rest of this practice, we'll be using sound as an anchor to the present moment. While I play my crystal bowls, swinging chimes and ocean drum, the invitation here is to rest your focus on what you can hear hear, following the rhythm of the instruments, the beginning and ending of each sound, and whenever the mind wanders, which it will, just kindly and gently guiding it back to the sounds. Once I'm done, you'll hear the bell and I'll bring you out of your practice. (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) Noticing where your mind is in this moment. Is it here or elsewhere? If it's wandered, just gently and kindly guiding it back to the present moment. (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) Noticing when the mind has gotten distracted, recognizing that this...