When we are stressed our bodies go on alert and hold on to tension and fatigue. I have researched many ways to help me to relax and de-stress and I found three simple techniques that really helped me, and I hope they help you too.

De-stressor No 1 – Body Attention

Martial arts and yoga practitioners know that where you focus your attention in the body has a big effect on how you feel. It is known as centering and this is how you do it:

• start by standing up in a relaxed fashion, with your feet parallel and about shoulder width apart
• place one of your hands over your stomach so that the index finger is directly over your navel, now look down to where your ring finger is resting and imagine a point at that level right in the middle of your body. In the martial arts traditions this is the centre of power in your body and is known as the tan-tien in the Chinese tradition.
• relax your eyes and let your eyes soften and go into peripheral vision
• allow your body to relax, and make sure your knees aren’t locked
• keep your attention focused on that central point inside your body and continue to breathe easily and naturally – don’t force it
• notice where you are holding tension in your body and just calmly direct your attention to that point and keep breathing.

This level of focus on your body will help you to block out worry, panic and fear. It is also very useful to practice if you suffer from anxiety or panic attacks. You can use it anywhere because the point is in the focus inside the body, you don’t have to be standing still or sitting, Just allow your attention to go 100% to that spot and breathe naturally and easily to help you relax.

De-stressor No 2 – Forming a protective shield

If things seem to be just too much for you to cope with and the thought of coping with just one more thing is unbearable, then this technique can be helpful to distance you from the confusion and chaos that goes on in the outside world. It might seem a little strange, but it does work, so try this:

• imagine that you are sitting in the centre of a clear bubble which is acting as a protective shield between you and the outside world.
• the bubble is transparent so you can see what is going on, but it is also very, very strong so that everything stressful that happens outside just bounces off and away from you.
• as you are safe inside this bubble you are able to stay calm, and relaxed. In fact, the more stressful it is outside, the calmer you are inside.

This exercise works because your unconscious mind doesn’t distinguish between imagination and ‘reality’. This means that if you imagine you are shielded from stress, you will feel exactly as if you are being shielded and protected from it.

If you have to do any public speaking and are feeling nervous, this is also a great technique to heop with that. Just extend the bubble to cover the whole room and let yourself know that nothing outside can get in to disturb your concentration or upset your presentation.

De-stressor No 3 – Become detached

Sometimes in emotionally fraught situations, or if there is an argument or disagreement that is upsetting you, it can be helpful to use this very simple technique to detach or distance yourself from what is going on.

It helps you get a clearer perspective and stay calm by literally allowing yourself to detach and float above the situation. Here’s how it works:

• imagine that you are floating up and out of your body, higher and higher, as far up as you feel comfortable and where you are able to look down on yourself.
• what you will notice is that the higher up you float, the more detached and calm you will feel.
• stay ‘above’ the situation until you feel comfortable enough to gently come back down to earth and releasde yourself fully into the moment.

These are three simple techniques that you can try anytime. I hope they are as effective for you as they have been for me in dealing with stress.