Do you ever feel stressed out and like you can’t find a way to relax after a tense moment? What if you could stop the stress as it’s happening? In this episode we introduce a few techniques that we’ve learned from Karla’s coaching education and one of Natalie’s favorite yoga teachers that help you to reduce the effects of stress on your body by lowering your adrenaline levels, evening out your breath, and giving your mind something else to focus on.
Key Takeaways:
Positive Intelligence reps or PQ reps, is a way to bring you back to the present moment by bringing your attention to any of your five senses. In turn this helps your brain to stop negative thought patterns by focusing elsewhere.
This can be anything from rubbing your thumb and forefinger together and really feeling the sensation or really feeling the water temperature when you’re washing your hands.
Resonance (or resonant) breathing is a technique that uses slowing down your inhales and exhales to about 5-7 breaths per minute (we usually take about double that amount). This can switch your body from using your sympathetic nervous system or your ‘fight or flight’ state to using your parasympathetic nervous system, otherwise known as your relaxation state.
Focusing on this technique of taking slower inhales and exhales (counting to 5-7 seconds on your inhales, pausing, and taking 5-7 second exhales) can lower your blood pressure, stress levels, heart rate, and is a great way to quickly relax your body
Sources:
PQ Reps ; Resonance Breathing Study ; Schuyler Grant clip about resonant breathing
