Holidays leave you feeling wiped out? Boost your Inner Ease in 1 minute.

     How'd your holidays go?  Did you plan ahead enough to get all the rest and restoration possible in a holiday vacation?  Did you get good, quality family time or did it just add to the stress of the holiday season?  I hope you didn't get caught in any pre-holiday shopping mall stampede- those will shoot up anyone's blood pressure.  Hopefully you didn't cave at the sight of mini cheesecake bites and chocolate cookies like yours truly did.

     Well, either way that's all behind us (and maybe the behind's a little bigger) and on to a new year.  New possibilities, new hopes, new plans.  New opportunities to rise above challenges and make the most of the year, the most of our life.

     At the center of my stress reduction protocols are biofeedback and other HeartMath techniques.  Here's a simple technique (though it might not easy in the midst of high stress) to build yourself up with positive energy in order to face the challenges with more poise, resilience and positive demeanor.

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Tool: Inner Ease™ Technique

• 1.  Acknowledge your feelings as soon as you sense that you are out of sync or engaged in common stressors - feelings such as frustration, impatience, anxiety, overload, anger, being judgmental, mentally gridlocked, etc.
  
  

• 2.  Take a short time out and do heart-focused breathing: breathe a little slower than usual; pretend you are breathing through your heart or chest area.
  
  

• 3.  During the heart-focused breathing, imagine that with each breath that you are drawing in a feeling of Inner Ease and infusing your mental and emotional nature with balance and self-care from your heart.
  
  

• 4.  When stressful feelings have calmed, affirm with a heartfelt commitment that you want to anchor and maintain the state of ease as you re-engage in your projects, challenges or daily interactions.

Bring this feeling to your daily commute, and while interacting with clients, co-workers, the boss and family.

     This technique can be done anywhere, at any time.  It cuts right through stress and allows for a whole variety of responses besides just "freak out mode."  Here's a short video by Howard Martin, one of the founders of HeartMath, explaining its use in the workplace for managing expectations either brought on by yourself or others.

     Here's to a peaceful, stress-free 2013.  If you'd like more tools and support in overcoming stress, I'm only a phone call away.

To your good health,

Read on:
Stress vs. Well-being: How do you measure up?
Financial Stress: its effects and what you can do about it
Schedule your HeartMath biofeedback session today