Here’s to incorporating inner peace into your daily life. Starting with 1-2 days a week taking baby steps to build this habit to help your body manage stress. It helps to make an appointment for yourself. I get it sometimes other things come first. It’s time to take care of yourself. You can start with 5 to 10 minutes a day. 5 minutes a day can be done during a break from work whether you’re working at an office or at home. Making sure to take breaks every hour and focusing on your inhales and exhales can help train your system to relax. Even during a busy city environment or noisy office environment finding peace can be done. I do suggest either putting your electronics in “do not disturb” mode or leaving them aside for the time you plan to focus on gaining your peace. Find time to step outside to get fresh air, open a window, or get up and walk around. I live in a humid environment and even then it is refreshing to get outside and take a walk if I can even if it’s a quick brisk walk or taking time to look at nature. A quick and useful exercise to do is called box breathing.
- Picture a box or a square
- Inhale for 4 seconds imagine drawing the top part of the box
- Hold your breath for 4 seconds imagine drawing the right side of the box
- Exhale for 4 seconds imagine drawing the bottom part of the box
- Hold your breath for 4 seconds imagine drawing the left side of the box
- Repeat 1 – 5 a few times
When doing this you can either:
- actually, draw a box and follow along with your eyes
- close your eyes and envision the box
- keep your eyes open and do this exercise when you’re among others
Find out what works best for you.
Another way to connect with your breath would be to simply pay attention to your natural inhales and exhales for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Notice the sensation of the air passing through your nose and throat when you inhale and exhale. Use those sensations to keep your focus.
Now you know I must bring yoga into this mix to help find inner peace! A quick pose you can do seated is to:
- bring your palms together in front of your chest
- raise them up
- swing down your right arm, palm down
- place your hand on the chair or ground
- curve your body to the right
- open that top elbow up toward the sky to open your chest (heart center) more
- hold here for 2 rounds (inhale and exhale through the nose) of breath
- Now you do the same on the other side.
- bring your palms together in front of your chest
- raise them up
- swing down your left arm, palm down
- place your hand on the chair or ground
- curve your body to the left
- open that top elbow up toward the sky to open your chest (heart center) more
- hold here for 2 rounds (inhale and exhale through the nose) of breath
You can also keep actively moving side to side (at least 2x on each side). If you are standing, keep your legs together and do the same movements with your arms. You’d keep the lower arm at your side and your palm softly against your leg.
Notice how finding your inner peace has helped you and which you get the most benefit from. You deserve to inhale, exhale, move, and have inner peace.