Today is National Stress Awareness Day. Yay! I feel like celebrating because bringing attention to how to handle stress is what I do everyday. Nearly 95% of disease is caused by stress so it’s super important to know how to handle it.

Here are 3 strategies for you and the kids:

1. Name it to tame it.

I’ve taught this for years. Knowing your feelings is critical to making sure they don’t go wild! Teach kids and model the four basic feelings: happy, sad, mad and calm.

2. Feel it to free it.

Once you name your feeling, allow yourself to feel it. We often try to resist negative feelings, but this effort only makes them bigger. Instead, embrace the feeling as if it were a loving friend. Listen to it, and ironically, that frees it.

3. Now flip it! Flip it good!

Once a feeling is fully felt, it can be released. This is why we like going upside-down in yoga. We can apply that idea to our thoughts too. The key word is “even though.” Even though I feel sad right now, I know it’s temporary and I will feel glad again. Then, direct your focus to a more positive thought. 

This mindfulness exercise takes practice. Join me for a class or a training and I’ll show you how.

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