Stressbusting the mindfulness way

Stress has climbed to its highest rate in 16 years, according the latest batch of statistics published by the Health and Safety Executive. This data, released on 1 November 2017, comes from the annual Labour Force Survey, produced by the Office of National Statistics. In addition, there has been an 108.5% increase on the 31million antidepressants which pharmacies dispensed in 2006 to 2016. What’s causing this? Clearly, something is going profoundly wrong in our society.

Our society (that’s you) now faces low but chronic episodes of stress related, almost threat saturated events that occur relentlessly, day by day. Our society is not geared up to reduce stress, but to increase, layer upon layer, the stress, pressure and anxiety we experience: modern urban living is turning us into pressure cookers and we need to find the valve(s) that stops us running headlong into burnout.

But it does have to be this way. Here’s one easy-to-do mindfulness based stressbusting technique:

1. Take a cushion and lay it on your living room floor
2. Take off you shoes and if you need to, cover yourself in a blanket (if you need to, play calming spa type music or-better still Brian Eno’s Thursday Afternoon album)
3. Set a timer for 15 minutes
4. Lie down on the floor with your head on the cushion
5. Close your eyes
6. Breathe
7. Breathe in to the count of 3 or 4
8. Breathe out to the count of 3 or 4
9. Do 3 rounds of this; really feel your breath now in the belly-if you need to, take the palms of your hands and experience your hands rising and falling as your belly does
10. Let go of the counting and go back to your normal breathing
11. If thoughts arise (and they will) take your attention to the breath
12. Take your attention to the 10 touchpoints where your body touches the floor: ankles, calves, back of the thighs, buttocks, lower back, upper back, shoulders, hands (let your hands splay out) arms, back of the head; see if you can get a sustained felt sense of these touchpoints, how they are, any sensations, temperature?
13. If thoughts arise (and they will) take your attention to the breath and the touchpoints
14. On the outbreath, notice what happens to the body, in the body
15. Now do nothing. Allow yourself to sink into the floor. Wait for the timer to go
16. Gently stand up

This adaption of the mindfulness bodyscan allows the body to come to rest; it encourages (and it will get better with practice) the relaxation response to activate in the body, alleviating stress and restoring the body’s deep resilience.