How to Relax and Find Ease This Year

Few among us will doubt that the pandemic has been the biggest stressor for all of us, for all kinds of reasons. It is a little surprise to hear people from all walks of life, men and women of all ages, color, and creed are feeling anxious and at a loss of how to adjust to the new normal. At times like these with an overdose of stress, it’s most important that we prioritize self-care and find calm amidst the storm. It seems Britain's popular wartime slogan "Keep Calm, Carry On" holds more juice than ever.

How To Find Balance, Poise And Peace Now

Breathe For Balance

Ah, that's eas you sayy right? Do this with me. Breathe in for a count of four - 1,2,3,4. Hold your breath for another 1,2,3,4, then breathe out for a count of six - 1,2,3,4,5,6 (or a little longer), and again hold 1,2,3,4.

Do this for no longer than a minute if you're a beginner. How you breathe can change the state you are in. It can take you from anxious to peaceful, from jittery to calm in minutes. This is a scientifically-based proven fact. It all started in India thousands of years ago, and we're just beginning to understand the huge benefits of breathing.

Use breathing as a tool to calm your mind. Make this a daily practice. Try the above breathing technique or a similar one called box breathing. Here you breathe in for a count of four - 1,2,3,4. Hold your breath for another 1,2,3,4, then breathe out for four - 1,2,3,4, and then hold again 1,2,3,4.

Eye Massage

Ever noticed how stress shows in your eyes and the surrounding areas? Everyday stress can cause fine lines and eye bags. And it's not just stress - staring at laptops, phones, tablets, and television all day causes significant eye strain - resulting in puffy eyes and dark circles.

Get an eye massager to give your eyes the TLC it needs. After working overtime it needs a soothing session. Use the eye massager to soften your eyes and the surrounding areas with a gentle shiatsu-style compression massage. This could be part of your meditation practice.

Unwind and relax. Disconnect from your to-do lists and soften your muscles. Put on the eye massager headset and relax to the gentle massage and the calming music. Do this 4-5 times a week before retiring to bed.

Be Mindful. Meditate

This is the best tool known to mankind to find inner peace, calm, poise, and feel grounded. 'Meditation' and 'mindfulness' are not modern fads. This is an age-old tool for peace and empowerment. From Tony Robbins to Oprah Winfrey, LeBron James to Cameron Diaz and millions in between have found their peace with this powerful ancient tool. If you've never tried meditation, you can start with apps like Calm and Headspace. You can also get free meditation with the amazing Tara Brach - an American psychologist, author, and mindfulness teacher. It’s probably best not to learn how to meditate from a blog :). Get a teacher, guru or use one of the apps mentioned above.

Just do these three things for a week, and you'll see an amazing transformation starting to happen.