Help!!

​"What do I do when I'm stressed out?"
"I'm trying to meditate at home, but it's not helping!"
"What can I do when I'm just out of sorts?"

People ask me questions like these nearly every day, here are some of the things I recommend (on top of your regular meditation practice, and if you don't have one, check out my resources page). 
Try one or two and see how it goes! Don't expect any of these to get rid of your feelings (because that's not the goal!) or stop a full-blown freak out in its tracks, but you may find that they shift your stress level down a notch or two.

Is there something that works for you? Please share it in the comments!

Body Scan. Stop and notice, how you feel? Scan your body, noticing how you actually feel right now. Do this as tenderly and lovingly as possible. Use my body scan audio practice found here, second audio link from the top.

Hold your feelings. Imagine turning toward your emotion, name it, and hold it like a baby. Try putting a hand on your heart and another on your belly, comfort the feeling, talk to it lovingly.

ETS and/or Rescue Remedy: flower essence solution to help you come to center even during physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual stress and trauma. ETS is available at Perelandra-ltd.com, Rescue Remedy can be purchased online and also locally at Martindale’s, and Whole Foods.

Ujjayi breathing: This simple breathing practice calms to release tension and stress and increase awareness. Learn how to use the breath here.
​
Daybook: Get a book with daily readings or day-by-day calendar so you have a daily reminder. Some good ones include: Mark Nepo’s The Book of Awakening, Noah Rasheta’s The Five-Minute Mindfulness Journal, Ming-Dao Deng’s 365 Tao, and the Zen Page-A-Day calendar.
​
Svaroopa Magic Four: Embodiment is an essential part of inner work! Practice Svaroopa’s simple and deep magic four yoga postures to ground yourself in your body, release tension, and practice being present.

Go outside: Take a walk, rest your bare feet on the ground, work in the garden, sit and listen to the birds, look at a tree in your yard, watch some bugs doing their thing. Even in cold or rainy weather, it can be wonderful to take time outside, but when that feels hard you can even look out the window.

Take a grounding bath: Add a handful of sea salt or epsom salts to your bath and soak in them.

Practice Loving Kindness: Do a formal or informal loving kindness for yourself, someone you’re worried about, all living beings (more information in this article by Sharon Salzburg).

Practice gratitude: Notice 5 things you feel grateful for and write them down each day for a week. Or try writing 5 positive things you notice about yourself, your child, a colleague.

---