Everything is a question of perception!
‘’When you change your mind about stress, you can change your body’s response to stress!’’
-Kelly McGonigal, Health Psychologist
The idea of choosing the lens through which we see our surroundings is a known concept. I like to suggest to my clients, in a private consultation, to imagine themselves in the morning after waking up and taking the time to choose the color of the glasses they wish to wear on that day. The angle with which we decide to look at a situation influences directly our thoughts and reactions. It also has a positive impact on our adaptability to stress.
You believe stress is negative and unhealthy? Don’t be fooled.
If you tell yourself that stress is good for you, you will change your physical and physiological reaction to stress.
In a TED talk, psychologist Kelly McGonigal admits in humble fashion that for over 10 years, she informed her patients that stress was detrimental for health, when actually, the link between the two isn’t as simple and direct. A very interesting study showed that our perception is what induces the negative aspect of stress, so changing our outlook of it could benefit our health.
But what exactly is stress?
Stress is a response from our organism to a potential threat. The organism always and will always have the same objective, which is to maintain homeostasis. By considering this notion of homeostasis or balance and by shifting our perception of stress, we change our stress and make it go from enemy to ally!
Now imagine all the benefits a simple change of perspective could have on your health. In theory, this principle is pretty simple. But it remains that it’s harder to apply it to our daily life.
The power of the breath!
In order to change our perspective of stress, we need to be able to take a step back. But how can we do that? Breathing can play an interesting role when trying to change our perception of stress. Why? Have you ever noticed that in a stressful situation, our breathing becomes short and shallow? This would mean that breathing deeply would trigger an opposite reaction, right? And since breathing is a conscious mechanism, it is possible to change the nature of our breathing at any time. We have control over this.
Test it in the next few days… When you feel stressed out, slow your breathing. Inhale and exhale for longer than usual. Even better, start a practice of cardiac coherence by remembering the number 365. You have to practice this exercise three times a day, for 5 minutes at a time, by breathing 6 times each minute. Here is a small breathing guide to ease yourself in this practice. http://www.zenetcie.ca/en/?coherence
You would like to help your work team to understand stress and incorporate new daily practices to better manage stress and stopping feeling overwhelmed? Contact us to see how we could assist you in your company.
Julie Banville, Founder of ZEN&CIE
Info@zenetcie.ca / 514-277-7905
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