Easy First Aid for Stress and Anxiety

1) Lie on your back on the floor and put your legs up against the wall. Breathe into your body and focus your attention on the parts of your body that feel calm.

2) Twenty deep breaths. Breath into your belly and into your chest and let your breath fall out.

3) Focused breathing: Breathe in and place your attention above your head, breathe out and place your attention below your feet. Repeat for a minimum of twenty breaths.

4) Head massage. Give yourself a firm head massage starting at you forehead and working your way to the top of your head and down to your neck and shoulders.

5) Walk barefoot on the grass and feel all of the sensations in your feet. Keep your full attention on your feet for ten minutes.

6) Do a full body shake to shake off your stress. Put on some drumming music and go for it!

7) Soft tummy, loose jaw, relaxed shoulders. Let go of any stress/tension you might be holding in your tummy, jaw, and shoulders by consciously relaxing the muscles. Do a full body scan and identify other areas where you might be holding tension and consciously let it go, be aware of your breath as you do it. Breathe deep!

8) Look directly ahead and relax your eyeballs. Become aware of what you can see with your peripheral vision. Become aware of how relaxing that is in the rest of your body!

9) Go and smell 10 things. Coffee, an orange, a rose, a shampoo bottle, essential oils, freshly mown grass, cloves, eucalyptus leaves, old books, vanilla essence, herbal tea, vinegar, cinnamon or anything in your home.

10) Write about ten things you are grateful for. Spend some time feeling gratitude for all that you have.