Picture Perfect Breathing for Fast Stress Relief

If you've experienced one or more traumatic events or you are prone to chronic stress, it’s important to engage in self-care activities including monitoring stress levels and taking steps to neutralize stress before it becomes overwhelming.

In this blogpost and companion podcast episode, you’ll discover a simple, effective breath technique you can use anytime to lower stress and create a sense of relaxation and calm.
Picture Perfect Breathing

Applying Picture Perfect Breathing (PPB) for 60 seconds or more allows mind and body to let go of tension and disempowering thoughts as your brain and body are refreshed and renewed.

With only one to two minutes of Picture Perfect Breathing, you'll be ready to engage in whatever activities are at hand feeling great. Engaging in PPB periodically throughout the day is a great way to maintain a sense of calm and control.

One important item: If you have asthma, COPD, or other breathing or lung problem, please talk with your doctor before doing Picture Perfect Breathing.
Here Are the Steps for Picture Perfect Breathing

• Begin with a yawn, sigh, and stretch. Really give it a good stretch, sigh, and yawn even if you don't feel like yawning.

• Choose a framed picture (preferably a picture of a calming scene), a doorway, or even your computer monitor or laptop screen. You'll be using the corners of your focus object and moving from corner to corner as you breathe.

• Allow your gaze to focus on the lower left corner of your focus object. Allow a gentle, unstrained focus. As you gaze at the lower left corner, inhale for the count of 5, which represents about 5 seconds.

• Gently hold your breath as you shift your gaze to the upper left corner of your focus object and count to 5.

• Shift your gaze to the upper right corner of your focus object and exhale gently through pursed lips for the count of 5.

• Shift your gaze to the lower right corner of your focus object as you relax into the empty breath sensation for the count of 5. If you feel an urge to breathe before reaching 5, go ahead and do so. With just a few times through the process, you will likely feel comfortable mindfully allowing the empty breath sensation to simply be for the count of 5.

Take one or more normal breaths. and then repeat the process for a total of 3 to 5 cycles. Each cycle will take about 20 seconds (5 seconds at each of the 4 corners), so 3 cycles will take about a minute.

Finish with another good yawn, sigh, and stretch and then return to your activities refreshed and rejuvenated.
Guided Picture Perfect Breathing Experience

PPB was the featured technique in the episode linked below of the, "Easy Stress Cures" podcast. Simply click the white triangle on the podcast player below, listen to the episode, and experience the positive mind and body benefits waiting for you.

For more "Easy Stress Cures" podcast episodes visit the, “Mind Over Stress Show” website at http://MindOverStress.us. 

To learn about Stress Solutions, LLC and how to apply Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to dissolve stress and create empowering beliefs and a happier, more successful life, visit, https://www.EFT-MD.com.

How to Change a Painful Memory With a Simple NLP Technique

Can you change the way a painful incident is remembered?

You may be surprised to learn our memories are not fixed. 

As a matter of fact, many of our memories are far from accurate. As an example, ask a sibling or friend to recall an incident where you both were present. Chances are your sibling or friend's "story" has significant differences from the one you remember. You may even wonder if you're talking about the same incident.

This can be a big problem in our criminal justice system. Ask five eye witnesses to a crime what happened and you'll get seven different versions of the event.

Our Memories Aren't Fixed

To make matters worse, our own memory of a given event can change over time. Memories aren't photographs or video files. We may recall only a scant few bits and pieces of a past event. The brain fills in the rest to flesh out the memory.

There is a good news piece to this story. You can usually consciously change how you recall a given experience. If the experience was painful, you can adjust how the experience is rendered in mind in such a way as to lesson and often dissolve the emotional reaction.

NLP to the Rescue 

One tool for helping change how we represent and experience memories is a method called Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. 

In the episode (click player) linked below of the, "Mind Over Stress" podcast, I take you through step by step a short NLP process to literally change how your brain represents a problem memory.

Important Disclaimer!

One important caveat: This technique is offered for informational purposes only. It is not intended to treat or prevent any medical or psychological condition. If you choose to try this technique, you agree to take full, complete, and sole responsibility for your own psychological, emotional, and physical wellbeing. Always consult your medical doctor or appropriate licensed therapist for all issues of concern.

Assuming you're keen to learn and apply the NLP technique, click the player below and follow the simple steps shared in the audio podcast.

Stephen Carter | CEO, Stress Solutions, LLC | https://www.EFT-MD.com | "Mind Over Stress" Podcast website: www.MindOverStress.us

Direct link to player if you don't see one immediately below. 
https://radiopublic.com/mind-over-stress-WDJEJ7/ep/s1!759a5

How to Use a Simple Tapping Protocol for Emotional First Aid

The more we pay attention to negative events, the more our nervous systems experience a rising baseline of chronic stress that seems to be always present. Chronic stress can negatively affect our emotional and physical well-being in multiple ways.

At the time this post is being written, just a couple of days ago our Elliott City, Maryland community suffered a devastating flood in the old section of the City. At least two people are dead, people lost homes, and businesses suffered millions upon millions of dollars in losses. It's not clear how many months it will take to clean up the devastation and begin rebuilding.

When turning on our televisions or reading news, we see daily reports about terrorist killings. In major cities across the U.S., gang and drug violence are major contributors to the deaths of about 90 people every day. 

All of these events are contributing to a growing sense of high anxiety and stress for many. For many,
feelings of safety continue to erode with each passing day.

Emotional First Aid

There are countless ways of self managing stress: meditation, self-hypnosis, meridian tapping, exercise, Qigong, the Sedona Method, and many other approaches have all shown stress reducing effects in many people.

If you already have experience with a method you like, but haven't been using regularly, I suggest returning to that practice and use it daily. 

Trauma Tapping Technique

If you would like to try a simple, easily applied method for tension and stress release, I suggest using Trauma Tapping Technique, or TTT.

Two Swedish international aid workers, Gunilla Hamne and Ulf Sandstrom, developed this simple tapping protocol that has helped tens of thousands of people across India, Africa, Pakistan, Canada, the U.S., and other regions. 

The beauty of TTT is its simplicity and effectiveness for many people, including people who experienced horrific trauma in Rwanda, the Congo, Chad, Kosovo, and multiple other countries. This is a totally non-verbal technique. There is no need to talk about the experience or (for those of you who use EFT) to voice any affirmation.

TTT IS NOT a substitute for psychological therapy or medical treatment. It is a simple, easy to apply, emotional first aid technique that can calm mind and body in ways that dissolve stress and create a sense of emotional and physical well-being. It is a self-regulation technique that takes only a couple of minutes to use.

How to Do TTT

You'll find a short video below demonstrating TTT. I suggest watching it once and then watching it a second time and follow along through the tapping sequence.

Before starting, I suggest getting a sense of your beginning stress level on a "0" to "10" scale ("10" being the highest level of stress you can imagine with "0" being no stress).

After tapping through the TTT sequence (see the video demonstration for one complete sequence), do another stress level assessment. You'll likely notice a marked decrease. If any sense of stress remains, go through the sequence a second time.

To learn more about the Peaceful Heart Network led by Gunnilla and Ulf, visit  www.PeacefulHeart.se. You'll find instructional videos, information about their wonderful work, a 1-page guide for TTT, and much more on their website.

You can experience TTT for yourself by tapping along in this YouTube video:

For more information about Meridian Tapping and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) for Stress Mastery, visit us at www.EFT-MD.Com. 

Blessings,

Steve Carter

Stress Solutions, LLC | www.EFT-MD.com |