This document provides 5 quick ways to take a break during a busy day: 1) go for a walk outside, 2) stretch your body to relax muscles, 3) call a friend for some social interaction, 4) visit the Headspace website for mini meditation sessions, and 5) take time to just be happy, well, and present through mindfulness.
I don’t know about you, but I so often forget to give myself the permission to relax…to take a break…. And the result is never good. I so often find myself with a knot in my stomach by mid afternoon…feeling a little short of breath sometimes…with the weight of the world on my shoulders. Isometimes the people around me are unaware of this…other times, they are very aware!
Some days I pile so much work into my day, that come the evening I’m no good to anyone….I’m tired, wired…..and a little ‘absent.
Taking 5 during our day allows us to be more present in what we are doing more productive , more at peace with those around us, and mst importantly we get a sense of calm within us.
This is so powerful…moving your body, removing yourself from your work space, getting the blood flowing and your lungs sucking in more air! If it’s not raining, take it outside….get some vitamin d, look around, observe the sounds and what you see without judgement or feeling like you need to do or say anything. Just be.
If the weather is horrible or you work in an office building that takes a long time to get up and down to your floor, then just take a walk around your office space….eve a few minutes is going to have a good effect on how you feel…..the break in the circuit and the acknowledgement that you are doing something for yourself will also help your oeverall feeling of calm.
Sometimes at work it’s a little difficult to stretch the way we might at home…downward dog and happy baby are not something I would recomened anyone…. But here are a few simple stretches you can do while still at your desk. Or my favourite is in the bathroom…reach up to the wall, or the door of the toiled and stretch your arms up and fold forward from your waist…you should feel the stretch right down your arms, back, hips and hamstrings.
This allows us to feel more relaxed, reduces tension headaches and helps provenet sore backs.
Call your Mum…call a friend….you don’t need a reason to call…just say you were taking a 5 minute break and thought it would be nice to say hi!
You canuse the call to get something of your chest….or just ask them how their day is going, take the focus off you! Hopefully you’ll have a giggle, get out of yourself for a few minutes, and not only will you benefit but the lucky person who got your call is going to feel a bit special that you chose them to call in the middle of your busy day!
Being conscious of our breathing throughout the day is not always possible…we get so caught up in what we’re doing that we may not realise how short, and shallow our breathing has become (this is to do with the anxiety and tension we are building up, and our primitive instincts kick in….we are preparing for flight or fight….).
SO during your day, make a conscious effort to focus on your breathing.
Exhaling is just as important as inhaling…so focus on deep, slow breaths in and fully exhale letting all your stress and tension go with it. Try 5 of these breaths, wherever you are.
I find this really helps calm and center me, and gives me the ability to recos on what I’m meant to be doing.
This is 10 minutes. Yes, it’s twice the time of the other 4 Take 5’s…..but I cannot impart this more strongly than this has the power to literally change the rest of your day (I’m pretty sure it carries into the next day too sometimes.
There are about 5 days this year that stand out as being on their way to being horrible…I ws stressed, couldn’t focus, couldn’t stop procrastinating, and felt like I was madly trying to get EVERYTHING done…and achieving little. I was getting grouchy with my partner and the cats…and the birds….and the plane that rudely flew past our house…..so….. On those days, and most other days in my working week, I sat on the couch in my office with this very simple but very powerful, meditation ap called Headspace. If you have enver meditated before or you have lots of experience, this is a wonderful tool to allow you to relax your mind and then come back into consciousness with a renwed energy and clarity.
If you work in an office, you can hopefully find a quiet space to sit with your headphones on….you coul sit in your car…..or you could do this before work in the morning.
