Stress Class update

I had meant to share my experience with my Stress Reduction Class each week, but found that the homework and the learning to live in the moment was harder for me than I thought it would be...who knew...grin...

I've learned breathing techniques to relax and I do take about 15 minutes each day to do this and I find that if I do it over my lunch break, then I have more energy and seem refreshed enough to finish the day...

The body scan...which is basically taking the time to think about your toes to your head and everything in between...it's a form of relaxation that takes about 30 minutes, so I don't always have time for that, but I do find that if I'm having an extremely stressful day, I can take a few minutes to do a quick version and it still helps calm me down...and this has made me so much more aware of where I carry my stress (shoulders and neck) and that has helped me calm myself down a lot faster...because it makes me aware of the stress and as soon as you become aware of the stress then you can do something about it...

Last week they gave us a poem to read and I have to say, this poem made me stop and think about the way I have lived my life...and I have noticed a big change in myself since getting a copy of this poem...I don't know why this poem has had this affect on me, but here it is:

Autobiography in Five Chapters
by: Portia Nelson

1) I walk down the street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in
I am lost...I am hopeless...
It isn't my fault
It takes forever to find a way out

2) I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I pretend I don't see it
I fall in again
I can't believe I'm in the same place
But it isn't my fault
It still takes a long time to get out

3) I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I see it is there
I still fall in...it's a habit
I know where I am
It is my fault
I get out immediately

4) I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I walk around it

5) I walk down another street


This made me think about all the times I handled my stress and other things in my life the same way and obviously with panic attacks and heart palpitations, I was handling them the wrong way...over and over again the wrong way...Okay, they tell us that there is no right or wrong, so I will say that over and over again I handled my stress and other things in my life in a way that wasn't so good for me...and changing this has actually made me happier...

Hugs...