How to Relieve Stress at Work

Lately, there's been lots of talk about anxiety and stress lately. (Gee, the holidays aren't approaching, are they?)

First there was the Today piece about why we're such a nervous nation, which zipped all over the blog and Twitter-sphere and generated hundreds of comments and retweets. (And here are some ways this Inadvertent Yogini suggested yoga might help). Apartment Therapy posted tips to steal for how to get a good night's rest. And there's been all sorts of talk about stress at work and while traveling. To that end, here are a few tips you can implement at the office.

Three Things You Can Do at Work to Relieve Stress:

1. BREATHE.
Yes, it sounds simple, but it really works. Here's why: When we become stressed, the sympathetic nervous system is activated (the good ol' fight or flight response), which was helpful back in the days of eluding saber toothed tigers, but in 2012 when the figurative banshee is your boss, it's actually harmful to the body-brain complex. Breath shortens and quickens, heartrate accelerates, and a series of other physiological responses occur. The bottom line is, you can't do your best strategic thinking in this state and prolonged experience can actually decrease the body's immunity. The act of taking a long, slow, deep breath brings you out of that fight or flight response and calms your brain.

You can also try one of these yoga breathwork practices for anxiety:
Extended-exhale breathwork. Breathe in for a count of 4 and extend the exhale for a count
of 5, 6, or 7...even 8. (Just make sure you aren't getting anxious about not having enough air. Stick to a lower-count exhale at first.) OR make a "mudra" with your right hand: Thumb over your right nostril, two middle fingers over your left nostril. Block the right nostril with your thumb and
breathe in ONLY through the left nostril for a count of 4. Block the left and exhale only out just the right for an extended count of 5, 6, or 7. Repeat for 10 rounds. This stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system and triggers the relax-rest-digest response.

2. Walk--around your floor or outside, around the building if possible.
Similar to #1, the act of getting away from your desk, the email, or the person who is stressing you out will bring you out of the fight or flight stress mode that you automatically clicked into. With that distance, you can gain the perspective to better deal with the situation.

3. Stretch.
The jaw, neck, and shoulders are the first places in your body to hold and accumulate stress. When you're stressed, you clench the jaw and tense up in the neck-shoulders area. Here are two simple yoga tools you can use to help. If you're in a meeting and can't do something obvious, try utilizing the "fire point": Press the tip of your tongue to the little mound right behind your top two front teeth. You'll feel your jaw relax and your whole face melt and your shoulders drop.

If you're at your desk and CAN do something more obvious, try modified Eagle Pose: Bring the arms in front of you at a 90-degree angle, elbows at shoulder-height. If this is enough of a stretch for the shoulders/upper back, stay here. If you need more of s stretch, drop the left elbow below the right and twine the forearms, pressing the back of the palms together. The key to releasing the upper back muscles is to keep the elbows lifted--equal height to the shoulders--and the shoulders as relaxed and low as possible. Take a few deep breaths and switch sides.

Voila! Feeling better already aren't ya? AREN'T YA?!