Hunched over my computer at work, I feel my muscles tense up and a burning sensation between my shoulder blades. I’ve worked through lunch, there’s a meeting in fifteen minutes, and I feel like I’m being chased by a powerful locomotive.
With our days crammed full of external demands, distractions, and commotion, too many of us are caught up in workplace stress to the detriment of our emotional and physical well-being. The World Health Organization calls it the number one health problem in the United States.
Yet we now know that the simple practice of mindfulness can relieve stress, bring us back to ourselves, improve our health, and clear our minds, helping us work more effectively, live more harmoniously (Dreher, 2015; Kabat-Zinn, 2013).
My morning mindfulness meditation helps me begin the day in a quiet space of peace. But I can still get thrown off track during a busy work day. Now I’ve found a way to push the “reset” button back to mindfulness with a new tool: the subversive, simple practice to “just BE.”
It works like this:
- Breathe—take a slow, deep breath, and gradually release it.
- Experience—ask yourself, “What am I feeling right now?”
Then return to your work, more mindful and centered.
You can use this tool anywhere, any time—in meetings, commuting, working at the computer–to help you respond more mindfully and make wiser decisions. So the next time you find yourself caught up in workplace stress, remember to take a deep breath and “just BE.”
Namaste,
Diane
References:
Dreher, D. E. (2015). Leading with Compassion: A Moral Compass for Our Time. In T. G. Plante (Ed.). The Psychology of Compassion and Cruelty: Understanding the Emotional, Spiritual, and Religious Influences (pp. 73-87). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2013). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. New York, NY: Bantam.