How to Be Less Stressed at Work: 7 Important Tips

Stress is something that we as humans are bound to encounter in our daily lives. One of the main factors that is probably causing your stress is work. So what exactly is stress and more importantly, how can you be less stressed at work?

Discover How to Be Less Stressed at Work

Stress is mental or emotional suspense that is produced from arduous situations. Our ability to decide one impression over another is the unparalleled competence in opposition to stress. Seven techniques that will help you become less stressed so you can perform your job to the best of your ability are breath work, yoga, meditation, earthing, sensory deprivation tanks, music therapy, and ecstatic dance.

By doing these techniques you can sustain a stress free environment at work and anywhere.

Breath Work

Breath work or breathing exercises are one of the simplest methods in stress relief. It’s always available, everyone can do it, and it is free of course. How does breathing help defeat stress? One thing your body knows how to do is breathe. When you’re laying in bed at night you may notice you breathe deeper and slower.

You probably notice that this is when you are most relaxed. While you are stressed you may appear short of breath and unable to relax. This is where breathing exercises will come in hand. There are many different techniques when it comes to breathing exercises. One method is called Sama Vritti.

This is also known as equal breathing. It’s one of the easiest breathing exercises you can do and it’s great for beginners. To start take a deep breath in for four counts. Then release for another four counts.

Eventually, you can inhale and exhale for a longer period of time. My personal favorite is a technique called 4-7-8 breathing. This can also be called relaxing breath. First you want to place your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind your teeth and take a deep breath. When you exhale, make a whoosh sound. Now breathe in for a mental count of 4 and hold that for 7 seconds.

If you can’t hold it that long, you will want to speed up your count, but gradually try to reach a full 7 seconds for best results. Exhale through your mouth, making the same whoosh sound for 8 seconds. This is one whole breath. You are going to want to repeat this until you feel calm and your stress has diminished.

Breathing exercises help to balance the sympathetic nervous system. Your sympathetic nervous system aids in composing your body for mental and physical activity. It also makes your heart beat stronger, and opens your airway to help ease your breath. This will help with stress at work because it is always available for you. If you are having a stressful day this can be done anywhere at anytime.

You can even do this while working.

Yoga

You have probably heard of yoga before and that is because yoga is more than just an activity to help improve your physical state. Yoga is a series of breath work, meditation, and poses to help improve your health and to aid in relaxation.

Yoga helps your mental state as well as reducing stress and anxiety. Yoga is also very easy and can be done almost anywhere. I’ve put together ten different positions to help you relieve stress. Yoga is a beautiful way to relieve tension while strengthening your body and your mind.

10 Yoga Asanas

Baddha Konasana {butterfly pose} – This pose relaxes shoulders and lower back. It also reduces neck pain and anxiety.

Balasana {child’s pose} – This pose relieves stress, depression, and anxiety. It improves sleep and is essential for relaxation.

Savasana {corpse pose} – This pose helps rejuvenate the body mentally and physically.

Supta Virasana {reclined hero pose} -This pose relaxes the mind and helps with lower back pain.

Dandasana {staff pose} – This pose enhances lung capacity and concentration.

Katichakrasana {standing spinal twist pose} -This pose is used for stress and anxiety relief.

Ardha Padmasana {half lotus pose} – This pose improves posture and helps with meditation.

Ardha Navasana {half boat pose} -This pose aids in balance and focus.

Matsyendra Virasana {fish out of hero pose} – This pose induces happiness, calms mind, and relieves upper back pain.

Uttana Shishosana {extended puppy pose} – This pose can rejuvenate a stressed body and mind.

I feel these positions are the best for stress relief because they target the main areas we hold stress. They can help strengthen your lungs as well as assist with posture and focus. There are also many positions that help open up the airway and enhance our lungs’ capacity. This makes it easier for us to control our breathing. This is a key to stress relief and relaxation.

Meditation

Another way to help you relieve work stress is through meditation. Meditation has been practiced for over 5,000 years. It is one of the oldest ways to heal the body and the mind. You can attend guided meditation classes, take online classes, or just meditate on your own.

As long as you do what feels right for you then you will have success. To ensure yourself the best guided meditation follow these tips. The first step in meditation is to be in a space you are most comfortable in. If you are not comfortable you will not be able to fully relax. Being in nature is naturally healing for the body and mind, but if you feel more comfortable indoors than that is the best.

It is important we listen to our bodies because that is how we can heal ourselves. To begin meditation you are going to start with a breathing exercise to control and relax your breathing. You can use the 4-7-8 method or any others that you find to be the most effective for your body. After you have your breathing controlled it is time to look back on what stressed you out. Think of why this happened.

This is where you need to be mindful and use your energy to turn the negative situations into positive ones. Always look for the positive side to what is happening. In this time you should accept any emotions that arise and move forward from them. It is time to forgive and accept. This isn’t always easy, but it will strengthen your mind and your body. Remember, everything you experience in life will help you grow.

Take as much time as you need in meditation. Try and relax the whole body one breath at a time. If you feel you can’t focus and your mind is drifting go back to breathing exercises and try to count in your head. Meditation is essential for a stress free life and work environment and has so many benefits for the body and mind.

Earthing

Could the earth be used as a “global treatment table?” Earthing is a powerful technique that you can always do and it is just a step outside your front door. The earth naturally can heal us in so many ways. What if by just walking barefoot on dirt, grass, sand, rocks, and water could relieve your stress.

Walking barefoot for as little as thirty minutes a day can begin to reduce pain, stress, and depression. Humans are natural conductors of electrons just like the earth. When we are barefoot we allow the energy to flow through us and naturally heal our bodies and our mind. We live fast-paced lives and it’s easy to become disconnected from the earth and consumed with work and stress.

We use man made materials that block the natural connection to earth. This can sometimes result in damage to our bodies from excess free radicals. By re-connecting back to earth we can naturally help heal ourselves from our stressful jobs and busy lives. Next time you are stressed, take a walk barefoot on the beach, through the woods, or just simply in your backyard and let nature do the rest.

Sensory Deprivation Tanks

Sensory deprivation tanks are also commonly called float tanks. Float tanks are soundproof and lightless. They are filled with salt water that keep you floating anywhere from six to twelve inches off the surface. They are heated to our natural body temperature to make you feel like you’re floating in space.

By just floating for an hour you are allowing your body and mind to experience so many different healing benefits. Float tanks release endorphins, which make you naturally happy. They relieve stress and increase circulation and energy levels. It detoxes your body and helps to balance your left and right side of the brain.

Float tanks put you in the best environment for meditation. By doing so you would enhance personal and spiritual growth, achieving spiritual enlightenment. This is one of the best things you can do for your body and mind. Sensory deprivation tanks can be an extremely emotional experience for some people. The feeling you get is truly out of this world. It is definitely a key to instant relaxation.

Music Therapy

Using music to relieve stress is one of my favorite techniques. Music is healing to the human body and mind. You can listen to music or even play musical instruments to relieve stress. One of my favorite instruments for stress relief are singing bowls. Singing bowls have very high vibrations. When we are stressed out or sick our vibrations drop.

When our vibrations drop below a certain point we become more susceptible to disease. A singing bowls vibration is so high that it can raise ours, healing our body and our mind by bringing up our vibration. By doing this we can relive our stress as well as depression. If you do not have access to singing bowls you can listen to music with them in it or even just listen to meditation music.

Many instruments can raise our vibrations. Some of the instruments are Tibetan tingsha cymbals, meditation gongs, dorje bells, and bell wind chimes. Each has their own unique healing sound. What better way to heal yourself than through music.

Ecstatic Dance

Ecstatic dance is commonly known as free form dance. Free form dancing helps with stress relief because it helps you connect with yourself and gives you a sense of inner peace. Other benefits of ecstatic dance are tension relief, increased balance, and self confidence. Ecstatic dance can be spiritual, or it can be done just for fun.

When selecting music for ecstatic dance be sure to choose something that starts off slow and soothing. It should gradually increase and become more intense at the peak. Then it should end off calm once again. This helps move energy through your body releasing stress and tension that is being held. I feel this is a good way to relieve stress because you are moving your body and expressing yourself.

Conclusion

I hope these tips and techniques will help you find a way to become less stressed and perform your job to the best of your ability. They have helped me relieve so much stress and anxiety. I have never felt better. Whenever life starts to get stressful don’t be afraid to take a step back and take time to heal yourself.

There are so many ways for us to heal our bodies and to help us become the best versions of ourselves that we can possibly be. Whether it’s through breathing, yoga, meditation, earthing, sensory deprivation tanks, music therapy or ecstatic dance, there is something for everyone.