This audio includes a short box breathing exercise and a mixture of the contract/relax technique and visualization to help you relieve stress.
Do not listen to this while you are driving or doing anything that requires your attention elsewhere.
Last week, I wrote about the 3A Triad of Stress Management. Today, I’d like to share a breathing and visualization exercise with the aim of:
Staying in the moment to
deepen breathing in order to
boost body awareness to
ease bodily tension
and cue a more calm state of mind.
With practice, you can consciously ease your stress and deepen relaxation.
Your body is constantly listening in on your thoughts and reacts to those thoughts unconsciously. As you entertain stressful thoughts, the red-light reflex kicks in and your muscles tense up.
Here’s the good news:
Using time-tested mindfulness techniques, you can activate the green-light reflex. Your mind is listening to your body, too. By deepening your breathing and consciously easing muscle tension, your autonomic nervous system sends out a useful signal: “I am not being chased by a bear.”
You can use box breathing anytime. Breathe in for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4, repeat as necessary to increase calm in the face of stress.
The rest of today’s audio exploration is meant to be performed on your bed, on a couch or on the floor if you can get comfortable. As long as you are comfortable and can take approximately 20 minutes to yourself without distractions, you can deepen this practice to ease your stress.
This recording has been a Blanket Fort Production by Robert Chazz Chute of AllThatChazz.com, all rights reserved.
Track what you’re doing to become more productive. On this podcast, I want to warn you about people who do INTENSITY wrong (by going all caps, pushing hard and never touching the brakes. We get into how I’m treating my knee injury, the benefits of saunas and heat shock proteins and how I saved a ton of cash with a phone call to my telephone company (and you can, too!)
Note: On the show I mention that I stay in the sauna for up to 20 minutes at a time. Your mileage, tolerance and sauna temperatures may vary so follow the instructions that are posted or in the instructions on your sauna.
Here’s what I’m doing to stay on track
Netflix has new episodes of Sherlock. I’m overjoyed but when I checked my Garmin pedometer the other day, I realized I had a mere 1800 steps for the day. 10,000 steps a day is recommended (or two hours of brisk walking, depending on whom you consult.) Sherlock isn’t going anywhere. I got off the couch.
I have to make sure I’m going somewhere. I went for a long walk, listened to some strutting music and swung my arms hard. I came back refreshed and, newly energized, tackled a few things I needed to deal with instead of collapsing back to the sofa.
What to do, what to do, what to freakin’ do?
A comedian I love, Mike Schmidt, has a motto: No Zero Days. It means you have to deal with stuff you don’t necessarily want to deal with. This week, I’ve done that. Aside from the usual day to day workload, I choose one thing I don’t want to do and tackle it. For instance, I rescheduled a dentist appointment, cancelled my TV and cleaned up the house. Look, ma! I’m adulting!
Want to contact me?
Email expartepresss@gmail.com.
Wait. You cancelled your TV? Has there been a coup? Is this the end of the world?
I’m the only one in the house who watched television. I love Better Call Saul. I have a love/hate relationship with The Walking Dead. I like Jon Oliver and I want to see the final season of Game of Thrones. However, that stuff will eventually show up on Netflix or I’ll catch the highlights on the web. Maybe I’ll buy the GoT DVD someday. The issue is that television isn’t worth the time or money. It distracts me from reading and writing. Since that’s what I’m put on Earth to do, it was time to prioritize (and save on the budget.)
We’re getting to the stage where you’ve probably already gotten rid of your landline if you ever had one. Television is going away, too. There are alternatives but the best one for me is to focus on being a producer, not a consumer. That’s one more key to keeping me on track to success.
The Power of Spreadsheets
As I mentioned last week, I’m using Google Sheets to identify and record variables that limit my productivity. Remember this lesson from Do the Thing: that which is not measured is not changed. I’m changing. I track the times of day I write, where I work and my mood. I track progress by chapter and number of words changed in three categories: writing, revision and editing. I’m experimenting with which variables to track, what’s too little to record and what’s too much.
I’ll get back to you with deeper results soon but I can tell you this: the act of recording alone makes me more productive. Working against the clock makes me work harder and faster and (surprise!) with greater joy. Just glancing at my Garmin and seeing only 1800 steps and 9 PM made me get out and hoof it. That’s another measure to watch (and possibly plot on a spreadsheet.)
Toss this podcast a five star review wherever you listen in, as well. I need the money and attention.
Speaking of money…
Click the BECOME A PATRON link at AllThatChazz.com to get lots of nifty rewards. Special thanks to patron of the arts, reader and listener, RF Kacy for his contribution. Cheers, mate!
Last idea tonight:
Get more sleep. I’m headed to bed early so I can get up and crush it tomorrow, starting with a trip to the sauna. I’ve got deadlines and lots of stuff to do. So do you. Wanna do more? Write down what you’re going to do and write down what you did. You will do more!
Stay on track and do the thing!
~ Chazz
PS Check out all my books at AllThatChazz.com: sci-fi, crime thrillers, assorted apocalyptic scenaria.
Pick up the last stress-busting book you’ll ever need here.
On today’s episode of the All That Chazz Stress Relief Podcast, we’re going back to basics with a visualization. We’ll quickly dig in on how to develop focus in the time it takes to take a breath. Be sure to hang in to the end of the podcast to get your taste and you’ll feel how quick and easy it can be to release your stress. I also have a comedy podcast recommendation and a link to a song that neuroscientists claim reduces anxiety by 65%!
Last week my focus was money. About that…
Like the podcast? If you want to support this show and earn stunning rewards for your generosity, click the Become a Patron link at AllThatChazz.com. Here’s the link directly to my Patreon page.
Special thanks to RF Kacy for helping out with bandwidth costs.
Do the Thing! is my stress management book. You’ll find out how to reduce stress, relieve pain and boost your energy, too. This is the perfect bathroom book. Packed with quick nuggets of information, each short chapter will motivate you to make positive changes and fix what’s not working.
Long time listeners will know that I enjoy the Scathing Atheist, the Skepticrat and the God Awful Movies podcasts. There is a new podcast in the mix: Citation Needed. Tom and Cecil from Cognitive Dissonance explore one new subject each week with the funny guys behind those three shows. Plumbing they’re pseudo-expertise through the wonder of Wikipedia, they break down weird happenings in the world and have a lot of fun doing it. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, it will become a part of you (or at least a part of every week.)
~ Robert Chazz Chute is a manual therapist whose focus is stress management and rehabilitation from injury. His clinic link is MassageTherapyScience.com.
Best known for This Plague of Days, he is a writer of SFF, horror, crime thrillers and some non-fiction. His blog about writing is ChazzWrites.com and his author site for readers (with links to all his books) is AllThatChazz.com.
Welcome back to the All That Chazz Stress Relief Podcast. For anyone who is looking to decrease pain, boost energy or manage time and relieve stress, you’re in the right place.* (If you’re listening to this at AllThatChazz.com and you can’t see the mpg player, click the Read More tab to play the show.)
On today’s show I talk about the surprising stress you get from small problems and why you should choose easy solutions. I also talk about finding the middle ground on the safer use of pharmaceutical drugs. You’ll also get two tips to sleep better tonight. You can find out much more about the proper use of legal drugs (and one illegal drug) in my book, Do the Thing! Speaking of which…
This show is brought to you by my book, Do the Thing! I don’t cover everything in the book on the podcast. This is more of a complement to that. For a ton of ideas to improve your life and achieve a higher degree of productivity and success, go pick up Do the Thing!, available on Amazon in ebook or paperback.
Would you like to advertise your product or service on the show, get a poster or your name in my next book? Patreon rewards are for you!
Your support helps cover bandwidth costs. I really need this podcast to pay for itself so if you’d like to support the show and earn rewards for your patronage, check out the treasures by clicking here or hit the orange Patreon button on the Home page at AllthatChazz.com. Thank you so much!
Not everybody has the money to give money. If that’s you, no worries. Please support the podcast by giving it a happy review on iTunes, subscribe, tweet it and tell your friends! Sharing is caring. Cheers!
*Please note that if you have a health condition or concern, please consult a health care professional before proceeding with any changes to your health maintenance regimen. Don’t take medical advice from a podcast! See your doctor in person for a proper consultation.
Robert Chute is a massage therapist with 24 years experience who works in stress, pain management and injury rehabilitation. A former journalist, Robert is also the author of many books, ranging from non-fiction to science fiction, horror, fantasy and crime thrillers. If you’re interested in his fiction, you’ll find his books under his pen name, Robert Chazz Chute.
Music credit:
Floating Cities Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Welcome back to the All That Chazz Stress Relief Podcast. For anyone who is looking to decrease pain, boost energy or manage time and relieve stress, you’re in the right place.*
(If you’re listening to this at AllThatChazz.com and you can’t see the mpg player, click the Read More tab to play the show. Please subscribe to the show on iTunes and leave a happy review. That helps more listeners find us.)
On today’s show, I talk about self-improvement and finding the art in everything. Achieving mastery is a process. It starts with presence and giving whatever you’re doing full attention. With repetition, learning and refinement, best practices can grow. Becoming a master can take years but, with attention to detail and making mistakes along the way, you will find economy of movement. You will find the way. Art is waiting for you in everything.
Today’s show is brought to you by my book, Do the Thing! I don’t cover everything in the book on the podcast. This is more of a complement to that. For a ton of ideas to improve your life and achieve a higher degree of productivity and success, go pick up Do the Thing!, available on Amazon in ebook or paperback.
*Please note that if you have a health condition or concern, please consult a health care professional before proceeding with any changes to your health maintenance regimen. Don’t take medical advice from a podcast! See your doctor in person for a proper consultation.
Music Credit
“Immersed” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Robert Chute is a massage therapist with 24 years experience who works in stress, pain management and injury rehabilitation. A former journalist, Robert is also the author of many books, ranging from non-fiction to science fiction, horror, fantasy and crime thrillers. If you’re interested in his fiction, you’ll find his books under his pen name, Robert Chazz Chute.
We all need friends, right? Maybe you don’t get along with your family. If so, you’ve still got a happy backup. Friends are the family you choose. But have you ever thought hard about why we need them?
I like many of their videos. In this one, I especially love the part about how our pals are those with whom we can act comfortably foolish. It’s reassuring to hear I’m not the only one who is pretending to be a grown-up. I bet you thought you were the only one, too!
