Posts Tagged ‘work stress’

Start the countdown…120 seconds isn’t long but it is long enough to refresh your body and mind and return to work with a more positive and productivity-oriented perspective. Stress on the job usually centers around the concept of too much work, too little time, and while there may be various parties responsible for creating this quandary, only you can extract yourself and ensure you keep your sanity along with your job. The reason I choose two minutes is because it is just long enough to refresh, but not long enough to detract from your flow. Many people find it hard to stop when they are on a roll; when they are in the zone and don’t want to stop but find themselves slightly ripping at the seams. This is not a healthy way to operate, and sooner or later, it will take its toll. Instead take two minutes and try:

• Walking to the water fountain: get your blood circulating, your body moving for a second and finish it off with a little hydration. 
• Putting on your favorite song, dancing a little jig, even if it just means looking silly in your chair: this is enormously rewarding and relaxing. 
• Chewing gum or something crunchy (like an apple): the sound and rhythm of chewing has a relaxing effect.
• De-cluttering your desk
• Just looking away from the sreen
• Closing your eyes and breathing deeply: take full diaphragmatic breaths that saturate your cells with oxygen.

This isn’t about finding your happy place, it’s about keeping you mentally balanced and resilient in the face of stress. Letting stress pile on until the cow’s come home is a great way to feel spun out at the end of the day, and if you are living like this it may be time to pay a visit to your Park Slope chiropractor. We practice natural healing modalities including acupuncture and chiropractic adjustment to help regulate the nervous system and restore your musculoskeletal balance and we follow up with massage that dispels tension and promotes relaxation, improving your relationship with pain.

Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C., L.Ac.