8 Surprising Ways To De-Stress The Brain

In the introduction of her book, "How To Train A Wild Elephant," Jan Chozen Bays says that mindfulness is "like a game of connect the dots, or like a paint-by-numbers kit." You start with a small area of your life -- like taking three deep breaths before you pick up the phone -- until the practice of being totally aware and present spreads to all other areas of your life.

Chozen Bays, a meditation teacher who lives in a Zen monastery in Oregon, also asserts that mindfulness -- the simple act of staying present in the current moment -- helps us perform tasks more skilfully, makes us emotionally resilient, guides our spiritual paths and improves our relationships.

In the simple and simply written soon-to-release book, Chozen Bays has laid out the essential foundation for a life of mndfulness. There is a whole host of easy activities that one can incorporate in one's daily lives. These are a few of them:

Excerpted from HOW TO TRAIN A WILD ELEPHANT by Jan Chozen Bays, (c) 2011. Published by arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc., Boston. www.Shambhala.com.

Comments

[iLdoRight]

05:29 PM on 07/25/2011

Get the Bible on DVD od CD collection and listen to it , it will help you understand why you do not like a lot of people and you can take some comfort in knowing that Our Creator does not like them either and someday they will get what they deserve.

[Kate Klemer]

08:02 AM on 07/14/2011

I think it is helpful to consider "being" whenever we can throughout the day versus constant "doing". That means slowing down when you are between tasks, where the spaces are in our day. Listen and notice whenever you can...

[Doot Doot]

04:42 PM on 07/09/2011

...It seems like doing most of this stuff would just stress you out even more :|

[kenyng1st]

03:28 PM on 07/09/2011

Also stay of of the gay and religion boards on Huffpost.

[Contact1972]

03:27 PM on 07/09/2011

Another great way-get out and get moving. Play tennis, run, walk....does wonders.

[KRTaylor]

09:48 AM on 07/09/2011

Excellent suggestions. Number one way of de-stressing yourself? Lose the buttheads in your life. You'd be surprised at just how many of them are dispensable. And while you're at it, make sure you're not becoming one.

[ignacio sanabria]

07:11 PM on 07/08/2011

Meditate and do not think. Easy!

[tromonix]

07:00 PM on 07/04/2011

The only ways I could see these helping stress, except the phone one, is if someone else is doing them.

[KateK31]

10:35 PM on 07/06/2011

Absolutely - except I would include the phone one as well. Not adding eight more things to my daily to-do list already reduced my brain's stress.

[weblore]

03:23 AM on 07/02/2011

Great tips!

[BAMUDA]

07:38 AM on 07/01/2011

Eat right. Sleep 8 hours. Exercise regularly. Practice mindfulness. Be kind.

[leajazz]

07:42 PM on 06/29/2011

I come home from the city, have dinner, pour a glass of wine, sit out on the back porch, get a kick out of the horses and cats grazing/playing, listen to soft music and watch the corn grow.

[Threadsline]

03:03 PM on 07/11/2011

Sounds like a good inner peace making mechanism..., you may want to exchange that glass of wine though for a mint julip.

[leajazz]

06:49 PM on 07/11/2011

Sounds good, I think I'll have a few, lol!

[Mundane Egg]

08:01 AM on 06/29/2011

Being married to a massasge therapist I know how important good posture is.

[Stefan Sirucek]

05:40 PM on 06/29/2011

Right at "married to a massage therapist" you're a very lucky person!

[Threadsline]

03:04 PM on 07/11/2011

screw the posture, just have 'em massage my feet!

[The Person]

12:35 AM on 06/29/2011

I'm not even going to read the article. I haven't had a job in 2 years. I'm probably stressed out. I smoked a pack of cigs a day too. Now I don't. Lucky to still have a roof over my head-although the place I live in is under a bar. Roaches roam around where beer and garbage is spilled. I'm constantly killing them.

I'm sure I am stressed out. :)

[french queen13]

09:28 PM on 06/28/2011

Tricky to use a nondominant hand for the ambidextrous ... and I pause when the phone rings, usually long enough that someone else answers it first, which is the ideal solution as far as I'm concerned.

Now if only teenagers would learn to avoid "like" as the every-other-word filler. That would reduce quite a few other people's stress levels! :)

[Threadsline]

03:05 PM on 07/11/2011

Right on. And the words, 'ya know" annoy me too..., and uh, uh, uh, uh.

[michael medeiros]

08:54 PM on 06/28/2011

I still feel exercise is the best way to deal with stress. Whether it is weight training or yoga, exercise is my most productive way to relieve stress. How can you not feel great after taking a nice shower after a great workout!
http://exerciseandnutritiontips.com/stress-reduction-through-exercise-and-relaxation/

[Philip Schneider]

02:23 PM on 06/29/2011

Agree 100 percent. Nothing better than an hour long run, especially when your angry.

[Threadsline]

03:06 PM on 07/11/2011

lol, if running help anger, I'd be doing marathons every day.