Instant de-stress on the job

Last month was ‘Mindfulness in May’, but the practice of mindfulness is a bit like most wellness initiatives, consistency is key.

So, we’re encouraging you to continue to ‘De-stress on the Job this June’.

Here’s a great centring exercise for those days when you’ve spilled your coffee on your top, had some bad news about a key account and been riled by someone else’s inconsiderate behaviour.

You don’t need to be in any specific position, you don’t need to close your eyes, but you can if you want. The only skill you really need to engage is to be able to breathe in and out to a count of four

A simple breathing exercise

Take two minutes to stop, start breathing quietly in and out to a count of four and concentrate on nothing but the first five things you register from each of your five senses.

What five things can you hear around you? The smallest hum of the heater, the clicking of keys on a keyboard, passing traffic, or birdsong in the distance?

What can you see? Your wedding ring, the new leaves on the office plant or the intricacy of the woven fabric of your jacket?

What can you taste? The remnants of coffee, or the imagined taste of a snack you’ll have at morning tea? Or the reheated lasagne you brought with you for lunch?

What can you feel? The arms of your chair, the gentle drape of the bracelet on your wrist, the coolness of your desk, the tension easing as you change your posture?

This two-minute exercise won’t solve your problems, but it will put you in the moment and in a calmer space to get on with facing the challenges that will inevitably come your way.