Who Moved My Chi?

Ever notice that, especially working from a desk, daily stress can build up on you?  Happens to everyone.  So, what can you do about it?

Stop
That's the first thing. Really. Just stop. Stop whatever it is you're doing, even if it's urgent (but, not life-threatening). Just stop doing anything for a few moments.
Most of the time, because we feel this urgency to get something done, we stress so much about whatever we're doing that we actually lose focus of the very thing that requires "so much" focus! Sounds silly, huh? Think about it: you're pounding away at your keyboard as a programming engineer. You're in the middle of a piece of majour coding when you think too far ahead of yourself because you're worried about incorporating a specific feature that your project manager has insisted be in the final work. Whoops! You accidentally inserted an escape character and, unknowingly, you have just ruined every shred of code you have populated the work with in the past three hours.
Painful. I know.

Just by stopping, for a brief moment before you engage this heinous piece of coding (or whatever, please just read into the moment here...), then, find a really good break -- trust me, they are there -- and breathe. Just these brief "stops" will help relieve a great deal of stress while at work.

If you have a good moment, do more than stop -- stretch. It's absolutely amazing how much stress we cram into our shoulders & necks during the days. It builds on itself, too, which makes it worse. So, stretch it out! Here's how:

• stand up. straight as possible. close your eyes & feel for the alignment of your spine. feel your head, neck, back, buttocks & hips all aligned as straight as possible. keep your weight evenly balance between your feet.
• tilt your head forward & relax your shoulders. feel the stretch in your neck as you relax. don't push your neck forward! just relax.
• move your head toward your left shoulder, slowly, and stop when you reach that destination.
• now, after a brief pause, rotate back towards your chest, past your chest, and over towards your right shoulder. stop there for a moment then repeat a few times (whatever feels most comfortable.
• now, look straight up. let your head just fall back as you look to the sky (ceiling, whatever..)
• lock your hands together, fingers interlaced in front of you, at waist level
• raise your arms slowly, as your head drifts forward to its original position; try to keep them synchonized, but slow
• your head should stop, as you look forward, and your hands should be high above your head, with fingers interlaced, palms facing the sky/ceiling
• now, push your hands away from your body, as if someone were pulling them upward; keep your feet firmly planted -- feel the pull in your spine, waist, shoulders & wrists -- try not to scrunch your shoulders together too much, lest you put more undue stress in that region

Do this anytime you've been at the desk, TV, computer, typewriter, piano, keyboard, synth, iPod, DVR, books... anytime you've been mostly static or concentrating! It just takes a quick moment, but it can work wonders for your stress levels! It increases blood flow in a positive way, relieve tension in muscles that've stayed in the same position for too long, and it gives your mind a "real" break from the things about you.

For a bit of added stretch, and to move a little more good, fresh blood throughout your body, do this: while stretching toward the sky, bend at the waist left to right a few times. Evenly, and slowly. Enjoy how this feels. Enjoy the day. Give thanks for the day to the One who made it for glory!

I'm sure it's a little easier, now...  

Charlie