by Dana Cavalea October 26, 2017

 

I was listening to a podcast yesterday that was talking about Stress and Stress Management... I ended up more stressed than when I started!

Another "here we go again" stress conversation on a digital platform.. 

What drives me nuts about most of these "Stress" talks and "experts" is that all they do is "talk" about it.. and by the end of their talk.. the best they have for you is more meditation and how great mediation is ....

News flash.. 

Meditation is not for everybody.. 

Nothing is for everybody.. 

Except for this..

I like to think of stress as "something coming at you.. something that is ready to attack you"..your typical/ innate response is to shield, guard, protect, and resist..

Now we can not always control what is coming at us.. but we can control our resistance and protective mechanism / shield we place in front of that "thing" that is coming full-force at us.. 

We can always control the response.. 

If we choose to resist, our body, mind, and spirit will TIGHTEN up in order to protect our ego/ self/ and the results will be devastation over time-- from panic attacks to higher blood pressure to a decline in cardiac health and overall energy/ vitality..

Not good. 

I always speak about REFRAMING and DIFFUSING.. 2 techniques I use with clients to reduce their stress.. 

Now.. for the part that most people never discuss... the HOW DO I DO IT COACH?

First: If you find yourself resisting or stressed, realize this is a RESPONSE to something.. your first job is to identify the SOMETHING.

Second:Once you identify the something, now identify your bodies response; are you feeling tense, are headaches present? nausea? stomach contractions? jaw clenching? short breathing patterns? elevated heart  rate? What is your response?

Third: What are your negative thoughts that are present? What are you afraid of? What is the worst case scenario?

Fourth: Realize that this situation can not and will not hurt you and cause you physical pain. Slow your breathing down by breathing 4 seconds IN, 4 second HOLD, 4 second RELEASE.. and as you are releasing, you are thinking of "letting the negative thoughts GO".. do this 10-25 times..

Fifth: Reframing and Recreation...Now it is time to switch the train track of your mind.. you have now slowed your body down, slowed down your mind and are now ready to introduce positive thoughts and flow.. If you can lay down on the floor, slow down your breathing rate, think of all the positive goals, dreams, and objectives that you want to accomplish... smile, and live in your mind as if you are doing those things, accomplishing those things, and have accomplished those things.. 

ACTIVATE: At this point, stand up, and begin to activate your physiology... running in place, jumping jacks, clapping of your hands vigorously.. (personally I like to flood my mind here with positives-- I can... I will ..I can.. I will incantations... out loud if you can).. and get yourself to a point just before sweating for about 2-3 minutes.. 

Now your body is prepped.. you have gone through a stress relief exercise and have introduced a positive pattern of thought.. erasing the negative patterns/ habitual negative lowlight reel you call thinking/ thoughts/ and stress...

My issue with the stress discussion is nobody talks about HOW TO GET RID OF IT.. and what it is.. STRESS IS A RESPONSE... that is it... take your alpha position and tell stress to go "F" itself... only after you have gone through the 6 STEPS OF STRESS RELIEF...

Try it! #theycallmecoach #buildingchampions

Dana Cavalea
Dana Cavalea

Dana Cavalea is the World Champion Director of Strength and Conditioning & Performance of the New York Yankees. Currently, he is a High Performance Speaker & Consultant to Pro Athletes, Entrepreneurs, Business Executives, and Workforces on lifestyle strategies to reduce stress, improve work/life integration, and most importantly improve daily performance /outcomes. Book Dana to Speak at your Company Event or Conference Today!


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