What is stress? We hear so much in the media about how stressed we are, that one invariably believes the news. In this seminar, we explore the fundamental principles governing stress. How much stress can we deal with? Are our bodies equipped to deal with stress? How can you change and empower yourself with the necessary tools to avoid falling into stressful situations? We teach knowledge and awareness using mindfulness, so the individual has a variety of coping strategies to face such situations in life.

1. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

2. 60minutes
Keep things in perspective
Negativity Bias
Death
Plate
Reality
Reaction
Self Control
0 25 50 75 1 0 0
How We Catastrophise Situations

3. Typical Warning Signs
Physical
Clumsiness/Headaches,
cold and viruses
Sleepless
Eat more/ less
Drink / smoke more
Spiritual
Feeling lost
No longer valued
‘What’s the point?’
‘Who cares?’
Emotional
Anxiety / Irritability
Rapid mood swings
Low self image
Lose sense of humour
Mental
Makes mistakes
Get confused
Forget things
Avoid decisions
Crisis mindset
What Are Yours?

4. Old
thinking
Wellbeing
Time
High
Low
We need to let go from and not
hold onto old approaches. Keeping an
attachment to the past while trying to
jump to the future is counterproductive.
Letting
go
Letting
go
Letting
go
New
thinkingWhat has made
us successful to
date may not be
what makes us
successful in the
future
Progression
Letting Go of Stress
“You can’t solve a problem with the same level of thinking that created it in the first instance.” – Albert Einstein

5. 1. You think approximately
60,000 – 80,000 thoughts a
day. Why would you associate
with all of them?
2. Thoughts are like waves
crashing into the shoreline.
3. Be mindful of them. Bring
them into your awareness and
then let them go.
4. Drop the thoughts – carrying
a backpack.
How Thoughts Create Stress

6. Optimal
Stress
Decreased work
performance
Physical
illness
Burn OutOverloadUnderloadRust Out
Decreased work
performance
Mischief
Low Stress Moderate Stress Highly Stressed
• Resistance
training
• Sprinting
• Mild cardio
• Hiking
• Fun activities
• No chronic
cardio
• More
relaxation
exercise
• Mild
resistance
training
• Social
activities
• Fun activities
• Yoga
• Meditation
• Tai-chi
• Qi Gong
• Walking
• Swimming
• Social activities
Lifestyle Recommendations

7. 1. Sustained energy
throughout the day.
2. Improves ability to deal with
stress.
3. Helps rebuild healthy cells.
4. Improves short term and
long term memory.
5. Reduces inflammation in
the body.
6. Regulates healthy body
weight.
Optimal Sleep – Why?

8. 1. Get to bed by 10.30pm.
2. Wake up by 6.30am.
3. No caffeine after 3.00pm.
4. No Alcohol after dinner (red
wine ok in moderation).
5. Avoid refined sugar – lollies
and chocolates.
6. Avoid bright lights.
7. Very dark room.
8. Use sleep routine.
How To Improve Quality of Sleep

9. “Mindfulness means paying attention in a
particular way; on purpose, in the present
moment, and non judgmentally.”
To bring thoughts to the forefront of your mind.
What is Mindfulness?

10. 1. Non-judging
2. Beginner’s Mind
3. Non striving
4. Accepting
5. Patience
6. Trust
7. Letting go
7 Principles of Mindfulness

11. 1. Meditation is linked with increase in attention.
2. Brain is malleable and can be trained like a muscle.
3. Reduces stress over time.
4. Enhanced sleep*.
5. Improves your ability to
regulate (handle) stress.
6. It changes the brain’s
architecture (rewires).
7. It regulates our emotions – less overreaction.
8. Book: “10% Happier” by Dan Harris.
* Harvard Health Publication – Harvard Medical School. Mindfulness Meditation Helps Fight Insomnia, Improves Sleep
The Benefits of Meditation

12. 1. When thoughts, feelings or sensations emerge, don't ignore
them or suppress them, nor analyse or judge them.
2. Simply note any thoughts as they occur and observe them
intentionally but non-judgmentally, moment by moment, in the
field of your awareness.
3. If your mind wanders say to yourself, “wandering” and bring
your mind back to be aware of the here and now.
4. Move around the room and touch things – feel their texture.
This allows you to reconnect to the moment. Become aware of
your breathing which anchors you in your body.
Awareness Technique

13. Anger, pain,
suffering,
regret,
frustration
Joy, happiness,
bliss,
contentment,
gratitude
Anxiety, worry,
fear, suffering,
pain.
Emotional States

14. Practical Exercise 1: Awareness
1. Use Box Breathing Technique*
2. Close your eyes.
3. Think about your favourite activity.
4. Notice the scene, visualise it, feel it.
5. With eyes still closed shift your awareness
to your body.
6. How do you feel? relaxed, peaceful etc.
7. Is there a mental dialogue during the
scene?
8. That is awareness which is always there.
9. The mind adds a narrative to it = stress.
* Used by Navy Seals to retrain the nervous system to breathe properly, calm the nerves and relieve stress.

15. 1. Sit in a comfortable upright posture while keeping your back in a natural
position. Eyes closed.
2. Bring your attention into your body. Keep your attention on the body, be
aware of what you feel.
3. In this meditation, the object of our attention is the sensations that
breathing creates in our body.
4. Keep your attention on your natural breath and remain alert and aware.
Observe the breath as it comes in and as it goes out.
5. If thoughts emerge, acknowledge them and return back to your
breathing.
6. Notice the stages of a complete breath... from the in breath... to the
pause... the exhale... and the pause before taking another breath.
7. If there is any tension in the body breath into the tension. Be aware of
thoughts that arise and return back to the breath.
8. Open your eyes and move around. Stand up and stretch.
Practical Exercise 2: Breathing Meditation

16. 1. Mindfulness allows us to
pay attention in a
particular way, with the aim
of reducing stress over
time.
2. We can control the stress
response by tuning into
our body and shift our
awareness to the breath
and body sensations.
Summary

17. Additional Resources
http://self-improvement-academy.thinkific.com