Now, because my therapeutic focus is on my stressed out ladies, I want to explain something I didn’t know and it blew my mind! 🤯  Stay with me…I’m getting all science-y for a minute:

When you get stressed, your cortisol levels increase.  This tells your body that they have to be on the lookout.  That’s right: Fight or Flight response.  So your body is basically in survival mode and guess what you can’t do well in survival mode: problem solve.  Now, I don’t know about you, but my whole day is basically problem solving in one way or another….over and over and over again. So, I realized that the less stressed I am, the less time my body spends in ‘Fight or Flight’ and the more productive I am. This means I get to experience my nerd-y adrenaline rush as things get crossed off my to-do list! 🙌 How did I get there?  You guessed it: Intentional, Mindful, Deep Breathing.  It helps your body relax by telling your brain you are already relaxed.

I hear you already: “Kristin, I can’t sit still long enough to meditate.”  Oh girl, you are my people!!! 😉  I struggle with those 5-20 minute meditations but you know what I do have time for?  Let me drop some knowledge about some 1-4 minute options that have been game changers for me: 

  1. Inner Balance sensor and app – This is an ear clip device that connects to an app on your phone/tablet and will teach the user how to shift from stress and frustration to balance and resilience with real-time feedback, based on your own heart rhythm.  The connection between your breath and your heart is pretty incredible. I really love the immediate, in-the-moment feedback it provides! Another added bonus: you can do it for as long as you want! The general cycle is about 3 minutes, but you can do it for shorter than that or longer. If you are interested in learning more about the science, check out their website.

  2. Apple Watch Breathe app –  The Breathe app vibrates and helps the user know when to inhale and exhale.  You can customize most of the watch faces and include the breathe app, so it’s right at your fingertips!  That one minute of breathing has definitely helped change my emotional response to a more professional response! There is another app I found that seems similar to the simple Apple Watch Breathe App: Online Breathing Time.

  3. 1 minute meditations on YouTube – Search for “1 minute meditations” or “1 minute breathing meditations” on YouTube to see all the possibilities.  I used a lot of these at the start of my leadership meetings to help get us focused.  I really liked having some variety and exposing people to different options to see what they liked!

  4. Alexa/Amazon Echo – There is a “One Minute Meditation” skill and once enabled, all you have to do is ask Alexa: “Open One Minute Meditation“.  I have done this one a few times to help me relax/calm down at home. 

These are no-brainers to help you breathe intentionally and deeply for as little as a minute.  And if you are about to hit me with: “I don’t have time“….riddle me this: DO YOU PEE AT ALL DURING THE DAY??  Then do it while you pee! 🤣 That’s right…no getting out of this 😋  You can also do it when you are in the car, hiding from your kids in the pantry (I see you 😛), before bed or even in between meetings!