The quieting reflex

This is a much shorter which only takes a few seconds to do and can help to reverse the activation of the stress response.

1.      Close your eyes and identify what it is that is irritating you.

2.      Silently say to yourself, ‘sharp mind, relaxed body’, I can deal with this.

3.      Smile to yourself inwardly without using any muscles. See yourself as a small child and imagine this child on your lap now, with your arms around them protecting them.

4.      Breathe in slowly to the count of four, imagining the air coming in through the soles of your feet. Imagine a sensation of warmth and goodness gradually filling your body, starting at your feet and welling upwards to your abdomen, chest, and then right to the top of your head.

5.      Now breathe out to a count of four. Imagine your breath passing downwards from the top of your head and out of the soles of the feet. Feel that warmth and goodness flowing right through you. As you do this, relax your muscles and let your neck, jaw, shoulders and limbs go limp.

6.      Open your eyes now and carry on what you were doing before. With practice, the quieting reflex can become so easy and automatic it can enable you to overcome any of those events during the day which make you irritable, frustrated and tense.