Have you ever been wound up so tightly – that even slightly relaxing – was found to be impossible?

That feeling. if you let go just a little bit. you may go SPLAT against the wall of life?

Somehow the stressors in life have so overwhelmed you, it was all you could do to keep it together?

Like you are going to splat if you don’t relax – but if you do, which isvirtually impossible – your world without your hyper-vigilance was going to splat anyway?

Very unhealthy.

Face plant.

Been there. Done that.

My nerves were so tight and my emotions were so bottled up that, as I lay on the adjusting table in the chiropractor’s office being treated for (of all things) pulled muscles, any adjustment was impossible. The chiropractor asked me to relax my back. Ha!

“I can’t do it,” I whimpered.

Then the tears started to flow, and I eventually relaxed enough.

That was a few years ago; but recently, a friend of mine was facing a similar situation. Muscles tight, heart racing, and stressful thinking seemingly trying to take her over. Definitely a SPLAT in the making.

Feeling that helpless and hopeless feeling in her text, I called her on the phone, and I instructed my Alexa to “play meditation music.”.Before she could get even more wound up telling me what the matter was, I instructed her to lie down and listen to the music.

Across the miles, she spent several minutes listening to this amazing, calming, gentle music with melodies that evolve into other ones – never disappointing or ending too soon – until calm, peace, and even a comforting sense of trust develops in the listener’s mind and body.

She was amazed when her heart had began to slow down.

Then we talked about breathing.

It’s not a lot of phooey, readers. Just breathe. Listen to the air coming in through your nose. Feel it swirl around in your sinuses and down into your lungs. Feel your chest and belly rise and then fall as you exhale.

It’s call mindfulness. Meditation. Breathing. Whatever you call it, it works. Just be mindful only of your breathing and let the music caress you. If your thoughts stray to something else, that’s fine, just gently guide them back to your breathing and the music.

If you find yourself ready to SPLAT, it’s quite likely a mental/spiritual/physical emergency! Before your symptoms take you out, stop and do the mindful breathing and music, if possible.

Stress kills.

After our call ended, my friend used her phone’s Siri app to find meditation music and she continued her therapy. A short time later, her heart rate was normal and she could face the day.

Our minds are so powerful. We cannot take the stress out of our lives, but we must have and use the tools available to us to respond to and handle that stress in more healthful ways.

That’s why I’ve named my business Toolkits for Health. In my blog, books, and seminars, the goal is to give readers and participants the tools they need to improve their lives through mind/body/spirit health approaches that are easy to do.

Click on the link below to learn more about what I am offering through Toolkits for Health on my new website called DeidreEdwards.com!

Your stress management needs may also call for counseling from an experienced professional. Please do not hesitate to contact a pastor, counselor, doctor, or other health professional for help. Help is there. Even free help. You are not alone.

Since New Year’s Eve, I have been plagued with a blocked and slow draining gland on the upper eyelid of one eye. The treatment – short of surgery – has been twice daily wet, hot eye compresses for four months, and nightly compresses since then. I’ve combined listening to meditation music in a dimly lit room for 10 minutes right before bed as a way to making the compress routine enjoyable.

Guess who is relaxed before bed? Sometimes I ask Alexa to “stop playing in one hour,” so I can sail off to sleep with gentle music.

Mindful breathing can be worked into any routine. Make it work for you. Maybe a session of breathing and meditation music can start your day as well.

To finish the start of my friend’s now calmer morning, I suggested she stand and raise her arms up into the air to silently thank her Creator for the new day, her new calm, and to receive strength, power, and wisdom to live her day in confidence.

Works for me. Worked for her. Tap into these calming and strengthening tools to not only avoid splatting but to face each day with peace.

In health-

Deidre