In this article, published nationally in YOUR HEALTH magazine, Jessica gives you a simple and quick technique to relieve stress and anxiety. Try it and see for yourself!

Stress Free in Five Minutes
By Jessica Schwartz

'Portable meditation'
works wherever you are

It almost never fails. When you’re rushing to work or to an appointment, you drop your keys, spill the milk or forget something in the house and need to return. Your body is in one place, but your mind and emotions seem to be going in different directions. So your actions end up reflecting your scattered thoughts and feelings.

And it’s not only when you’re rushing that you feel distracted and disconnected. It may be the nature of your life. More than likely, you’re a member of several groups – work, fitness, hobby and religious. There are school meetings, exercise classes, kids’ music lessons, job conferences, out-of-town guests, yard chores, laundry – even a partial account is exhausting. With so many demands pulling you in so many directions, no wonder you sometimes feel fragmented, frustrated and off-center.

Often the response is to do more, which can compound the problem. But why look to find solutions in the outside world, when the answer may be within? Here’s a focusing technique to center both your mind and your body. It takes less than five minutes, yet it enables you to feel balanced and whole. It slows your breathing, calms your body, soothes your emotions and quiets your mind. You will feel grounded instead of scattered, and you’ll be better able to cope with the tasks and people you encounter. What’s more, you can do it almost anywhere, at almost any time. (If you’re driving, wait until you reach your destination to begin!)

Plan to do the focusing technique at home before you go out to a stressful appointment such as a meeting or a dentist’s office visit. However, you may want to repeat the exercise immediately before the meeting or dentist. In that case, either sit in your car in the parking lot or find a place where it’s likely to be quiet and more private. You can stand while practicing the technique and it will still prove effective, but you will be able to relax better when you sit. You may want to lie down, but you may fall asleep if you do! It’s ideal to practice the complete technique regularly so that if you must do a shortened version, the response will be the same. Remember, the entire process takes less time than it takes to read this article.

Witness your breath's natural rhythm for five or more breaths. (It’s not necessary to count these breaths exactly because counting will keep you from focusing on the breath itself.) Always breathe through the nose for the inhale so you can take in more breath. On the exhale, breathe out through the nose or mouth.

Next, begin to breathe deeply on the inhale, letting the body expand more with each breath. Notice the places of tightness in the body. Breathe into those places, allowing them to open with the inhale and release or disperse with the full exhale. Let any discomfort float out of the body with the exhale. Get a sense of your body drifting and rocking with the incoming and outgoing breaths. This will help to ease any stuck feelings in the body.

Now observe that right after the inhale and before the exhale (and also after the exhale and before the inhale) you are neither inhaling nor exhaling. These are spaces in the cycles where the breath rests. Pause and rest in these natural resting places of the breathing cycle. Use these spaces to experience complete stillness. Focus on these spaces and not on the inhale or the exhale.

Remember that your breathing is automatic, and there’s nothing you have to do to receive the incoming breath. Simply experience the breath. Be gentle. There’s no need to force the breath either in or out. Let it flow with ease. As your energy rides in and out on the breath, begin the technique. The sequence of this 5-minute focusing technique is heart, feet, heart, head, and heart. Direct three breaths to each of these areas from the heart.

• Begin by bringing your attention to the heart area. Although your breath actually comes in through the nostrils and leaves through the nostrils or mouth, use your imagination for the technique. First, breathe into the heart and out from the heart. Each time you breathe in, soften the borders of the heart and feel the heart area loosening and opening. Remember to breathe into and out from both the front and back of the heart area. Imagine that the heart is a balloon that you are blowing up by using the breath. Then let the “balloon” deflate completely. Breathe into the heart and out from the heart three times.

• Breathe into the heart and this time, breathe out the soles of your feet. Feel your feet go limp and imagine they are expanding and opening at the bottom. Let the breath pass through them deep into the ground. Breathe into the heart and out from the bottom of the feet three times.

• Now breathe into the heart and out from the heart three times again, coming back to center. Each time you do this, feel the heart area yield to the breath, so that it becomes more supple on the inhale and more serene on the exhale.

• Next, breathe into the heart and breathe out of the crown of your head three times. Imagine the topmost place in the body as a window or roof that opens to the sky. Invite the hard bones of the skull to feel more pliant and flexible. Stay aware of the rocking sensation that the incoming and outgoing breaths cause, and use this sensation to widen the open feeling at the crown of the head.

• Come back again to the heart, inhaling and exhaling three times into and out from this delicate area. Feel the breath as velvety and peaceful. Allow the tranquil feeling in the heart to spread throughout your body and mind.

• Continue to breathe in and out of the heart area as you become conscious of the soles of your feet and the crown of your head. Feel all of those areas working together, connecting to create harmony throughout your mind, body, and emotions. Let this harmonious feeling radiate both in your body and from your body.

• Bring your attention back to the breath as it moves in and out of the nostrils. Feel the chair supporting you and feel your feet on the floor. Again, note the natural state of the breath as it moves into and out from the body. At this point, don’t try to change its frequency or depth. Notice a sense of calmness in your mind and body. As you blink your eyes open, radiate this peaceful, focused center.

Remember that this technique is available to you whenever you have a few moments. Practice the entire technique at home when you have five minutes. Then, when you haven’t even five minutes to spare, you can do one breath instead of three at the different places. Your mind and body will be trained to focus with just a few breaths.

Non-Western, less technically based societies – some 80 percent of the world’s population – understand that the mind and body are linked. You can share this understanding and use it to benefit yourself and those around you when you experience the peace that is always five minutes and a few breaths away.