Day 7: Three quick grounding exercises to combat stress in the heat of the moment for people who don’t have time to stop

Feeling the stress and anxiety rising and don’t have time for a yoga or meditation session?

Here are three super quick grounding exercises that will only take minutes to take the edge off and recentre.

1. Five Things

In a quiet space, tune in to your senses and notice the following in turn:

• 5 things you can see — focus on things in the distance to relax your eye muscles if you have been staring at a screen
• 4 things you can hear — listen for things that are not just in your vicinity but also the distance
• 3 things you can feel — this could be a pet, the texture of your clothing, or a gentle breeze, for example
• 2 things you can smell — many blend into the background of life; see if you can isolate two
• 1 thing you can taste — if you don’t have any residual flavours of food, drinks, or toothpaste, tune into the taste of your saliva. Is there a slightly metallic taste, for example?

2. Wiggle My Toes

Physically do AND say:

“Wiggle my toes, to feel the ground, so that I feel grounded.”

Feel grounded like a strong tree that can’t get knocked down by a gust of wind.

3. Box Breathing

Controlled breathing can defuse stress.

Sit down in case you get lightheaded and cycle through this sequence until you feel calm:

• Slowly breathe in for a count of 4
• Hold for a count of 4
• Breathe out for a count of 4
• Hold for a count of 4

With all three exercises, focus purely on the exercise — immerse yourself in it, not letting anything other thoughts distract you — and feel the anxiety melt away.

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