Did you know that a clenched-fist can relax you instantly?

Imagine yourself in a bustling work meeting, surrounded by colleagues and the hum of discussion. Suddenly, one of your coworkers utters a statement at you that sends an unsettling ripple through the air. Your heart races, your mind races, and you’re faced with a critical decision: how will you respond?

Option one: Speak up. Though your palms moisten as you contemplate the potential consequences, you summon the courage to voice your dissent. You risk kindling the flames of conflict. It’s the fight response stirring within you, ready to defend your values and challenge the unsettling remark head-on.

Fight: When you speak up, assert your point of view, defend yourself, or challenge your coworker’s statement, you run the risk of starting a fight. This means you actively express your disagreement regarding the unsettling comment.

Option two: Leave the meeting. The sudden urge to escape this suffocating atmosphere washes over you like a wave. You imagine slipping away from the room, seeking solace in solitude. This is the flight response beckoning you, urging you to flee from the tension and find sanctuary elsewhere.

Flight: If you run away from the room or even the office building, in the worst case even your job, as a way of avoiding conflict or confrontation, this can be seen as a flight response. Apart from not wanting to give a fitting reply to your coworker’s nasty comment, you “fly away” from the tense situation. Your primary focus seems to be on self-preservation and avoiding any immediate conflict.

Option three: Remain silent. Your voice caught in your throat, you choose to remain an observer, a silent witness to the unsettling comment. Time seems to freeze as you grapple with the inner turmoil. You momentarily freeze, unable to process your thoughts.

Freeze: If you find yourself temporarily paralyzed or mentally stuck, by a sense of shock or disbelief, it’s a freeze response. You might typically remain silent or find yourself unable to articulate a response.

Option four: Do something to appease. You struggle mightily to keep peace and stay away from the conflict that develops within you. Even if it is the reverse, you consider integrating, grin and acknowledge that you are to blame for the error. You adjust your response to reflect the mood of the group. A survival instinct compels you to adapt and conform to the expectations of others.

Fawn: If you choose to do something to fit in, such as downplaying your discomfort or agreeing with the coworker’s comment despite feeling unsettled, it could be seen as a fawn response. Your focus here is on avoiding conflict by complying or appeasing your coworker.

Understanding these stress reactions can help recognize your own patterns and explore healthier ways to manage stress and conflict in the future. The choices you make reflect the intricate tapestry of the fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses. Each path holds its allure and risks. The journey towards managing stress and finding inner peace begins with acknowledging how stress can hinder your quest.

Now, it’s up to you to determine which response will guide you toward a calmer horizon. When you rewire how you react to stress, you can be in total command. Realizing how stress stands in the way of finding more inner peace is the first step in managing it.

Have you ever thought about stress more positively?

When you react more positively, your brain produces less stress hormone (cortisol) and more DHEA, a hormone that guards you against stress’s harmful effects. There’s a yin-yang relationship between DHEA and cortisol. If you keep worrying about what might go wrong, your cortisol levels will soar. Your brain will stop freaking out about these things if you have more DHEA. A study found that people who participated in a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction session had higher levels of circulating DHEAS than those who didn’t.

Sit somewhere comfortable, and when you’re ready, follow along with this audio meditation, taking time to focus on your natural in-breath and out-breath.

Clenched Fist Instant Relaxation Technique

Although you may believe that clenching your fists and gritting your teeth means you’re about to lose control, those typical muscle-tensing gestures may help you keep your cool. According to new research, making your hands into the tightest fist possible can help you find your inner zen.

If you think back to when you had to take a yucky cough medicine for a nasty cough, you probably scrunched up your face and tensed it even before the medicine touched your tongue. Making that ewww-gross face might have made it easier to swallow the medicine.

A clenched fist may appear to be a violent reaction to you. But scientists claim that the tighter your fists, the stronger will be your sense of happiness, confidence, and determination. It prepares your mind to deal with situations like receiving a painful injection or resisting a cream cake for dessert.

Spanda – Nishpanda Kriya

The yogic concept of spanda-nishpanda refers to the coupling of tension and relaxation. You consciously tighten different body parts to their greatest extent, then slowly let them loose to their greatest extent. Compared to just attempting to relax without first putting out the effort of tension.This results in a better relaxation response.

Lie down in a relaxed supine position with your body in a straight line. After a few seconds of relaxation in this position. Begin to tense, starting from your toes and working your way up to your butt, until your entire lower body is as tense as possible.

Hold the spanda at this 100% tension level for a few seconds. Make sure all of the muscles in your lower body are as tight as you can. When the tension is at its highest, simply “let go” and 100% instantly relax your lower body. This is the nishpanda state. Enjoy your calmness and keep consciously observing your breath as it enters and exits your nose.

Repeat Spanda – Nishpanda by tensing your entire upper body to spanda and holding it for a few seconds. When you’re ready, let go of your upper body completely and enjoy a few minutes in the nishpanda state.

When you contrast relaxation with tension, it becomes more profound, so pay attention to how all of your muscles are relaxing during this exercise. For those with psychosomatic, stress-induced, and stress-aggravated illnesses like hypertension, diabetes, asthma, insomnia, peptic ulcers, and bowel disorders, this Spanda-Nishpanda practice is a godsend.

The next time you feel pretty blindsided and short of breath, clench your fist, breathe deeply, and say to yourself. This is my body helping me meet this challenge.

Reading bedtime stories to children helps them fall asleep. Think of mindfulness as a daily ritual to help you unwind. The next time you need to let go of your worries, try the clenched fist relaxation.

Just like any other skill, learning to relax gets easier with practice. Avoid letting your attempts to unwind add to your stress. If you experience emotional discomfort while practicing relaxation techniques, stop what you’re doing. Consult your physician or a mental health specialist.