The #1 Strategy for Managing Stress. Yes, even YOU can do it!

What's the #1, research-proven strategy to manage stress? Here's the punchline, right up front.

Meditation

If that's all you needed, then you can go now and use your 89 seconds of bonus time however you please. If you are already listing all the reasons you can't meditate and have 89 seconds to spare, keep reading.

Here are the popular reasons I hear from my clients not to meditate:

• No time.
• No quiet space.
• Impossible to quiet my mind.
• Too wiggly (that was my reason for years).
• Too impatient.

Those excuses are a bit like saying you need to get in shape before you hire a trainer. Meditation will help you with all these things plus it's proven to improve your immunity, lower blood pressure and to change your brain to enhance compassion and promote calmer reactions to the stresses of life.

Meditation is not just for the ashram anymore. Companies like Google, McKinsey & Co, AOL Time Warner, Apple and Procter and Gamble encourage meditation for their employees because they know that meditation promotes the happiness and productivity of their workforce.

The list of benefits goes on and on, and you can start to realize all kinds of good things within 10 seconds of your first meditation. What else can promise you such fast results?

Meditation CAN fit into your busy, fast-paced life.

Here's how meditation works for me. Ideally, I wake up before my family and meditate in the dark before anyone else is awake. That happens, like, 1% of the time.

Usually, my husband comes in to start his coffee grinder. Then my son wakes up and climbs into my lap for a snuggle which invites the dog to join us. Then we settle in.

My point in telling you this is that meditation can fit into your regular life. In fact, your regular life can serve to help you focus your practice and model to others the importance of a little stillness and quiet.

Here are three easy ways to fit meditation into your life:

1. Sit at your desk with your eyes closed for 5 minutes. Find a little stillness.
2. Go for a walk with the only purpose being to enjoy the sights around you.
3. Find a meditation app or program (there are hundreds online) that you like. My favorite is the meditation series from Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey.

Give meditation a whirl then tell me what it was like. If you already meditate, I'd love to hear what practices work for you and the benefits you receive.

Om.

Christina

Peace! Now! And how to find it.

Estimated read time: 30 seconds. You just got a bonus minute to use for a simple pleasure!

Speaking of weird little processes. Crabapples!

You life is full. Many days, maybe most days, you run from meeting to meeting, checking your email and texts as you walk. Or your mind is full of your to-do list or what you will say to that person when you see them. Not to mention taking phone calls in your car (tisk, tisk). Stress. Busy-ness. Yikes!

When I worked for a big company our campus was huge. I was back and forth through the halls multiple times a day.

And then spring would arrive, and I would detour myself through a particular parking lot. There was the most glorious crabapple tree at the end of that parking lot. I would stop, stick my nose right into those blossoms and sniff. The marvelous smell of crabapple flowers was enough to propel me forward into even the most stressful meeting.

What's something you can easily do in a few seconds that will bring you a moment of peace and deep pleasure? Here are some ideas to get your little grey cells firing:

• leave the building to grab a cup of coffee
• stare out your window at the blue sky
• call a friend for a quick hello
• go for a little jaunt outside

With just a few seconds, you can find more peace.

I hope this helps!

Christina

P.S. If you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter, they can sign-up for The Corporate Rebel Video Podcast and Newsletter HERE.