Are you concerned about stress at work? Are you, like me, one of those people for whom taking a breather, relaxing and being zen at work is just unthinkable? Those people who suffer from stress at work, a little, a lot, (to the point of madness!) and who wait until the evening, perhaps, once they’re back home, to finally take a few minutes for themselves? That is, after the shopping, the homework, the bath, the meal… In short, at 11 p.m… That is, if you don’t fall asleep in front of the TV before then!

For a long time, I was particularly sensitive to stress at work.

Well, that was before. Before I decided to really change.

That I stopped waiting until I had nothing left to do to really relax (which is to say absolutely never, but it took me several years to realize that!).
That I discovered that, yes, you can fight stress at work with very small habits, even with a pile of files on the corner of your desk.
And that, in addition to the health benefits, tackling stress at work can even increase your efficiency.
To do this, I invite you to make a small change in your next working day… What if you simply practiced one minute of relaxation 5 times a day? Would one minute be too short a time to relax and beat stress? Not so sure! Try these 5-minute relaxations tomorrow to say goodbye to stress at work.

STRESS AT WORK IDEA #1 THE “I LISTEN TO MY BODY” MINUTE
I take a minute to listen to my body. I stand still. I observe where I am right now. Am I comfortable? I scan my body: are my feet relaxed or slightly tense? Are they flat on the floor? Are my legs crossed? Relaxed? I focus on the contact between my buttocks and the chair: what are the areas of contact? Are these areas well balanced between left and right, or more important on one side? Are my shoulders contracted? Raised? Or relaxed and supple? What about my fingers on the keyboard? My wrists? Finally, I feel my face. Are there any areas of tension in my forehead, temples, cheeks or lips?

I relax as much as possible the areas that are unnecessarily contracted, and adopt a comfortable position to resume my work.

STRESS AT WORK IDEA #2: THE “I’M POSITIVE ABOUT MY WORK” MINUTE
Naturally, I tend to remember the negative aspects of things better than the positive ones. This natural inclination to protect myself from life’s dangers can be a real hindrance to my day-to-day happiness. So I’m going to make my view of my job more positive for a few moments, by immediately finding 5 advantages to my current job.

For example:

I work in a pleasant environment.
I have friendly colleagues.
I work on interesting projects.
I have good relations with my superiors.
I have good working conditions (vacations, benefits, etc.).

My work is recognized.
My work is rewarding.
My work gives me a good quality of life.
During this minute, I repeat these affirmations to myself and soak up all these positive aspects of my work. This will help me manage my stress at work by focusing on its positive aspects.

STRESS AT WORK IDEA #3: THE “I MASSAGE MY FINGERS” MINUTE
(I’d say feet, but that’s less discreet in the office:-))
I take a minute to discover the hypersensitivity of my hands and fingertips.
One after the other, I gently massage the fingers of each hand. I make little circles and roll the skin over the bones from the base to the tip of each finger. Gently. Or firmly. I lightly pinch the skin, caress, rub each part.
No matter what gestures I make, I don’t try to make perfect movements; the essential thing is to focus my attention on the sensations of this massage. I listen to what it induces in me, and repeat the gestures I like. I feel how sensitive my fingers are, and how pleasant the sensations are.

STRESS AT WORK IDEA #4: THE “I RELAX MY TONGUE” MINUTE
I devote one minute to this discreet yet effective relaxation!

I focus on my tongue, warm, wet, heavy, thick. I visualize it. I feel it spread out all over my mouth. I move it slowly, aware of this movement. I touch the back of my teeth, my palate. I let my mouth half-open.

I feel the calm that this relaxation spreads through me… and the stress slowly eases.

STRESS AT WORK IDEA #5: THE “I CULTIVATE LOVE WITHIN ME” MINUTE
I think of someone I love very much. My husband. My child. My parent. I let all the feelings of love that this person inspires come to me. The desire to protect them, to help them, to support them, to make them happy. The joy of seeing her smile, of hearing her laugh. I feel my heart opening up to these positive emotions.
I extend these feelings to the people I work with. I think of them with kindness, with love. People who, like me, simply want to be happy. I let love come and grow within me, without limits.

How do you feel about this? Have these practices helped you to combat stress at work?