BALANCING THE BAR - Wellbeing Workout No.2

MANAGING STRESS BY EXPANDING YOUR VISION

Welcome to our second Wellbeing Workout in our Personal Management & Wellbeing Mini-Series. 

Did you know that the physiological response to stress gives you a single point of focus, or what we often refer to as "tunnel vision"?
Tunnel vision gets in our way of making sound decisions because it  prevents us from really taking in all that is around us and at play in a given moment or situation.    
Playing with your peripheral vision actually helps your mind expand, so it can think of other possibilities. This is a great mindfulness practice to pull out during points in your day where you are trying to create or solve problems in a stressful or busy environment.  
 
DAILY DOSE: UN-TUNNEL YOUR VISION
Take a standing position.
Start by doing 3 cycles of the 5-second breathing (which we covered in our first Wellbeing Workout):
breath in for 5 seconds
hold in for 5 seconds
breath out for 5 seconds
hold out for 5 seconds
After 3 cycles of breathing is complete: 
On the next inhale, extend your arms to your side in a T-formation.
Wiggle your fingers. 
On the exhale, slowly bring your arms forward until the fingers are in sight.
On the next inhale, extend your fingers out to the side again.  
Repeat this 10 times.
Close your eyes, take 3 slow, deep breaths and enter back into your day with your open mind.  

If you have any go to mindfulness practices that you would like to share, or any questions about the Wellbeing Workouts, we would love to hear from you. 

Have a beautiful day,
​Ashleigh.

---

Author

Ashleigh Frankel, a former lawyer with Flex Legal Network, is also an applied mindfulness specialist & life coach.  During articling, Ashleigh began to develop her mindfulness practice to survive and thrive within the profession.  The tools have been so transformational, that she went back to University of Toronto to complete intensive study in mindfulness & mindfulness meditation, with the vision to bring these resources to others to support their success.  We hope you enjoy this mini-series.  ​