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.

​Here at Flex, we believe that a thriving practice requires not only strong practice management, but also strong personal management. That is why we are excited to launch a blog mini-series:  Balancing The Bar.  This series will provide mindfulness exercises to help you relieve stress, increase productivity, and improve communication and relationships.  We refer to these as ‘wellbeing workouts’, and the best part is, they can be completed in 3-5 minutes!  We hope this series provides you with some new tools to support your success. 

WELLBEING WORKOUT 01 - MINDFUL BREATHING 
 
Mindful Breathing is one of the best tools for improving your wellbeing; it is also one of the simplest, which is why we are kicking off your first Wellbeing Workout with a deep breathing exercise. 
You can use mindful breathing techniques any time you are feeling stressed, to invite peace, clarity and calm.  
This particular exercise is one of my favorites; I must do it 20 times a day to help me maintain a focused and calm mind.   

DAILY DOSE: 5-SECOND BREATH CYCLES
You don't need anything but yourself to complete this first exercise.  You can do it anytime, anywhere - so why not right now? 

breath in for 5 seconds
hold in for 5 seconds
breath out for 5 seconds
hold out for 5 seconds
{continue for 3 minutes, paying attention to the breath}
 
WHY THIS WORKS: When you breathe deeply and slowly, you activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which reverses the stress response in your body and can work to lower cortisol levels in the body.  
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Ashleigh Frankel, co-founder of 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.