INTRODUCING OUR PERSONAL MANAGEMENT & WELLBEING MINI-SERIES: BALANCING THE BAR

​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, 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.  

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