Good morning to all of you. As I continue my blog posts I wanted to share a stress relief technique with you that I call the 5 minute virtual vacation. This is good to use anytime during the day in addition to individual or group meditation.
Stress accumulates like a toxin in the body. It can cause nagging headaches, frequent insomnia, anxiety with associated chest pains and can be a contributing factor to health problems like high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. In addition to affecting your body, stress can affect your thoughts, emotions and your behavior. Now we can have that extra beer or two at your local watering hole and I do partake in a libation on occasion. I am sure you are all familiar with the the term "blowing of steam."
But what if you are in the middle of your workday? Wouldn’t it be great to have a quick solution to relieve stress? Well I am here to assist you with the 5 minute virtual vacation. I have used this technique to help groups and individuals cope with stress as well as using it as a relaxation technique when facilitating guided meditation sessions.
I am accustomed to facilitating this 5 minute journey in person or teleconference and ask the participants to close their eyes. Since I am writing this down for you, I will ask that you read this post, then close your eyes and let the visualization of this scenario come to life in your mind. So let’s begin.
I want you to spend a few moments breathing in, holding it for 3 seconds, and then slowing exhaling. Try your best to clear your mind. Imagine a large metal chest with an impenetrable lock. Unlock the chest, open it and anything that is on your mind right now, put it in the chest and lock it.
Continue to breath in, hold and then out. Now imagine that you are walking on the path surrounded by a field at the edge of a forest. The weather is comfortable 78 degrees with scattered clouds and a slight breeze On either side of the path the field is full of flowers, lavender on the right and fragrant orange flowers on the left. Take some time as you walk, to smell their sweet ambrosia that intoxicates your senses. As you continue to walk you enter a forest.The pine trees on either side of the path provide shade and a sense of comfort and protection.
The path gently winds up a gradual hill but there is no labor required in your blissful stroll. As you continue your walk you are reminded of times in your youth where the smallest things like stepping on crushed leaves or finding a pine cone gave you such pleasure.
As you walk the path ends at a clearing where a beautiful cabin sits. You walk up to the cabin and step onto the porch, walking to the sliding doors at its north end. A large overstuffed purple love seat awaits you. You sit comfortably and enjoy the view, listening to the birds as they sweetly sing their song. You appreciate the fluffy white cotton like cloud formations and smell the pine in the trees that hug the shoreline of a vast lake that is now in your view. You gaze in admiration at the glimmering waters deep blue color. And are thankful for the opportunity to enjoy this wonderful place
Take a deep breath in, hold it for a few seconds, than release it and feel the tension leave your body. Now open your eyes and you will feel refreshed and relaxed. Now don’t you feel better? My hope is that your answer to that question is yes.
Now here is the the good thing. You can return to this post as often as you like and take this 5 minute vacation again and again. Or you can pick your own beautiful scene to create your own scenario for your 5 minute virtual vacation in future. For those who are visual formulate an image in your mind of your personal oasis. For those who are not visual, that;s OK, just find a picture of a beautiful scene on the Internet or in a magazine to use for your vacation.
I hope that you all enjoyed today’s post. Monday's post will discuss how to regain your spirit in the midst of the corporate machine.
I look forward to sharing more about energy and other tidbits with you all!
Have a glorious rest of your day! – Lee
Stress accumulates like a toxin in the body. It can cause nagging headaches, frequent insomnia, anxiety with associated chest pains and can be a contributing factor to health problems like high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. In addition to affecting your body, stress can affect your thoughts, emotions and your behavior. Now we can have that extra beer or two at your local watering hole and I do partake in a libation on occasion. I am sure you are all familiar with the the term "blowing of steam."
But what if you are in the middle of your workday? Wouldn’t it be great to have a quick solution to relieve stress? Well I am here to assist you with the 5 minute virtual vacation. I have used this technique to help groups and individuals cope with stress as well as using it as a relaxation technique when facilitating guided meditation sessions.
I am accustomed to facilitating this 5 minute journey in person or teleconference and ask the participants to close their eyes. Since I am writing this down for you, I will ask that you read this post, then close your eyes and let the visualization of this scenario come to life in your mind. So let’s begin.
I want you to spend a few moments breathing in, holding it for 3 seconds, and then slowing exhaling. Try your best to clear your mind. Imagine a large metal chest with an impenetrable lock. Unlock the chest, open it and anything that is on your mind right now, put it in the chest and lock it.
Continue to breath in, hold and then out. Now imagine that you are walking on the path surrounded by a field at the edge of a forest. The weather is comfortable 78 degrees with scattered clouds and a slight breeze On either side of the path the field is full of flowers, lavender on the right and fragrant orange flowers on the left. Take some time as you walk, to smell their sweet ambrosia that intoxicates your senses. As you continue to walk you enter a forest.The pine trees on either side of the path provide shade and a sense of comfort and protection. 
The path gently winds up a gradual hill but there is no labor required in your blissful stroll. As you continue your walk you are reminded of times in your youth where the smallest things like stepping on crushed leaves or finding a pine cone gave you such pleasure. As you walk the path ends at a clearing where a beautiful cabin sits. You walk up to the cabin and step onto the porch, walking to the sliding doors at its north end. A large overstuffed purple love seat awaits you. You sit comfortably and enjoy the view, listening to the birds as they sweetly sing their song. You appreciate the fluffy white cotton like cloud formations and smell the pine in the trees that hug the shoreline of a vast lake that is now in your view. You gaze in admiration at the glimmering waters deep blue color. And are thankful for the opportunity to enjoy this wonderful place
Take a deep breath in, hold it for a few seconds, than release it and feel the tension leave your body. Now open your eyes and you will feel refreshed and relaxed. Now don’t you feel better? My hope is that your answer to that question is yes.
Now here is the the good thing. You can return to this post as often as you like and take this 5 minute vacation again and again. Or you can pick your own beautiful scene to create your own scenario for your 5 minute virtual vacation in future. For those who are visual formulate an image in your mind of your personal oasis. For those who are not visual, that;s OK, just find a picture of a beautiful scene on the Internet or in a magazine to use for your vacation.
I hope that you all enjoyed today’s post. Monday's post will discuss how to regain your spirit in the midst of the corporate machine.
I look forward to sharing more about energy and other tidbits with you all!
Have a glorious rest of your day! – Lee
My Books are available on Amazon
Links of items I enjoy, that you may find useful
Berkey Water Filter The only filter I've found that removes fluoride from drinking water. We filter fluoride from our drinking water to decalcify our pineal gland to connect to increase our spiritual awareness. (article on the Pineal Gland)
Spiritual Guide Incense I love this incense that gets me into the zone.
Other authors books that have helped me on my journey.
The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz
The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
The Essential Rumi by Jalal al-Din Rumi
Carlos Castaneda's books
Leeza Donatella is an author, speaker and teacher