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Election Stress Relief
A 2-Minute Relaxation for Your Core
Try our body scan to find a moment of calm — right now
As we approach Election Day, Elemental is bringing you a progressive body scan for stress relief (also known as progressive muscle relaxation therapy; read more about the science behind it here). Each day, you’ll focus on and relax one part of your body to find a moment of presence and calm. Today, we dial in to the abdomen. Find earlier installments here (for the feet) and here (for the legs and lower back).
Pause.
Take a nice, big inhale… and a long exhale.
Release any worries about the future and any past regrets, and take a moment to tune in to your present without judgment or criticism.
Breathing in… and sighing out any fear, anxiety, or frustration.
Inhale… and exhale.
Bring your awareness to your belly.
Notice how it expands on your inhale and softens on your exhale.
Inhale and feel the belly stretch as the lungs expand and your diagram creates more space for your lower ribs.
Exhale and feel everything soften, like the wings of a dove after a long flight home.
Feel how this letting go informs the rest of your body.
How it informs the quality of your breath.
Feel the middle of your back soften.
Feel the bit of flexibility in your lower ribs.
Feel your belly button relax and melt toward the spine.
Inhale and hold the breath in the belly for four, three, two, one…
Exhale, sigh the air out, and let go.
One more time: Inhale; hold the breath in the belly for four, three, two, one…
Exhale…
Let go.
Feel any tension or resistance in your core dissipate as your breath cradles the middle of your body.
Let the world dissolve around you, and feel the connection from your hips and lower back to the very bottom of your ribs.
Repeat this affirmation, either out loud or in your head: “I am strong and centered.”
