Browse
Top articles
How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
Benefits of Mindfulness: Mindful Living Can Change Your Life
Mindfulness 101: A Beginner's Guide
00:00
00:00
Personalized support for learning how to integrate mindfulness into your life. Delivered fresh everyday by our world renowned experts. Choose meditation duration:
Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today, I'm going to talk about the stress on-stress off approach to living well. So for most of us these days, we experience quite a bit of ongoing stress in daily life. We're often, for starters, just very busy. We have very full to-do do lists as well as worries about the world and personal challenges, such as trouble in relationships, financial difficulties, this kind of thing.
So whenever weyouget stressed or upset in daily life, your body goes into the fight or flight mode. That's evolution's way of mobilizing your body in times of stress so that you could run, fight or freeze in times of danger. That's what really kept our hunter gatherer ancestors alive. That fight or flight system was really designed to be triggered when there was immediate danger and then it would switch off for the rest of the time. But these days, we tend to have ongoing tension in the mind and body, which we pay a high price for.
It can lead to all kinds of health problems, as well as mental illnesses like anxiety and depression. So what can we do about this? Well, Dr. Herbert Benson, the author of a book called, The Relaxation Response, says that regular elicitation of the relaxation response can prevent and compensate for the damage incurred by frequent nervous system reactions that pulse through our hearts and bodies. In other words, we can go from stress on to stress off, so we can switch off the fight or flight system and switch on the relaxation response through regular deliberate relaxation. Here's three ways you can do this.
One, when you're going about daily life, ticking off tasks on your to do list, replying to emails or stuck in traffic, see if you can deliberately relax your body at will, especially the jaw and the shoulders. See if you can pause every now and then, and just let go of some of the tension in the body. Just doing that a few times throughout the day. And even if you just let go a little bit, that's still great. Second thing, take a few long, slow, deep breaths with longer exhales.
This can switch off the stress response and switch on the relaxation response. And three, schedule regular periods of relaxing activities. You know, five minute rest under a tree, hot bath, slow walk. All of these kinds of activities can be really beneficial in regulating your nervous system. So the invitation for practice today and ongoing, if you care to, is to see if you can find more balance with the stress on-stress off way of living.
The more you practice regular deliberate relaxation like this, the more you train your mind and body to naturally drop into a relaxed state for the majority of the time. So as always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us. And let's settle in now for today's meditation.
Stress On, Stress Off
Personalized support for learning how to integrate mindfulness into your life. Delivered fresh everyday by our world renowned experts. Choose meditation duration:
Duration
Your default time is based on your progress and is changed automatically as you practice.
Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today, I'm going to talk about the stress on-stress off approach to living well. So for most of us these days, we experience quite a bit of ongoing stress in daily life. We're often, for starters, just very busy. We have very full to-do do lists as well as worries about the world and personal challenges, such as trouble in relationships, financial difficulties, this kind of thing.
So whenever weyouget stressed or upset in daily life, your body goes into the fight or flight mode. That's evolution's way of mobilizing your body in times of stress so that you could run, fight or freeze in times of danger. That's what really kept our hunter gatherer ancestors alive. That fight or flight system was really designed to be triggered when there was immediate danger and then it would switch off for the rest of the time. But these days, we tend to have ongoing tension in the mind and body, which we pay a high price for.
It can lead to all kinds of health problems, as well as mental illnesses like anxiety and depression. So what can we do about this? Well, Dr. Herbert Benson, the author of a book called, The Relaxation Response, says that regular elicitation of the relaxation response can prevent and compensate for the damage incurred by frequent nervous system reactions that pulse through our hearts and bodies. In other words, we can go from stress on to stress off, so we can switch off the fight or flight system and switch on the relaxation response through regular deliberate relaxation. Here's three ways you can do this.
One, when you're going about daily life, ticking off tasks on your to do list, replying to emails or stuck in traffic, see if you can deliberately relax your body at will, especially the jaw and the shoulders. See if you can pause every now and then, and just let go of some of the tension in the body. Just doing that a few times throughout the day. And even if you just let go a little bit, that's still great. Second thing, take a few long, slow, deep breaths with longer exhales.
This can switch off the stress response and switch on the relaxation response. And three, schedule regular periods of relaxing activities. You know, five minute rest under a tree, hot bath, slow walk. All of these kinds of activities can be really beneficial in regulating your nervous system. So the invitation for practice today and ongoing, if you care to, is to see if you can find more balance with the stress on-stress off way of living.
The more you practice regular deliberate relaxation like this, the more you train your mind and body to naturally drop into a relaxed state for the majority of the time. So as always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us. And let's settle in now for today's meditation.
Duration
Play in-app
Scan the following QR code with your camera app to open it on our mobile app
Get Unlimited Access
A Mindfulness Plus+ subscription gives you unlimited access to a world of premium mindfulness content.
Email Missing
We couldn’t detect your email with the SSO provider you have selected.We are here to make a positive impact on the world. We never want to sell you something that hasn’t helped you live a better life. That’s why if you’re unhappy with any purchase from us, you have 30 days to get a full refund and your money back.
If you subscribed to Mindfulness Plus+ and are unhappy with your purchase, please get in contact with us within the 30-day period and we’ll refund your purchase.
Learn more about our Mindfulness Guarantee.
Mindfulness
We believe in a world where everybody has access to the life-changing skills of mindfulness.
Private Browsing
Congratulations on taking the first step towards a more mindful life! As a token of our appreciation, we want to offer you an exclusive opportunity to upgrade to Mindfulness Plus+ for a price you won't find anywhere else.
Mindfulness Plus+ is our premium membership that includes everything you need to learn mindfulness and keep practicing throughout all stages of life.
Take this exclusive offer to further your mindfulness skills and experience deeper levels of well-being.
Annual membership
$0
Just a small sample of the life-changing 5-star reviews we get on a daily basis.
Vidyamala’s tips on catching anger as it’s happening or about to happen are great - clear, practical, and doable.
- Vicoir
The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
- Lauren
Incredible, easy to navigate app. I would highly recommend this app to anyone who wishes to reduce stress and anxiety or simply as an aid to improve overall mental health.
- Kirtus
I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
- Lydia
So calm and soothing. I love the new bundle with Kelly Boys, she’s brilliant!
- EJ
Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
- Gina, Plus+ Member
Vidyamala’s tips on catching anger as it’s happening or about to happen are great - clear, practical, and doable.
- Vicoir
The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
- Lauren
Incredible, easy to navigate app. I would highly recommend this app to anyone who wishes to reduce stress and anxiety or simply as an aid to improve overall mental health.
- Kirtus
I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
- Lydia
So calm and soothing. I love the new bundle with Kelly Boys, she’s brilliant!
- EJ
Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
- Gina, Plus+ Member
Vidyamala’s tips on catching anger as it’s happening or about to happen are great - clear, practical, and doable.
- Vicoir
The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
- Lauren
Incredible, easy to navigate app. I would highly recommend this app to anyone who wishes to reduce stress and anxiety or simply as an aid to improve overall mental health.
- Kirtus
I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
- Lydia
So calm and soothing. I love the new bundle with Kelly Boys, she’s brilliant!
- EJ
Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
- Gina, Plus+ Member
I am very new to meditation, and am so happy that my first introduction to it has been through this app
The first session was fantastic. I feel safe. And supported. Almost like having someone helping me through my difficult time. I’m very grateful for this app.
- Babi
You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
- Joy
Highly recommend.
- Humanfrst
Kelly Boys is hands down the best. Everytime I click on one of her guided meditations I get excited for the calmness that lies ahead.
-
I am very new to meditation, and am so happy that my first introduction to it has been through this app
The first session was fantastic. I feel safe. And supported. Almost like having someone helping me through my difficult time. I’m very grateful for this app.
- Babi
You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
- Joy
Highly recommend.
- Humanfrst
Kelly Boys is hands down the best. Everytime I click on one of her guided meditations I get excited for the calmness that lies ahead.
-
I am very new to meditation, and am so happy that my first introduction to it has been through this app
The first session was fantastic. I feel safe. And supported. Almost like having someone helping me through my difficult time. I’m very grateful for this app.
- Babi
You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
- Joy
Highly recommend.
- Humanfrst
Kelly Boys is hands down the best. Everytime I click on one of her guided meditations I get excited for the calmness that lies ahead.
-
Thank you for joining us
Dive into the full library and enjoy all it has to offer!
Claim your free access
Create a mindfulness account and we’ll unlock this premium session in your account forever.
7-Days free trial, cancel anytime.
Complete a few quick questions to make your own personalized mindfulness plan.
Sign up or login to your mindfulness account to proceed.
Sign up or login to your mindfulness account to proceed.
Mindfulness
One membership to gain access to a world of premium mindfulness content created to help you live happier and stress less.