When you need to reach out for your sanity

MendMaker Exercise: Session written and explained by your coach Claire Anstey

This Exercise Allows for the Feeling of Depression to Pass

Session Length: Approximately 10-15 minutes

Session Benefits: The "When You Need to Reach Out for Your Sanity" MendMaker Exercise is a quick, effective method for alleviating feelings of depression and shifting your mood. This exercise involves physical movements and focused breathing to help release tension and introduce a sense of calm. By engaging in this routine, you stimulate your body's relaxation response, which can lead to a clearer mind and a lighter emotional state. It's especially useful for moments when you feel overwhelmed and need an immediate way to regain your grounding. This technique not only helps in managing acute stress and low moods but also promotes a more present, mindful approach to everyday challenges, helping you stay centered and in control.

Introduction

This exercise allows for the feeling of depression to pass. I was taught it via a friend who was taught via a friend at her gym. This is not my claim to fame but well worth sharing and a big huge thank you to how it got into my hands. It works quite well as something you can do quickly to change your mood when you are feeling low and want to snap out of it.

Read this exercise through fully once and then go for it.

Part 1 of Exercise

Sit on a chair or the end of your bed with your back straight and your feet flat on the floor. Lift your hand above your head and reach up with both hands. With your arms still in place breathe in deeply. Hold your breath and squeeze your hands into fists so that the muscles in your arms get really tight. Hold your breath until it starts to get uncomfortable and then breath out slowly. Keep your arms tense and lower your fists to your chest, as if you’re pulling down on a gym machine.

Repeat part 1 of exercise 5 times.

On your final repetition cross your arms over your chest, imagine you’re Dracula sleeping and you have got the right position.

You are now in Part 2 of this Exercise.

Drop your chin to your chest and breath in four short breaths without breathing out. It feels a bit like your gasping for breath but you are filling your lungs deeply with fresh new oxygen so this is good for you as more oxygen is getting to your body and brain. Hold your breath for as long as comfortable on your fourth breath and then breathe out slowly through your mouth. You should be able to still control your breath here if you can’t you held your breath to long.

Repeat part 2 of the exercise for a few minutes. The key is to focus on your breath and imagine all the negative feelings leaving your body with every out breath.

This exercise is quick and easy and a great start for those whom are totally new to meditation. Meditation allows for us to create an inner focus within ourselves. I used to spend so much time worrying about what had happened in my break up. I was crying desperately about what I wasn’t going to have in my future, I wasn’t going to have a marriage, I wasn’t going to have any babies, the dreams of a nice house were gone and so was the man to love and cherish me. Meditation allowed me to focus on the here and now, not what had or hadn’t happened. When I was able to focus on me right here right now I realized that everything was ok and all was perfect. Letting go of our worries for the future as a singleton is the hardest but the more you focus on the here and now the easier losing those fears will become.

Whenever you are feeling low and those fears about your future sneak up on you do this exercise. You can even do this in your birthday suit from your bedside.