How can you relax in a crisis? Is it even possible? When you are in the midst of one it can be hard to calm yourself down. There’s a lot of advice out there, but when the pressure’s really on it doesn’t seem to work.

Mindfulness, Tai-Chi, Yoga, Relaxation, and breathing exercises, for example, all work very well, but only if you have already mastered the basics when you are NOT stressed.

In an emergency, you have to be pretty proficient at mindfulness (or any of these other practices), to be able to calm a buzzing, overloaded mind to find peace and stillness, in the moment, when you really need it.

Relax in a crisis?

But what do you do if you ARE in the middle of a crisis, or when you are frazzled by unremitting and multiple demands, an ‘impossible’ workload or a scary deadline?

Then you need something which will work on demand, a quick way to trigger relaxation, slow things down (in you), so that you can come back to the day refreshed and re-focused.

Think of it like training the mind and the body to work together to achieve a desired end. Just as training for physical fitness requires mental discipline and emotional control, so training for emotional control…

Regular practice

Regular practice in your chosen discipline will mean that you will be better able to deal with stress and less likely to find yourself in crisis. Nevertheless, if the pressure mounts to a point where you are having difficulty, because you already have the skills to genuinely relax in a crisis, then you can call on them in an emergency.

In short, if you want to be able to calm yourself down in any situation, don’t wait until you are in the middle of a crisis or an anxiety attack to start training yourself.

There are many pathways to physical relaxation and inner peace, such as through the disciplines already mentioned. Regular practice is the route to take, which is why they are called ‘disciplines’.