Sometimes you may wake in the morning dreading the day ahead. Maybe you’re worried about leading that big presentation in front of the entire company or nervous about the parent teacher conference after school.
But there’s an easy way to address that anxiety before even leaving the house.
“The most important thing is to slow down and check on how you’re feeling,” Anita Phillips, Ph.D., a trauma therapist and author of the book, “The Garden Within,” said on TODAY. “In order to be empowered during the day, the most important thing is to slow down and check on how you’re feeling.”
If people notice that they’re struggling with nerves, Phillips said there are two quick exercises they can do to relieve some of that anxiety.
“Emotions are bodily experiences,” she said.
Therapist Tip of the Day: Try the ‘Voo’ and Tension Release Exercises
When the anxiety starts creeping in, Phillips recommends people try a few simple exercises to help manage it. The first is something called a “voo” exercise.
“Those internal feelings that are uncomfortable, you can’t scratch them like an itch,” she said. “But sound can reach (them).”
The voo exercise involves taking a deep inhale and then exhaling while making the sound “voo” for the length of the exhale.
“You feel the vibration,” Phillips said.
That vibration helps work anxiety out of the body.
The second practice, tension release, also involves inhaling and exhaling.
“You want to inhale calm, and as you exhale, I want you to make everything tight,” Phillips explained. “Now inhale and relax again.”
Purposefully tensing up the body and then relaxing it helps the mind also feel more relaxed, she said.
Both exercises take such little time that you can do them pretty much anytime, like “standing in front of the microwave,” Phillips said, or while waiting for coffee to finish brewing.
Why It Matters
Tending to one’s feelings as they come rather than pushing them down leads to better mental health.
“I love to compare emotional pain to hunger,” Phillips said. “When we’re hungry, we eat. We know that if we don’t eat all day, we’ll start out feeling powerful, but we’ll end feeling weak. It’s the same thing with my emotional needs.”
How to Get Started
Practice the voo or tension release exercises when waking in the morning. They take very little time to complete, so Phillips says it’s possible to do them while going about typicaly morning tasks. You can also try “shaking it out” while brushing your teeth.
“Start by shaking your bottom,” she Phillips said. “Then let the shake go all the way up, and you can shake some of that anxiety (away).”
TODAY’s Expert Tip of the Day series is all about simple strategies to make life a little easier. Every Monday through Friday, different qualified experts share their best advice on diet, fitness, heart health, mental wellness and more.