Watching the news, reading the papers, managing a business, relationship issues, getting the kids to school, money worries and physical ailments can raise our stress levels alarmingly. We need this automatic response to survive a hostile environment yet elevated and prolonged stress can play havov with our emotions, our decisions and general well-being. As adrenaline and cortisone (the stress hormones) flood our body, our breathing becomes shallow, muscles tense up, the immune system is suppressed and the sleep process is blocked.
During my sessions for The Academy for Chief Executives, I often see overwhelming numbers of Leaders who complain of anxiety attacks, waking up at 3am full of dread about the future and unbridled rage that they feel out of control.
Interestingly, it is impossible to feel stressed when you are fully accessing your charismatic potential.
When you are being you and you are loving what you do you shine. Charisma is naturally released from our hearts when we feel confident in who we are. Charisma flows when our work has personal meaning so we naturally activate high levels of dynamism and passion. Charisma requires acute sensory awareness whereby you trust your emotional guidance system and listen to your instincts. Charismatic individuals exude high levels of energy and have a compelling vision that stirs their senses so they appear more ‘alive’ that other people.
Often when people are stressed they create a wall of protection, a mask they can retreat behind, aspects of their personality become exaggerated and extreme – the real authentic person disappears and we meet the shell or superficial layer of a person and it naturally unsettles us. Trying to keep up this facade is exhausting. Imagine trying to hold a beach ball under water for hours, let alone days and months – the process of suppressing drains energy and positivity.
Working with peoples’ charisma at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre has enabled me to study the impact of charisma on stress levels and I can confidently claim that it does.
One of my mentors in 2007 – 2009, Les Greve, Energy Therapist, devotes over 60% of his time providing energetic interventions to people suffering from emotional issues that ignite their stress levels. Being a big fan of Les’s work, I’ve asked him to turn up my own energy levels this weekend so that I can become a Reiki Master. As I’ve grown older I’ve noticed the key role energy plays in every aspect of our lives. There is a saying: “Energy flows where our focus goes” – if your focusing on worry, debt, recessions, aches and pains then this is the quickest way to drain your energy and invite in stress.
My top tips for dealing with stress so you release more of your natural charisma:
1. Visit an Emotional Freedom Techniques Practitioner who can unblock your energy and clear your negative emotions.
2. Take up meditation – even for just 5 minutes a day because it will create a chemical change in your frontal lobe and boost your immune system
3. Cut out coffee – it is absolute poison and feeds your stress so it will grow
4. Visit a chiropractor who can let you know how you are manifesting stress in your body (tense, nervous headaches? grinding teeth in your sleep?)
5. Get your chakras balanced – chakras are now a widely accepted term in the scientific community – they are the ‘gateways’ where energy enters and exits the body. If one of your chakras is blocked or sluggish this will place great strain on your overall body.
6. Take up a hobby or pastime that makes you laugh – visit a Comedy Store or take up Laughter Yoga! Laughter boost the immune system and releases serotonin into your bloodstream.
7. Learn HeartMath breathing to help transform everyday challenges into healthier, more resilient and productive energy.
8.Drink more water. Studies have shown that being just half a litre dehydrated will increase cortisol levels.
9. Walk in nature because a series of studies published in the Journal of Environment Psychology, June 2010 conclude that a 20 minute walk significantly boosts energy and vitality.
10. Adopt an attitude of acceptance – stress occurs only when you are trying to swim against the flow. An unpleasant circumstance met with the ‘right attitude’ can be a positive factor in your life. Through acceptance you stop wasing emotional energy and start finding creative ways to make the situation better.
Have a calm, centred and balanced week!
Tags: Chakras, Emotional Freedom Techniques, heartmath, Laughter Yoga, Les Greve, Reiki, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, stress, The Academy for Chief Executives