There are so many distractions, constrictions, projections, and disturbances that hijack our peace of mind, it can be difficult to manage the daily stress we feel. The goal is not simply to live our lives in bliss (although that would be nice) – but to cultivate our ability to connect to present-moment awareness and then come into the next moment with greater awareness, calm, clarity, creativity, intuition and fulfillment.

There are many ways to relieve stress, but none as powerful as first understanding where stress comes from, changing our perception of stress, and then using stress to our advantage. This is what I call “destressifying.” We understand the scientific benefits of introducing a pattern interrupt into our non-stop flow of thoughts, words, and actions. And if you practice destressifying on a daily basis by integrating in-the-moment stress breakers throughout the course of our day, we will diffuse potential stressors as they unfold!

In the morning at home: Start your first meditation of the day using rise, pee, meditate. Creating stillness as the starting point for your next 24 hours sets a powerful trajectory. But the unknown stress can lurk right around the corner. As soon as you feel stressed, implement any of these ten steps to bring you back into the moment.

1. Spend five minutes holding your child, your lover, or your pet, which will instantly ease your blood pressure.
2. Take a 10-minute walk connecting to nature to ease anxiety and replace it with calm. Leave your phone home and don’t plug in any music. Just drink in everything you see, hear, touch, and smell as you walk at a leisurely pace.

3. Practice 15-minutes of yoga. Start with 5 minutes of pranayama. Then gently move through a classic sun salutation flow to awaken your prana, release tension and rejuvenate your body. And then lay in savasana for 5 minutes.

At home: Ideally you are walking into the workplace with stillness and silence already flowing through you. But as soon as you notice frustration, irritation, or intensity starting to build, take these steps.
4. Upon feeling the spark of your emotional tell, reach for SODA. Stop, Observe, Detach, and Awaken to the best version of yourself.

5. Pour some lavender or sandlewood-based oil or lotion gently into your open hand. Massage your palm with your thumb, then massage each finger from the base to the tip, and then the webbed area between your thumb and index finger.
6. Step away from your desk and go outside or to an unoccupied place where you can sit. Close your eyes and breathe in and out deeply through your nostrils ten times to lower your heart rate and reduce your blood pressure.
7. Take 3 minutes and chew a piece of gum to loosen the stress in your jaw. While you chew, roll your neck around to ease out any tightness.

After work: You’re carrying the past 12 hours of the day inside every cell in your body. So either as the very last thing you do before you head home or the very first thing you do when you come home, take time to release the day.
8. Shake the tension right out of your body. Roll your shoulders backward and forward. Reach your arms to the sky and stretch and elongate your whole body from your toes to the tips of your fingers, then do a few arm circles. If you’re feeling sprightly finish off with ten jumping jacks
9. Shake the tension out of your mind with recapitulation. Spend five minutes playing your day in fast forward from the moment you woke up – don’t linger for more than one second on each activity or event that unfolded throughout the day – don’t harp on the drama or the words. Just keep processing at high speed.
10. After dinner, SLOW down. Light a candle, brew some tea, take a bath, or nibble on some chocolate.

If you can follow these ten DESTRESSIFYING steps from Monday through Friday, you will soar into the weekend with greater grace, ease, and lightness of being! To learn more about managing stress check out my book Destressifying: The Real-World Guide to Personal Empowerment, Lasting Fulfillment, and Peace of Mind.  You can also tune in to my weekly Hay House Radio show - Live From The Sweet Spot Thursdays at 11 AM PST for meditation exercises, de-stress techniques, and much more. 
Try this meditation below to help focus your energy and relieve stress for the week ahead.

This powerful meditation features "The Universe Within (Yatapinde Tat Brahmande)" by davidji & SacredFire (available on Google Play • iTunes • AmazonMP3) Sign up for my newsletter at www.davidji.com  for more free meditations, videos, and destressifying tools right in your inbox.