Stress Relief?

Its the section of REAL SIMPLE that I skip over every month. I am not a zen master--I've never found the joy in yoga, mediation or simply taking life slowly. Lately though I have been open to new ideas, since the amount of stress in the Bailey household has been going up exponentially lately. Everyday I wake up hoping that life will get easier, or at least simpler, and yet the universe keeps giving us more.

Dan took my car into the shop yesterday--my new brakes were squeaking at an earsplitting pitch, and the seat warmers were broken (big bummer in the freezing rain of late...) Around 3 pm he called to see what time the car would be ready to pick up--I was listening to one half of the conversation:

"No, I didn't get your voicemail--(cell phone coverage in our house is HORRIBLE.)"

"WHAT?? Really, that is unbelievable"

"Wow, sounds like you are working hard to get it resolved."

"No, we are getting our other car back today, so we won't need a rental."

WHAT COULD BE GOING IN WITH MY CAR?

Turns out on the test drive of my improved non earsplitting brakes, another car took a left into the front half of my car. Yes, the front half of my car is a mess--in desperate need of a body shop. Who takes their car in for mere annoyances and ends up a totaled front left side?

You can see why I need REAL SIMPLE.

Thankfully this month's issue has the promise of "15 minutes and you're done stress relief".

Here's my assessment:

Mediation--mildly interesting, but after 3 minutes of slow breathing and sitting stick straight on the floor I was feeling inadequate because I couldn't clear my mind. I was actually getting more stressed out.

Full Body Stretch: This seemed promising since the images were all of a woman in a rolling desk chair--a place I find myself most hours of most days. I did the cat-cow, the side to side and the twist, and by the end I felt dizzy from too little oxygen and too many odd movements.

Walking Mediation: This worked a bit--I was so busy counting my four step inhale and four step exhale that my mind was cleared--My load felt lighter for about 5 minutes.

I wouldn't say I am stress free--in fact I feel slightly more anxious because I couldn't find the zen in most of the exercises and breathing techniques, but it was only 15 minutes, as promised. And hopefully, since I tried something new the universe won't give us any more bad news today, just a visit from my in laws, and yet another rainy day.