Sometimes, do you wake up in the morning and already you have that feeling inside you recognise as anxiety? Or in the middle of the day, you've been super busy and things are starting to overload you - you begin to feel anxious? Wouldn't it be great to have a technique in your toolkit that can help ease those feelings of tension in your chest? 

This Dru Tip for life, EBR 3 Soothe, combines two movements from EBR 3 (Energy Block Release  3) to do exactly that: soothe anxiety, open your heart and ease the tension in your chest. They can be used independently or together for a more profound effect.

• Find a comfortable place to sit or stand, so that your spine is erect and your neck and shoulders relaxed.

Anahata breath - soothing, calming and relaxing

• With your arms at chest height, palms facing you and fingers almost touching, as if you were hugging a tree, breath in.
• As you breathe in, draw your hands toward your chest.
• In the pause between the in and out breath turn your palms around to face away from you, then as you breathe out, stretch your arms in front of you.
• In the pause between out and in breath, turn your palms back toward you and repeat.
• If you are standing you can bend your knees on the out breath and gently straighten your legs as you breathe in (remember to keep your core engaged).
• Keep the whole movement flowing and soft, even your gaze, and if you like to visualise, try visualising something soothing on the in breath and releasing on the out breath.
• Repeat until you feel soothed and ready to shift the physical tension or return to your day.

Heaven and Earth stretch - shifts physical tension from the centre of your chest and back

• Begin with your palms facing each other at the level of your heart, with your fingers pointing up.
• As you breathe in stretch your right hand up towards the sky and your left hand down toward the earth.
• Breathe out and draw your hands back towards your heart.
• Breathe in and stretch your left hand up toward the sky and your right hand down toward the earth.
• Keep your attention in the diagonal stretch in the centre of chest, consciously releasing tension with each repetition.
• If you are standing, you might like to gently bend your knees as you breathe out and gently straighten your legs as you breathe in.
• Repeat until you feel the tension in your chest has shifted (or your arms get tired!), and your chest feels open and soft.

Together, these two movements can create a profound relaxation of anxiety and tension in just a few minutes, and can be repeated as often as you would like through your day. Notice the effect of each movement so you can be the designer of your practice and choose either one of them or both together, depending on the effect you need.

We hope you enjoy feeling soothed.

Remember, if you are feeling anxiety in your chest, breathe in through your heart then stretch to the sky and the earth. If you would like to explore the full heart opening potential of EBR 3, click here to order your copy of the Awakening the Heart CD, by Rita Goswami from the Dru shop.