For today's challenge, put your hand on your heart!
Why put your hand on your heart?
Warm, safe touch anywhere that feels comfortable on our body can release the oxytocin, but there are neural cells around the heart that communicate directly with the brain and more quickly begin the activation of the release.
(“Mitigate the Stress Response with a Hand on Your Heart | LoveAndLifeToolBox”)
Why does putting a hand on our heart make us happier?
By releasing oxytocin, your blood pressure and heart rate go down and you can calm down a panic attack in less than one minute!! I find that when I feel especially anxious, just putting my hand over my heart has a very calming effect and seems to work even more quickly than deep breathing. In addition to making you feel immediately better, one study found that when you have your hand over your heart, it makes you more trustworthy to others.
As team leaders, it is especially important that we both remain calm and appear trustworthy. These two characteristics convey strong leadership to those around us, and team members naturally migrate to level-headed individuals for leadership. This routine will help you be the level-headed team member that others rely on.
How can you do it?
If you are feeling under attack and panicking when a customer, boss or employee addresses you, try simply placing your hand on your heart. For best results, try to keep your hand on your heart for 20-30 seconds. You should start to calm down immediately, so that you can respond in a wiser manner, and you will convey a better sense of trust to the others.
In Muslim countries, it is a typical greeting, so you could even adopt it as a way to greet people with the benefit of not having to shake hands.
You can also incorporate this routine into a meditation practice by breathing deeply and slowly and thinking of a loved one.
So put your hand on your heart now, and enjoy the rush of oxytocin!
“Mitigate the Stress Response with a Hand on Your Heart | LoveAndLifeToolBox.” LoveAndLifeToolBox | Tools for Emotional Health and Incredible Relationships., 24 Aug. 2018, loveandlifetoolbox.com/mitigate-the-stress-response-with-a-hand-on-your-heart/#:~:text=Remembering%20a%20moment%20of%20feeling,in%20less%20than%20a%20minute.. Accessed 17 Aug. 2022.