3 Stress-Relieving Strategies with Mallika Chopra

Mindfulness expert and CEO of Chopra Global Mallika Chopra stopped by to discuss her new fifth children’s book Buddha and the Rose. Mallika shares her wealth of knowledge and wisdom that started at the age of nine from father and spiritual guru Deepak Chopra. For our discussion, she brings her meditation techniques and grounding tips to give you stress-relieving strategies to help you cope with anxiety and be in the present moment. 

Mallika Chopra’s 3 Stress-Relieving Strategies

Taking deep breaths

Meditation is all about concentrating on your own inner workings and peace, and breathing is the gateway to getting there. Try this simple exercise with your fingers: first, put your thumb to your pinky and breathe in; next, go to your ring finger and breathe out; then breathe in at your middle finger; and finally, with your pointer finger, breathe out. Deep breaths are the foundation to finding your center after any kind of stress. Mallika teaches to not be obsessed with if you’re breathing right, emphasizing to do it however feels comfortable to you. It doesn’t matter how you do it, as long as you’re doing it.

Grounding yourself 

Once you have your favorite breathing technique down pat, you can further utilize it in any practice. A grounding method Mallika gives us takes more of your body into account, and it’s one she started due to the disorientation and uncertainty of the pandemic. For this exercise, with your eyes closed: initially, place your attention on your feet and the stability of the ground beneath you, take a deep breath, and in your head say “I am safe. I am safe.” Then, placing your hand over your heart, taking a deep breath, and saying in your head “I am here. I am here.” Lastly, focus on the top of your head, imagining the infinity of the space above it, breathing and saying “I am. I am.” Something like this is easy to implement into your daily routine, taking 1-2 minutes. This could also be done anywhere, from your desk at home to the driver’s seat of your car, wherever gets you into that mindfulness mode of thinking. 

Disconnecting & reconnecting with nature

Mallika stresses the importance of maintaining a connection with nature, which has healing benefits for all of us. Especially if you’re in an urban environment, dedicating time to going outside and even just starting by looking up at the sky can lead to a world of difference. Finding the time will make you appreciative of the larger world around us, using all of your senses to fully immerse yourself physically and physiologically into the environment. To really grasp the perspective of an infinite space, she recommends taking a break from your technology devices, whether you’re walking your dog or taking a lonely stroll. Really feel the deeper connection to your body and actually be with nature instead of multitasking. Disconnect yourself from all the outside stimulation, allowing more space for quiet self reflection and anchoring. 

Before you go, remember Mallika’s STOP acronym that makes all the difference: S is to stop what you’re doing; T is for taking a deep breath (or three); O is to observe what’s happening around you and in your body, which is often the place for taking on stress; and P is for proceeding on with those realizations. 

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To hear more about her stress-relieving techniques, listen to the full podcast episode!

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