Welcome,
And thank you for joining me to learn today.
What is the 3-3-3 rule for anxiety?
Three is one of my favorite numbers in numerology.
Three is the number of joy.
And if you think about it,
There are three prime numbers,
Three primary colors.
We have three wishes,
It's Goldilocks and the three bears and the three little pigs.
And then if we go all the way back to ancient Greeks,
The philosopher Pythagoras said that three was the perfect number representing harmony,
Wisdom,
And understanding.
And so I'd like to imagine that as we use this and practice this 3-3-3 rule for anxiety,
In addition to less stress and less anxiety and more calm and peace,
That we can also bring in these elements of harmony,
Wisdom,
And understanding.
It's a very simple,
Simple strategy,
And one that you can't do this one time and expect,
Oh,
Magic.
But when you practice this simple technique over and over again,
You're laying down these new tracks in your brain that tell you,
Tell your body,
Your nervous system,
We're safe.
It's okay to relax.
So the 3-3-3 rule for anxiety.
First,
Notice three things you see.
And do that now.
And more than just noticing them,
I think it's even more powerful when we notice them and then name them.
Right now,
I can see the light.
I can see the computer screen.
I can see the microphone I'm speaking into.
What are three things you can see?
You can see.
Notice them.
Name them.
Next,
What are three things you can hear?
I can hear the sound of my fan.
I can hear the sound of birds tweeting outside my window.
I can hear a little weird noise somewhere in my office here.
What are three things you can hear now?
So three things you see,
Three things you hear,
And finally,
Three ways to move your body.
Whatever way feels best to you.
For me,
I'll throw out some suggestions.
You could bring your hand to your heart,
Which immediately connects with love and self-compassion.
And,
Interesting fact,
Our hearts have a 5,
000 greater electromagnetic energy field that's stronger than our brain.
So when we do this,
Putting our hand to our heart,
It is sending that signal up to our brain saying,
I'm safe.
And the brain,
In turn,
Sends back the message to our nervous system,
It's okay to relax.
So three ways that you can move,
Hand to your heart.
You can turn your head to the left and turn your head to the right,
Perhaps giving you a new perspective on whatever the situation's been going on is.
And then finally,
You could do hand mudras.
And I'm not going to go into what hand mudras are,
But simply,
You take your thumb and put it together with one of your fingers,
Right?
So it could be any of the fingers.
You may want to,
I like to stack different techniques together.
We can practice loving kindness meditation as we do this.
Touching your thumb and your first finger together,
Thinking or saying out loud,
May I be happy.
Your thumb and your middle finger,
May I be healthy.
Thumb and the ring finger,
May I be safe.
Thumb and the pinky finger,
May I live with ease.
So that's it.
The three,
Three,
Three rule for anxiety.
Notice and name three things you see,
Three things you hear,
Three things you hear,
And then three ways to move your body.
You want to practice these even when you're feeling calm,
Because repetition is how habits get created.
The more you do this,
The more it becomes a new neural trait,
A new happy,
Healthy habit.
Thank you for your practice today.
