Why I Created 5 Minutes to Less Stress

Why I Created 5 Minutes to Less Stress

By Alice Vo Edwards

As a volunteer for the Happiness Alliance and advocate for happiness and wellbeing, managing stress is something I know to be important. It's been repeated over and over again in studies as beneficial for everything from health to job satisfaction. Stress is a mind game - of course I want to get control of my mind and manage my stress! Why not? Yet with my own hectic life, I have found it nearly impossible to find time for regular stress-reduction classes outside the home, such as yoga, or meditation. 

*short video of why I created the class for those who don't like reading*

When I was a girl, a nearby neighbor would host yoga glasses in her home for $5 and we could just stop by. These days, most of us don't even know our neighbors, and prices for classes have gone up considerably.

Whether it be budget or time constraints or concerns that meditation or yoga takes too long (many people seem to think that these types of practices require a half our or more of focused time), I realized I was not alone in finding it difficult to balance work, family and self-care. I also realized that I was not the only person who wanted usable practices that did not require half an hour to an hour of my time, plus the drive time to go back and forth. Over time, I found a number of techniques and even developed one of my own that I call Responsive Tension Release(tm) that can all be done in 5 minutes or less. I've tested them with my kids, with friends and colleagues, and with a few groups of in-person classes, and have now made them all available online in an online course. 

To me, learning stress management techniques including meditation is the first step towards being able to be more of the "me" I want to be. With meditation, I am better able to keep from saying things I'll regret, or raising my voice, when I'm tired, frustrated, or angry. It also helps me handle the stress of public speaking and other stressful times in my life.

My hope is that the class will inspire others to be able to see that meditation and stress management is not impossible, hugely time consuming, or overly formal, ritualistic, or religious. Being able to practice the type of self-reflective behavior that meditation helps build in one is a valuable skillset that I wish everybody had - we'd all be happier and the world would be a better place for it. Hopefully, with this class, a few more people will gain it.

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5 Minutes to Less Stress is an online course that includes 7 basic and easy stress management techniques that are great for people with busy lives and little formal training in stress management methods. I also share all the resources I've found to help me practice meditation regularly, while being able to mix it up and keep myself from getting into a boring routine. 

You can check it out at https://www.udemy.com/5-minutes-to-less-stress/ where using the coupon code LAUNCH2018 will get you a discounted price of $9.99 for the full course.