When was the last time you felt stressed?
For most people, it was possibly in the last five minutes.

There’s no way to completely shield yourself from the circumstances and situations that bring stress into your life. That’s why it’s so important to find healthy ways to address it. One of the simplest and most powerful tools at your disposal is what I call the “pause button.”

We live in a beautifully connected world. Through technology, we can share joy, insight, and inspiration in an instant. But that same connection can also deliver a steady stream of conflict, chaos, and negativity—right into the palm of your hand.

One of the byproducts of this flood of information is stress. And though stress starts in the mind, it often manifests physically. If it’s left unchecked, that mental stress can lead to real and lasting damage in the body—headaches that grow into migraines, stomach discomfort that evolves into ulcers, muscle tension that restricts your range of motion or mobility.

The longer you carry that stress, the more energy and time it takes to heal. It’s not just a mental game—you can’t simply tell your body to “get over it.” Healing takes time, and your body deserves patience.

Just reading this might have stirred up some stress—funny how that works. But here’s the good news: you have a tool available right now to cut that cycle short.

Your physical body and your unique spirit make up your soul. They are connected. Understanding this helps you recognize more easily that one affects the other. Your mind can influence your body, but conversely your body can influence your mind. Let’s apply this knowledge to your advantage.

Enter the pause button: the simple deep breath.

When your mind perceives stress, it sends signals to your body: “We’re not safe. Something’s wrong.” Your breath becomes shallow, your muscles tighten, your heart races, there’s a pit in your stomach.

But you can intervene.

Take a focused deep breath. Inhale slowly through your nose… hold for a moment… and exhale even more slowly through your mouth, focusing on the breath exiting through your lips.
In doing this, your mind becomes momentarily absorbed in the breath. The stress momentarily loses its grip. Your body has created the space to allow your mind to re-enter the moment more calmly, and with a subtle but important shift in clarity.

This isn’t new-age fluff—there’s a reason nearly every meaningful meditation or mindfulness practice begins with breath. It’s an anchor. And while it may not be practical to drop into full meditation during a stressful moment, it is possible to train yourself to breathe as a reflex—a mental and physical pause button.

It might feel awkward at first. That’s okay. Like any new practice, the more you use it, the more natural it becomes. And the more natural it becomes, the more you’ll notice your body partnering with your mind to intervene in stressful situations and create a calm space for you.

This is just the beginning. There are more tools and practices to utilize in managing stress, and I look forward to exploring them with you.

Until then, I wish you more calm moments on your journey to find peace.

Jonathan Hale – Your Peace Coach