Title: Place of Peace Exercise

Exercise Type: Stress Management

Time Required: 30 minutes
Suggested Group Size: Any
Suggested Age Group: Teenagers, Adults
Activity Level: Light

Materials Needed: None.

Venue: Typical meeting room.

Purpose/Outcome: To create a inner environment free of stress that we can rely on throughout the day.

Activity Description: Lead a creative visualization to create a "Place of Peace," using the following script modified as desired:

We are going to learn a way to reduce our stress levels, so please find a relaxing place and body position. First, we will go inward to connect to ourselves by doing some deep breathing. We will take slow deep breaths through our noses to the count of 10 and then we will breath out to a count of 15. We will do this for a number of breaths. As you breathe in and out notice all the tension in your body and feel the energy as fresh oxygen enters our blood stream. (Start a progressive stress/relaxation process starting with the toes and working up. Toes feet, calves, quads, hips, abdomen, chest, fingers, forearms, biceps, shoulders, neck, face, jaw, and lips. Have participants notice each part, tense it, then relase it).

Now we are now going to create our own place of peace. This place can be a real place where you have gone or you can create your own. In this "Place of Peace" you are completely safe and secure. In this place you are totally in control and are relaxed and empowered, nothing can enter this place unless you choose to allow it in. Really, connect with this place. Go there or create one of your own choosing now. Change anything you'd like to change to make this the most ideal place for you.

Begin to notice: What you see next to you? (pause) … What you see near you? (pause) …What you see far away from you? (pause) …What colors do you notice? (pause) …What things do you see (pause) …What are you sitting on? (pause) … What do you feel? (pause) …What do you hear? (pause) …Is there silence (pause) …How loud is the silence? (pause) …What smells do you notice? (pause) …Do you taste anything? (pause) …What else do you notice about this place?

Give yourself permission to be in this place with no worries or concerns. Here you know that everything is just the way that it needs to be and that all is well in your world. Really connect with the power that you feel as you are entirely in the moment and really present in this "Place of Peace". (long pause)

Now it is time to return to the room. Slowly bring yourself back to the class and when you are ready, look around at each person and smile at them.

Debrief/Facilitator Notes: Move into triads or quads for small group debriefs for 10 min. Then take 3 min and write what you discovered about yourself and stress. Sample questions:

• How do feel right now?

• What happened to you in this exercise?

• What did your head say to you as you did it?

• Could you practice this technique by yourself?

• What would it take for you to use it in the moment?

• How do you normally handle stress?

• How does stress affect your life?

Learning Points: Our thoughts, actions, and behaviors are more effective when we operate from a quiet centered place. We have the power to create a quiet and peaceful place inside of us that we can visit at anytime and under any circumstances. The more we visit this place the clearer and more powerful it becomes, and the easier it is to access in any situation. We have the power to respond to life events rather than react to them.

Questions to Draw Out Learning Points:

• What resistance, if any, do you have to the ideas of operating out of a place of peace during stressful times?

• What is the difference between response and reaction?

• How often do you react rather than respond? What would it take for you to be less reactive and more responsive?

Application: Take about 5 min and draw a picture of your place of peace. Take 3 min to write intention statements about what you are going to do to manage stress in your life

Resources: Stress Index.

About the Author: Steve Davis, M.A., M.S., is an Facilitator's Coach, Infoprenuer, and free-lance human, helping facilitators, organizational leaders, educators, trainers, coaches and consultants present themselves confidently, access their creativity, empower their under-performing groups, enhance their facilitation skills, and build their business online and offline. Subscribe to his free weekly ezine at www.MasterFacilitatorJournal.com or visit www.livingmastery.com to learn more about him and his offerings.