EP 288: How Compassion Helps Reduce Stress

One of the most effective practices in reducing stress is the simple practice of compassion. Many people think compassion means being nice or being kind to others. And while that is an important part of compassion, it merely scratches the surface. Compassion, from the Latin cum passus, to suffer with, means to build a connection to others. And as we practice building connection to others, we allow ourselves to break free from the tendency to obsess over our own troubles. This is not in any way a means of avoidance! Instead, it is a way to quiet the storytelling mind that always has us believing the worst case scenario about every aspect of our own lives. And when we quiet this storytelling mind, we reduce the stress in our bodies and optimize ourselves to meet the challenges in our lives with our full, dynamic, and creative resources. Would you like to learn how to do these simple practices?