YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Stress Less: 5 Ways to Find Your Happy Place

    Photo by: Emily Kowzan, R29
    Try A Mini Meditation

    The idea of closing your eyes, sitting around for an hour and thinking about nothing can seem like a colossal waste to the super busy. But even a few... more 
    Photo by: Emily Kowzan, R29
    Try A Mini Meditation

    The idea of closing your eyes, sitting around for an hour and thinking about nothing can seem like a colossal waste to the super busy. But even a few minutes of meditation can help you shake off tension and bring a slew of other good things to your life (like improving your memory, for starters). Kristin McGee, a longtime celebrity yoga teacher in NYC, suggests starting with the lake meditation, which can be done anywhere you can close your eyes. Here's her mini guide:

    Close your eyes and envision your mind as a lake. Any thoughts in the mind are like stones being thrown into the water, causing ripples, stirring up sediment, and disrupting the sense of inner calm. Focus on the breath. Now, imagine the stones sitting on the banks of the lake, instead of getting tossed into the water. Eventually, the ripples cease and the sediment settles back to the bottom. Your mind is like that clear, calm lake. less 
    1 / 5
    Wed, Jan 9, 2013 6:28 PM EST
    Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest Share to Twitter
    By Katie Abbondanza, Designed by Emily Kowzan, Refinery29


    Somewhere between swigging bottles of Blueprint, sweating your brains out daily, and, oh yeah, attempting to catch up on last year's lingering to-dos, resolution season can leave us all feeling a little more frazzled than fresh and new.



    So, we called up some life experts for some quick-hitting tips to rein in an out-of-control day, and come out feeling calm and centered (yes, even you, stress addicts). Warning: Your excuses for being harried all the time are about to fall away-and that's actually a good thing.



    More from Refinery29:


    8 Beauty Tricks That Work While You Sleep


    29 Beyond-Easy Ways To Cut 100 Calories A Day


    How To Do Your Makeup In 5 Minutes (Really!)