As a mindfulness practitioner for over nine years in the master class at UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center, I have several favorite go-to stress relief tools: Here’s one of them! It’s called RAIN.

Let it RAIN 🙂

This tool supports the idea that if you can name it, you can tame it. Created by Michele McDonald, a leading expert in mindfulness meditation, RAIN can be used any- where, anytime to help you quickly assess what’s happening inside.

R: Recognize. Name whatever emotion is coming up for you. I feel disappointed/ angry/betrayed/hurt/sad.

A: Allow. Let yourself feel the feeling. Don’t judge it; don’t beat yourself up for it. If you feel sad, throw on some Gloria Estefan and cry your heart out.

I: Investigate. Check in to see where this feeling comes up in your body. Does your sadness feel like a weight on your chest or an elephant on your shoulders? Is your mind racing faster than Seabiscuit? Are you craving something salty or sweet? Bringing awareness to what you’re feeling will allow you—not your lizard brain—to choose the response.

N: Not-identify. Now we’re tackling the Big Lebowski. Instead of taking your molehill of a feeling and climbing it like Everest (I ate a cupcake, ergo, I’m a disgusting blob), you simply choose not to identify as your feeling. There’s a difference between having a thought and being a thought. I feel like a loser does not mean you are a loser, any more than sayingI feel like Gwyneth Paltrow means that you are having sex with ex—Chris Martin.

*This is an excerpt from The Right Fit Formula. For more stress reduction tools- Pick up your copy!