7 Techniques To Live In The City Without Stress

The ideal mood in cities is one of calm restlessness: being open to positive stimuli and, at the same time, being able to isolate ourselves from the stress and emptiness caused by urban turmoil. Techniques such as mindfulness, micromeditations or conscious pause can help us find it.

In search of urban serenity

Traffic congestion. The pounding sonata of drilling machines. The non-stop noise, the unbreathable air. Constant pressure, lack of time. The night bustle, the glare that prevents us from seeing the stars. And the background roar that wakes us up early every morning. The monster from the big city …

But there are always corners that reconcile us with life. A small oasis in the middle of the asphalt or the sound of a fountain on the way to work. The generous frond of a tree or the song of the birds. The headwind when we take out the bicycle and escape the daily trap of the car.

All cities have two faces, and nobody forces us to move exclusively on one of them. After all, we become urbanites for convenience, because it is more stimulating and efficient, because we are social beings united by a collective purpose. Although there are those who spend half their lives dreaming of living in the countryside, and even dare to seek utopia in nature. But many later return.

How to get rid of stress in the city

Jonathan Kaplan, the psychologist, is one of them. Half his life was spent alternating the two worlds: stints in big cities, offset by long stays in rural Ohio. “I was leading a balanced and stress-free life, but I lacked the big city vibe. I ended up trading the serenity of the countryside for the overexcitement of New York. “

The stress began to take its toll on him in a matter of weeks. “My health suffered due to mental pressure, fast food and lack of exercise. I ended up giving up my daily meditation practice. I was unable to find the emotional, mental and physical space in the crampedness of my apartment. “

Jonathan Kaplan began to experience the same symptoms as the patients: “They told me about the feeling of unfathomable loneliness, despite being surrounded by people day and night. They told me how burned out they were from the pace of life, multiple tasks, and hyper-competitiveness at work. They confessed to me the anxiety caused by having to be connected and available 24 hours a day ”.

Serene restlessness

I would dare to say that the ideal state in a city is one of serene restlessness: wherever inner calm goes hand in hand with the succession of stimuli, ideas and promises of a better life, under the open sky or between four walls, I walk from work or without leaving home, flying a bicycle, meditating on the subway or discovering new and fascinating details around every corner. It becomes a city by walking …