Release Stress Easily, for Free!
Stress comes at us in many different angles, job, family, pressure on ourselves to do or not do, all the shoulds, woulds, and cants. I can only tell you how I have educated and practiced these ways to reduce stress or the onset of anxiety, and they have been proven tools that have helped my many clients over the last fifteen years.
1. The first tip I can share to reduce stress is to start with the most constant thing in your life, your breath. This advice is not new, but it is free and sure way to reduce your stress. Since we all breathe, we all have control over our breath. There are a million breathing apps, articles, videos, audio, and more. Find something that works for you. All you need is 5 minutes or more.
2. Along the lines of breathing, aromatherapy is the simplest form of stress relief I can offer you since you can carry it on your person wherever you go.
I caution you that a little goes a long way. The other day I was feeling very anxious from a stressful event earlier in the week. Feeling the onset of an anxiety attack coming (throat closing off, sensitive to light, slightly nauseous), I can tell you what I did to quickly and effectively reduce that anxiety. First, I breathed. Then, I grabbed my stress relief blend and took 5 deep breaths right from the bottle. I needed a little more effect, so then I rubbed some on my hands and cupped my hands over my nose and mouth, and breathed in for several deep breaths. I realized my computer and the bright screen were also increasing this sensation, bringing me to…
- Get outdoors. Unplug. Get off the device. I know they have all these apps and playlists, but sometimes this is still not allowing your nervous system to settle. The bright screens and just having the device nearby is a clinger of stress. So take a short walk or be outside as long as you can. Try an outdoor day retreat, like mine or close to where you live.
- Practice self-awareness methods to reduce stress like yoga, mindfulness, meditation, guided relaxation, body scans, or journaling. All of these methods can be done through a qualified teacher (like me) or at home through various avenues, find something that works for you. Try my Sankalpa journaling and yoga practice for free!
- Put your money where your mouth is, AKA eat right. Your gut holds stress when you don’t feed it well. You KNOW what foods are wrong, you know what foods are GOOD. There is no secret to eating beyond, eating a lotta plants, eating clean & light, and not overeating. You can sweet-talk yourself as much as you want that you deserve this, or you can live without your mega large caffe latte, but when you feel anxious, or like your coming down all the time from your sugar buzz, and you feel bloated, tired, or just plain yucky, change your diet, (don’t go on a diet). Be the change you want to see. Overall, be honest with yourself.
I hope you found these stress-relieving tips a good reminder to getting yourself stress relief and stress free. Be well and be kind to yourself. A little goes a looooooonng way!
