Have you ever wished there was more than one of you??   This is one definition of STRESS.  I know this thought well….. If there was just one more of me to be the super Mom, the career specialist, a loving and attentive wife, one to be super fit, one to just clean the house, one to serve my community, one to grow my own food and design the most awesome meals -everything from scratch of course etc. I could go on but  I think I’ve made myself clear.  The problem is, I have not reached a point -yet, I can make this happen.  It’s just me.  One, single, “Me” to take on ALL I WANT TO DO and do well.

With energy moving in so many directions it’s easy to become stressed out and feel overwhelmed.  I know this for a fact, because, I’ve been there!  A couple of years ago I started to notice a deterioration in my health.  My joints were achy, I had less energy, I was catching colds, and in general, just feeling out of sorts!  I had become depleted.  Luckily, I found my way back to vibrant health through better self care routines.

Yoga has been my savior or my Savitur in Sanskrit for more than half my life.  In my practice I am able to find the present moment where love abides and fear diminishes.  In the Truth of who I am, I gain perspective.  It is here I learn to love myself in the process of all I’m moving through.

BUT, to live like a yogi and to experience vibrant health, it takes MORE than just a few 90 minute classes per week!  The techniques of Ayurveda (aka “the Sister Practice to Yoga) have literally saved both my physical health and my sanity.

HERE IS A LIST of what you can do.  This stuff really works too!  You will be surprised at the new you!  When you find life speeding up, anchor yourself down with more predictable routines and self care practices.   You’ll soon find a more grounded, spacious reality.  This list of suggestions below are some techniques I use to manage stress. They allow me to be an active, involved Mom, studio owner, teacher trainer, and health coach.  Also, I have come to recognize the fact that when I start wishing there were 10 more of me, maybe I’m doing a little too much!

– If you would like to know more about how you can improve your health and quality of life through Yoga and Ayurvedic self care routines, SIGN UP for a free strategy session with me.  Take a positive step toward feeling great, healing yourself and loving your life again!

10 Tips to Help With STRESS

1. SIMPLIFY YOUR DIGESTION. Make it easy. One less struggle. Eat early. 6:00 pm is optimal, but do what you can to make small change! For supper think “supplemental”. Eat light, such as soups, salads etc. Save your heartier proteins for your midday meal when your digestion is at it’s peak!
2. UNPLUG: After dinner is time to relax and digest. It is the Kapha time of night which is best for quality time with loved ones in the way of connection and bonding, light exercise (go for a walk), and winding down for better sleep. Limit or avoid screen time altogether specifically phones / computers, social media, emails, business and or news that creates stress.
3. LIGHTS OUT BY 10:00 pm: According to nature’s rhythms and the Ayurvedic clock, your energy increases after 10 pm. If you stay up too late, you’ll catch your “second wind”, and have a harder time falling asleep when you finally do go to bed. This makes for a restless night. Catch the wave of the downward, settled energy and tuck yourself in by 10.
4. SELF MASSAGE (Abhyanga): Prepare for sleep in a sacred, intentional way. Get some coconut, sesame, almond, or some other natural oil and massage your feet. Anyone can do it! You don’t have to be a therapist! This gentle act of self care / love is deeply soothing and nourishing for the Soul! *Use relaxing essential oils such as lavender and vetiver to ground and calm your anxiety.
5. JOURNAL BRIEFLY: Write down what you learned from the day, what you are grateful for. Also, jot out what still needs to be dealt with or “cleaned up” in the way of business or relationships. Writing this stuff out on paper will help you release it from your mind. You can refer to what you write the next day when you are ready to face the world!
6. BODY SCAN: Take a few minutes once you get in bed to consciously breathe. Do a body scan. Notice any areas of your body you are aware of sensation. Breathe into those spaces. Ask yourself what it’s all about? If the parts of your body that feel painful and stressed could talk, what would they say? If your body had a voice, how would it communicate with you? Take note. If you learn something, write it down! SLEEP DEEPLY Eight hours is optimal!
7. AWAKE with the sunrise! This is the time of Brahma Muhurta. , The yogi’s for centuries have been waking up at this auspicious time when cosmic and universal energies are the most clear and resounding. This is the time before the busy-ness sets in, the magical time of dawn.
8. PRAY: This is active meditation. Offer gratitude, ask for help, set your intentions, send blessings, ask for blessings, protection, inspiration, love, whatever you need to help yourself and greater serve the world!
9. MEDITATE: This is where you simply receive. Open yourself to guidance. Just sit, just listen. Watch the breath. Watch the mind, when it wanders, and it will, lovingly guide it back to the breath and just listen with pure, present awareness. Even if you are able to sit in silence for a total of 5 minutes, you have succeeded. Even this short amount of time can change your life immeasurably!
10. OPEN TO GRACE: Remember, you are PURE, FREE, and FOREVER! The essence of you is never ending and limitless. Even when you are bogged down by mundane details of the human experience, REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE, and in the long run…”Don’t sweat the small stuff…and it’s all small stuff”. YOU ARE HELD. SEE THE GLASS HALF FULL. TRY A MANTRA. Words can powerfully shift your thoughts and experiences. It can be a sacred prayer or invocation, a name for the DIVINE, or something simple like….”I feel good, I feel fine” “I am o.k.” “All is well”

BE AT PEACE

Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu

May all beings be happy may all beings be at peace.
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