Stress Kills - How Are You Dealing With Stress?

Hi All,

How are you all doing today? I've been thinking lately about how stress or managing stress fits into an holistic lifestyle.

It occurred to me that among a lot of health conscious people, there's a lot of emphasis placed on eating right, (sometimes all organic or a vegan diet).  Exercise is also a big focal point as well.  Both are important, of course.  However, I wondered how many times do people put a lot of effort into all of that and yet neglect their own mental, emotional, and spiritual health? 

Dealing with stress is key for good health and a healthy lifestyle.   I've talked to many people who are very health conscious about meditation.  So many times, the response it, "I've tried, but I can't do it."  We live in a fast paced society and most everyone works hard, has a lot going on all the time, and can have a hard time relaxing the body and mind.  Many people worry about the future or spend a lot of time reflecting on regrets or events of the past.  All of these can lead to stress...and a lot of it.  We all get caught up in these occasionally; so what are some practical things we can do?

First - take time to relax and/or meditate every day.  My grandmother knew the power of meditation, but she didn't call it that.  When I'd help her on the farm as a kid, we would "take a rest" after lunch for 30 minutes, every day.  We would also do a devotional reading.  Both are good for de-stressing the body and feeding the spirit.  A period of meditation every day is good for you on every level.

Reducing Stress...It's all a balancing act.

 There's many ways to meditate.  Find one and practice.  It's as easy as reclining in a comfortable position and relaxing the body.  Start with a few deep breaths and then relax into a nice easy rhythmic breathing...monitor your breath and relax.  Bring your conscious mind back to the present and continue to relax and watch your breath.  I know, sounds easy, right?  It takes practice, but will pay major dividends, so don't give up.  With practice, you will get better at it and it will get easier.

Add a little mindfulness into your day.  Be present.  Don't worry or think too much about the future or the past.  Keep coming back to present moment...enjoy whatever you're doing.  Whether you're at work or washing the dishes.  It doesn't matter - come back to now....and be grateful for wherever you're at or whatever you're doing.  Remember the saying, "it's all an inside job."  

How about feeding your soul?  Do you have a church or spiritual community?  Do you have not only a weekly practice, but how about a daily spiritual practice?  Like Grandma - the daily spiritual practice is a great way to keep you feeling good and will feed your spirit as well; great for keeping things in perspective and keeping the stress level down.

Of course eating well and exercise are both great for stress busting as well.  Here's a twist though.  Sometimes we may fall short of our goals.  We may not eat as well as we'd like or meet our exercise goals.  Don't beat yourself up.  Do your best and if you fall short, be happy with what you're doing and move on.  You'll do a little better tomorrow.

My Holistic Nutrition teacher in school would talk about nutrition and noticed how everyone would get excited and wanted to really make big changes.  He'd tell us if you can't eat organic locally grown produce, don't beat yourself up, just eat good non organic local.  It that wasn't available, eat non-local.  If not that, eat what you have...and be grateful and bless the food.  Be happy you have something to eat.  Same with exercise - set goals and work hard, but boost yourself up - if you don't meet your goals always, don't beat yourself up.  Do what you can and be happy about it.

It sounds a little simple and easy right?  There's a lot to be said for eating right, regular exercise, and proper rest.  It's good to have fun, get out into nature, spend time with pets and friends, and so many more things that help also.  But remember - an holistic lifestyle is taking care of the whole person.  Taking care of our internal self is just as important as taking care of the physical body.  It all works together.

Have a great day.  Be kind to the people around you today.  That's good for all of us.  Enjoy.

Peace,

Tom

Tom Kreienbrink, LMT
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