Natural Ways To De-Stress
It's inevitable... at some point in your life you are bound to run into that moment where you will feel stressed. Your palms get sweaty, you can't seem to catch your breath and your heart begins to feel as though it's beating out of your chest. You feel trapped without any escape button in sight and here is usually where poor decisions are made.
Most stress can be removed simply by practicing better habits or by transferring negative energy out of your personal space. Below are a few natural methods you can try in order to maintain a balanced state!
Start Your Morning Off Right
Your morning is typically a strong precursor for how the rest of your day will go. Start it on the right note by setting your self up for success the night before which includes showering, ironing your clothes for the next day and getting enough sleep (a good 7 to 8 hours will do). Make sure to wake up on time (don't hit that infamous snooze button like we all dangerously like to do) and if possible give yourself a proper breakfast. Something as easy as an apple and toast or tea and oatmeal is enough to keep us energized and sharp.
Creating a nice morning routine will get you in the habit of setting yourself up for a great week which ultimately reduces the feeling of being behind, unproductive and tired.
Do Not Procrastinate
Why do we do this to ourselves? Wait until the very last minute as if the appointment, gathering or task is going to magically put itself on hold until we're ready. Let's get out of denial and just get it done! If you know you have to be some where by 12PM. Don't wait until 1030AM to begin getting ready knowing you're not giving yourself enough time to get dressed, do your hair and/or put on make up. We can only use the "traffic" excuse but so many times so lets practice better habits of preparing early!
If you have a work project that needs to be completed by Monday morning, don't wait until Sunday night to complete it. Get into the habit of completing work projects a day or two before the deadline (if possible). This allows you to then begin other tasks or have a little down time for yourself.
Waiting only hinders you and then adds on unnecessary pressure. Keep a balanced schedule by getting organized, mapping out your week, prioritizing important tasks and sticking to the schedule. You will thank yourself when you find that you are more relaxed, productive and happier throughout the week.
Anticipate Next StepsHave you ever heard of the saying," Stay ready so you don't have to get ready"? This basically means always be prepared. When you anticipate your next step you need to make, whether that is a personal or professional goal, you then are preparing yourself for success. Sometimes there's so much to do you can become overwhelmed and not complete anything at all. The best way to counter this is by completing small tasks every day that then adds up to completing your weekly goal.
Daily checklists work perfectly to have you stay on track. Using your calendar on your phone is another great way to make sure important tasks are being completed by setting reminders. This way you have a little personal assistant helping you to stay on course!
If you're already experiencing mild to severe stress, below are a few methods on how to decrease the stress and get back to a balanced state!
Change Your Breathing
Deep breathes really help when feeling stressed. It sounds so simple and yet it's the one thing we all forget to do. When feeling overwhelmed we tend to take shorter breathes which decreases blood flow to our brains and muscles. You can immediately reduce your stress by changing your breathing as soon as you feel yourself getting tense. Start by taking in three long deep breaths (depending on how stressed you are you can increase the number of breaths to take from there). Breathing allows you to refocus and think a little more clearly.
Take Some "Me Time"
Some times 10 minute breaks through out the day is all someone needs to remove themselves from the situation that is stressing them. Stepping away to clear your mind can really assist in not getting overwhelmed and making haste decisions. Taking a quick walk to get some fresh air, grab a snack or listen to something soothing are great ways to bring you back to your balanced state.
Meditate
This is something great to do first thing in the morning or on your commute to work before starting a busy day. It allows you to collect your thoughts and map out important tasks to complete so that you remain organized.
The great thing about meditation is that you can do it whenever you see fit. So if the mornings are not the best time for you, you may find right after work or before bed are better for your lifestyle. No matter what time you choose, meditating is a why for you to have some quiet time and sooth your mind to remove all distracting noise.
You can look into several youtube videos and audio downloads which offer soothing music or motivational speeches. We personally love listening to waterfalls when meditating. It's also very calming to hear when showering/bathing.
Exercise
Whether dancing, jogging, running, yoga, barre class or doing pushups to let off steam, getting active and moving your body allows you to release all types of energy. The more you are able to release frustration in a healthy manner the better you will feel so that you can refocus back on important tasks. Barre is our official way to sweat it all out!
Whatever you do make sure that you take care of your mental health and your physical body. Practicing these methods will only increase your quality of life. Mix and match until you get the perfect regime for yourself and then let us know how it goes!
- Sun Gods
