relaxation

5 Natural Solutions For Coping With Stress!

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Stress is often the result of daily life experiences and can negatively impact women’s bodies, minds and emotions.  But, what exactly is Stress Syndrome?  Stress Syndrome is often the result of chronic stress due to the effects of modern-day life or poor work-life balance.  As such, it causes the body and the mind to begin demanding rest.  Coping with stress can be a challenge but is doable.

Life is filled with positive and negative challenges.  Your mindset, past conditioning and beliefs can determine how you perceive these experiences.  Click here to read, “How Our Perceptions Affect Our Pain”.  In addition to what level of stress they may cause.  However, all stress is not bad stress.  Click here to read “Effects Of Stress – Stress Can Be Good For You?!”  

How Do Stressors Activate the Stress Response?

When stressors like long work hours, family responsibilities or toxic relationships compound, the stress response is activated.  The amygdala in the brain sends a distress signal causing the hypothalamus to send signals.  This is done through the autonomic nerves to the adrenal glands, which in turn, activates the sympathetic nervous system.  Click here to view “Four Types of Stress You Have to Know About and How to Avoid Them”.

The adrenal glands respond by pumping the hormone epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) into the bloodstream.  Several physiological changes occur as epinephrine circulates throughout the body.

Be Aware Of The Symptoms

Most people are unaware of these ongoing, subtle changes.  They can become physically and psychologically drained over time by a chronic stress response.  As a result, your body will begin to exhibit general, biochemical, emotional, cognitive or behavioral symptoms.

Examples of these include:
  • exhaustion
  • insomnia
  • irritability or anger
  • headaches
  • panic disorder
  • hypertension
  • pain
  • sadness
  • anxiety
  • nervousness
  • decreased memory
  • poor judgement
  • poor appetite
  • inability to focus
  • frequent colds or infections
  • weight gain or loss

Stress Syndrome is not just the result of a stress response, but it more frequently is a result of adrenal fatigue.

Is Adrenal Fatigue The Underlying Cause?

Over time the adrenal glands, which sit on top of your kidneys, become depleted due to stress.  They are responsible for releasing hormones to regulate energy function, your immune system and muscle.  However, adrenal fatigue occurs when these glands are so exhausted they cannot respond to high stress levels.

The hormone production of DHEA and testosterone decreases.  Therefore, resources needed to produce these sex hormones are diverted to production of stress hormones like cortisol.  After months or years of chronic stress, these hormones become so low that the adrenals become severely depleted.

Women most often experience extreme difficulty waking up in the morning.  Also, high levels of exhaustion throughout the day.  Dark circles under the eyes, dizziness when standing and a weak immune system.  Also, uncontrollable cravings for salty foods.  Click here to read “Adrenal Fatigue? 7 Tips to Fight Back Naturally”.

Natural Techniques & Remedies For Coping With Stress

1.  Be Physically Active

Exercise is known to increase release of the ‘happy’ brain neurotransmitters called endorphins.  Regular physical activity also increases self-confidence, relaxation and can help reduce anxiety.  If you haven’t exercised for some time or are just beginning a new exercise routine, consult your doctor if you have health concerns.

2.  Healthy Eating Makes A Difference

Make sure to eat lots of dark green leafy vegetables, fermented foods, berries, nuts and seeds.  Sugary, starchy and processed foods can increase stress.  A great tip to bring the thyroid and adrenals back into harmony is to include non-soy collagen protein blended with a handful of berries and a pinch of salt.  This combination will calm the nervous systems and stabilize blood sugar.

3.  Calming Music Calms Your Mind

Studies have shown that listening to music modulate anxiety levels due to the experience of stress.  As such, music has also been shown to beneficially affect stress-related processes of the mind and emotions.

4.  Biofeedback Brings Back Balance

Biofeedback is a method to measure the body’s physiological responses in real time, using computers or machines.  The tools and process of biofeedback help to eliminate problematic symptoms and return the body and mind back to homeostasis.  It does this by regulating a person’s stress response and increasing relaxation.  Often deep breathing, visualization and meditation techniques are utilized.  Click here to read how to “Put A Little Namaste In Your Life.”

5.  Take Your Supplements

A daily dosage of B-complex is beneficial.  These vitamins, including thiamin, niacin, biotin and folic acid.  Each play a key role in brain and nervous system function.  B5 and B6 are food sources for the adrenals and B12 supports energy production.  Also, add to your diet a liquid trace mineral.  Up to 10 drops per day and a probiotic help to improve mood and protect the gut.

Healthy and stress-free living IS possible.  The first step to coping with stress is to take a holistic approach to eliminating stressors.  Diligently committing to incorporating techniques and lifestyle changes that will boost your adrenals, relax your body and calm your nervous system. Fight stress syndrome naturally and reclaim your life.  For further information click here to read “9 Steps To Heal Adrenal Fatigue Naturally”.

Top Tips To Manage Your Emotions

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For most people the holidays are a time to take a break from the hustle of every day life and a time to spend with family and friends.  It is a time that people observe special religious festivities and a time of gift giving and merriment.  A great many of us will make new year’s resolutions to either give up something that is detrimental to our health or add something to our regimen.  Like something that will help cope with things like depression and anxiety and bring us closer to health and happiness.

But now it’s January.  You’ve just realized you have overeaten, overdrank, overspent, and indulged in a great many behaviours that you normally wouldn’t have if it was any other time of the year.

When it comes to spending habits in Canada, one in three Canadians said they ended up spending more than they meant to last year.  (1) It’s easy to fall into despair, disarray as well as frustration and fear as a result of our actions during the holidays.

According to motivational speaker Tony Robins, “Gratitude is the solution to anger and fear.”  (2) In other words, you one cannot hold feelings of anger/fear and gratitude simultaneously.  This is good news if we are searching for methods to cope with the aftermath of the holidays when all festivities have concluded, all the gifts are opened, and perhaps some anxiety about our credit card bills start to arrive making us ever so reluctant to pay a visit to our post office box.

For more on Tony Robbins, click here for THE 5-STEP PLAN TO AN EXTRAORDINARY YEAR.

How To Manage Your Emotions

Here are some tips you can use to manage your emotions and transform your state of being into a healthy and positive state.  This exercise is the HeartMath Institute’s Heart-Focused Breathing® Technique and I would like to share it with the reader as it is entirely possible to calm both our nervous system and our overactive mind.  In other words, attempt to turn down the frantic fight or flight sympathetic nervous system and turn up the parasympathetic system.

Over activity of the sympathetic nervous system will cause our breathing and heart rate to increase as well as release stress hormones like cortisol into our bloodstream to help prepare us for a fight or flight scenario.  This is innately programmed into our nervous system as a protective mechanism. By calming the sympathetics and shifting to the parasympathetics, which control our resting, relaxation and digestive responses, we can put ourselves in a state of ease. The good news is that we can do it relatively easily with this simple exercise.  Click here to read about A Scientific Validation Of Your Emotions.

Step by Step Instructions:

Start with sitting in a quiet place, in an upright posture and begin breathing through your nose and exhale out through your mouth.

Focus:

Focus your attention on your heart area, and breathe a little deeper than normal, in for 5 or 6 seconds and out 5 or 6 seconds.

Breathing:

Imagine breathing through your heart.  Picture yourself slowly breathing in and out through your heart area.

Remember that you are not breathing from upper chest region that uses more accessory muscles and body part and is usually the pattern of breathing of someone suffering form anxiety or anxious state but rather from the heart.  There is a difference.  If this is difficult to visualize try diaphragmatic breathing where your belly expands as you draw oxygen in.  It’s ok if it looks funny and makes the belly look larger than usual.  Nobody is watching remember you’re alone?  Hehe.

Feeling:

Activate a positive feeling as you maintain your heart focus and breathing. Recall a time you felt good inside and try to re-experience the feeling. Remember a special place or the love you feel for a close friend, relative or treasured pet. The key is focus on something you really appreciate.

Conversely, you can attempt a more meditative method and practice NOT thinking about anything other than your breath.  I’ve found both methods effective.  The key is to make sure your exhale is slightly longer than your inhale.

Practice this for at least 5 minutes and observe your mood change in short matter of time.  Click here for 4 Tips to an Abundant, Joy Filled Life

Yes folks, it is literally that easy.  You are in complete control of your mood and emotions.  The mind is a powerful entity and each of us has the capacity to alter our state of well-being should we choose to.  Harness the feelings of gratitude and appreciation.  Appreciate yourself and others.  Be grateful that you are alive.  My wish for you is that this exercise will help you reduce emotional stress and improve your health.  Blessings to you all.

Reference:
https://globalnews.ca/news/4671068/2018-black-friday-canada-holiday-spending/
https://medium.com/thrive-global/tony-robbins-gratitude-is-the-solution-to-anger-and-fear-c3fa819825c
E-mail newsletter: Heart Math Institute, A 3 step exercise to better health.

Cracking Open The Biggest Myths About Chiropractic

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Cracking open the Myths of Chiropractic

Have you ever heard someone say,

“ohhh I go to the chiropractor, but I don’t let him/her touch my neck.”

Or, “I would never go to a chiropractor, they crack bones!”

Well let me “crack” it open for you and dispel any myths about chiropractic that you may have heard.

First off, let’s define what an adjustment is and what the benefit is to the body.

A chiropractic adjustment is the manual manipulation of the vertebrae of the spine to correct structural alignment and improve the body’s physical function. When the bones of the spine are not in proper alignment (also called a subluxation), pressure on the nervous system can result, leading to health problems, pain, and diminished information flow from the brain to the rest of the body.

Now that we understand what a subluxation is, let’s examine four of the most common myths of chiropractic.

Myth 1: An adjustment to the neck causes stroke

Based on current data, the chances of having a stroke after having a chiropractic adjustment to the neck is 1 in 8 million. However, the benefit of removing subluxations in the neck region is to provide a clear path for the brain to be able to communicate with the rest of the body via the spinal cord. As blockages occur over time, the messages from the brain are not able to travel as efficiently to the rest of the body, so removing these blockages is crucial to maintaining health.

Myth 2: Getting an adjustment hurts.

The most common response of a chiropractic patient is relief and relaxation. Taking the pressure off of the nervous system allows the body to function better and that leads to a feeling of comfort. Occasionally, a patient will report muscle tenderness after an adjustment that can be likened to muscle soreness after a workout.

Myth 3: Once you go to the chiropractor, you will have to be a patient for life.

Once you truly understand the benefits of chiropractic care, you will want to be a patient for life! Most people begin seeing a chiropractor because they are experiencing a particular complaint (ex. back pain, headaches, frequent illness). Once that complaint is under control, it is up to the patient to decide how they want to proceed with their care. It is important to understand that continuing on a maintenance plan will help to diminish the effects of a stressful lifestyle, repetitive movements at work, and can help to boost the immune system, energy levels and overall level of health, while preventing illness and problems in the future.

Myth 4:  Chiropractors Crack Your Bones

Yes, the sound that is made during a chiropractic adjustment does make a cracking noise. But the reality is that your bones are not being cracked, but rather as the joints of the spine are moved back into proper alignment, the fluid around the joints releases a gas, which makes a popping sound. Remember, eggs get cracked, your bones get adjusted!

If you have further questions about chiropractic care, feel free to discuss your questions and concerns with your chiropractor, they are experts in their field.

Have you heard of this miracle oil? You should be using it!

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essential oil frankincense

Frankincense is derived from the tree sap (or resin) of the Boswellia trees. In ancient times, Frankincense was used as medicine to treat digestive issues and leprosy. The resin would be consumed to promote healthy skin and a healthy digestive system. The majority of the world’s Frankincense comes from the country of Somalia, but can also be found in Ethiopia and Sudan.

More recently, through steam distillation, the tree resin or sap has been produced into an essential oil that can be used topically or diffused into the air.

Touted as the “king of oils,” the benefits of Frankincense essential oil are far reaching. The spectrum of uses range from aromatherapy and relaxation to the eradication of cancer cells in the body. 

Top 5 Everyday Uses of Frankincense Essential Oil

  1. It has beneficial properties that promote good skin health, wound healing and acne healing. It can be rubbed into the skin using a carrier oil such as coconut oil.
  2. Due to it’s calming effect on the body, Frankincense is perfect to add to your bath water or diffuse while doing yoga or meditating.
  3. To improve air quality in your home and eliminate bacteria in the air, diffuse Frankincense essential oil regularly.
  4. During cold and flu season (or anytime of the year to prevent getting sick) it can also be used to boost the immune system due to its antiseptic properties. 
  5. Frankincense is a powerful anti-inflammatory and can be used to reduce joint paint and soreness.

When selecting Frankincense essential oil, or any essential oil for that matter, it is crucially important to select a company that produces therapeutic grade oils, that have been derived from organic, natively grown plants. To determine if an oil is therapeutic, it is important to ensure the extraction process was done at low temperatures, for a long period of time and that no solvents were used in the extraction.

It is also important that the essential oils you are purchasing are derived from the first extraction because some companies re-use old plant materials which produces a lower quality end product. In some instances, to improve the aroma of the oils, synthetic chemicals are added to the finished product, which again, have a negative impact on the quality of the oil.

When considering the purchase price of essential oils it is important to understand that to produce pure essential oils, it requires a large volume of plant material to make each specific oil. For example, to produce one 15ml bottle of lavender essential oil, it takes 30 pounds of lavender flowers. A very inexpensive bottle of lavender oil is a good indication that it isn’t from a pure source.

How to Apply/Use Oils

For best results, use three or four drops of Frankincense essential oil in a diffuser or apply one or two drops topically to the skin. It is recommended that a carrier oil is used to dilute the essential oil and to avoid potential skin irritation. A carrier oil, for example, could be sweet almond oil, grape seed oil, coconut oil, or any other oil of your choice. Put a dollop of carrier oil in your hand and add the drops of essential oil to it, then rub on your skin.