Stress and anxiety are pervasive issues that compromise health in very deep, significant ways. There is endless research about the connection. It may seem like there isn’t much to do about it or any choice, especially if the perceived source of stress isn’t anything that can be changed. But…there are many ways to balance and mitigate stress/anxiety. Here are just a few tips I’ll share :

-Important! Look very closely at screen time. Anxiety was never as prevalent as it was post smart phones.

-Eat mindfully. Taste your food. Eat slowly, chew well, and stay present with beautiful, calm things around you, if possible. Your body will absorb nutrients better and process the food more effectively.

-Take care of your body including your skin by using essential oils, massage oil, organic oils, etc. Look at the ingredients of everything you put on your skin including make-up and deodorant. There is a great DIY easy, natural recipe for deo on this site in a blog post as well as body scrub. I previously blogged about the skin in a prior post. Your skin is part of the integumentary system, one of the 11 body systems (though now there are actually 12 systems including your fascial/connective tissue or the interstitium).

-Address your strong emotions, don’t stuff them. Emotions, pain, and loss will find a way into your body and create issues in your tissues. Find productive ways to address this through all modalities including exercise, movement, counseling and medication (if necessary). Slower, gentler, more meditative yoga classes are very beneficial for this. Sometimes classes aren’t what they actually say they are, so be mindful but in general, look for labels like Gentle, Therapeutic, Restorative, and Yin.

-Stay in the present. There is a saying by Lao Tzu “If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.”

Join me for gentle/therapeutic yoga. There are 2 free introductory classes coming up in September. One is mat-based and the other is chair-based.

"Slow, mindful yoga reduces inflammation which is associated with: chronic pain, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's, arthritis, and autoimmune diseases."

Check out my Slow Yo classes here and feel the peace: https://feelthepeaceyoga.lynsirota.com/