Not Running From Stress
Hi Byte Wellness Family!
How are you feeling? I’m chugging along, putting one foot in front of the other like Sha’Carri Richardson.
Sidebar- have you seen the video of this queen winning the World Championship in the 100m dash this week? Her combination of power and grace is amazing. More on that next week.
Discussion Question
What things (or people) cause me stress? How can I tell I’m stressed?
So much is going on in the world, from natural disasters to political conflict. That says nothing of the personal drama we’re dealt everyday at work or with family and friends.
It’s nearly impossible to avoid feeling the worry or stress that the world delivers our way. So we need to put our stress-management techniques to work on a daily basis.
That was the topic of this week’s #PhyteWellWednesday Workshop.
This week, we talked about HOW to manage stress and WHY stress management is vital for health and wellbeing. We even practiced a relaxating deep breathing technique called triangle breathing.
If you’re not getting invites to the weekly workshops, send TEXT to 1(866)717-1919 to join the Daily Text Thread.
Check the recording below and answer the discussion question to get more insight into how you manage stress today.
Daily Practices to Fight Stress
When we think of stress-management techniques, we think about mindset exercises- ways to talk ourselves out of feeling stressed. Those self-CBT style exercises can be really helpful. They change our PERCEPTION of the world (and ourselves) in order to prevent stress from developing.
But, thinking isn’t the only way to avoid the harmful effects of stress. We can also use body techniques to fight stress by changing our PHYSIOLOGY. (Read this old Self-Love Letter for details on how these anti-inflammatory body techniques break the stress-disease connection).
These techniques don’t prevent stress, but they prevent the chronic inflammation and disease that can result from stress.
Try these evidence-based practices to fight the effects of stress in our bodies and break the stress/disease connection.
Yoga (slow, like Vinyasa flow)
Any regular physical exercise (cardio or lifting weights)
Deep Breathing (like Triangle Breathing)
Socializing with close/supportive contacts
Working our bodies has the dual benefit of building our muscles AND taking us out of our minds (where stress originates). Do you use any of these stress-relieving strategies now? Do you do something to relieve stress at least once a day? Let me know what does and doesn’t work for you?
Happy Healthy Living,
Dr. Wuse