3 Ways to Fight Stress
Oct 21, 2020STRESS.
Some people feel it as tightness in their chest.
Or a twisting feeling in their belly.
Like their throat is closing or their jaw won't unclench.
Some get panic attacks. Others lash out.
Still others love the rush that comes with a heightened state of being.
Regardless of how you experience or handle demands on your body, learning how to manage your internal responses will gift you with greater energy, improved stamina and greater strength!
QUICK SCIENCE: You have two halves to your nervous system.
1. Sympathetic : fight or flight / stress and adaptive responses
When you need energy to tackle a challenge or demand, your sympathetic system kicks on to redirect resources to the necessary place. A great workout, taking a leap into a new experience and great sex all require this side of you to function well. It is, however, only designed for short bursts, and we often rely on it for energy instead of appropriate fuel and for periods of time that are too extensive.
2. Parasympathetic: rest and digest / recovery and rebuilding responses
Your parasympathetic system dims the lights, brings in the cleaning and construction crews, and resets your system for the next push. It's the warm, cozy feeling of curling up under a blanket with a loved one or the slow glide out of a long night's sleep. However, due to the level of demands we have on our bodies day in and day out, many of us don't flip the "on" switch often enough or simply don't know how.
If you're struggling with getting good sleep, recovering from tough workouts or managing emotional stress, you can take back the power by simply learning how to activate your parasympathetic system more often!
Three Ways to CALM :
1. Exhalation and breath hold work.
Increasing carbon dioxide in your system (and therefore improving oxygen delivery) has an extremely calming effect. Try lengthening your exhale until it's 2-3 times longer than your inhale, making sure to empty your lungs as much as possible. Try this for 1-2 minutes then, if you'd like, add a 1-5 second hold at the end of each exhale before gently inhaling again.
2. Red Lens Glasses. Rose colored glasses are no joke! For many people, the reduction or elimination of blue/white spectrum light entering the eyes has an incredibly sedative effect. Try wearing them for 3-5 minutes when you're feeling stressed or for 20 minutes before bed.
3. Belly rubs. Your dog knows what's up. Belly rubs are an amazing way to calm your nervous system by stimulating your vagus nerve. Start just below your breast bone and with gentle/firm pressure, move your hands in a clockwise circle around and down to your pubic bone and back up. Make slow circles for 1-2 minutes.
Friends .... it's powerful. These tools have created so much shift in clients' lives. It's an incredible thing to teach ... and have someone come back the next week and tell you they're now able to work out, go back to work or experience a zero-pain day just from a few minutes of self care.
Add these as an afternoon reset around 2-3 pm to help you tackle your final projects with more ease. Or next time you're feeling jittery/shaky or anxious/irritated step away for 3-5 minutes and try these in succession.
We'd LOVE to hear how it goes for you!!
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