Tag Archives: mindfulness

Oct30

Reduce Your Stress In 5 Steps

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Reduce Your Stress In 5 Steps

In life, we all deal with stress for various reasons. However, we do not need to live life feeling stressed. We should live life feeling happy and calm. If you feel that you are overly stressed and do not know how to reduce it and regain your quality of life and happiness, follow these steps:

Consult a chiropractor:

Many people assume that a chiropractor can only help with back pain and neck aches. But they are capable of so much more. If you are feeling stressed out, they are a great person to talk to. You will be shocked at how much assistance they can provide. Reducing stress and improving your daily well-being can be achieved by making minor adjustments to your joints and muscles. If you are interested in visiting a chiropractor, simply enter a search for “Chiropractor Near Me“. Seek a practice that has excellent reviews and customer testimonials.

Strive for a harmonious work-life balance.

It is essential that you achieve a healthy work-life balance; otherwise, you can risk experiencing a lot of stress for no reason. For example, you are doing nothing but working if you are not taking enough breaks during the workday and taking your holidays. Taking pauses can help your mind clear and concentrate, keeping you composed and preventing unneeded tension.

Make every effort to enhance your work-life balance if you believe that your job is giving you a lot of stress. You will discover the mental and physical benefits of an exercise class after work, as well as the mental benefits of a ten minute break. And, be sure to pamper yourself during your downtime too. Whether that be taking a long soak in the tub or even booking an appointment for acupuncture to soothe stress. To begin finding a practitioner near you, simply enter a search for “acupuncture clinic London” (or your local area) and explore the different services available.

Breathe deeply and meditate:

Some people do not realize the amazing effects and benefits of managing stress through meditation and deep breathing techniques. People can stay calm and in the present moment by engaging in these mindful practices. All it takes to control your cortisol levels and ensure that you do not experience needless stress during the day is a few minutes of deep breathing or meditation each morning.

For some people, vape devices may offer them a complementary means to supplement their deep breathing practices. When they choose vape liquid with soothing flavors or aromas, they may find it easier to relax and focus on their breathing exercises. While meditation and deep breathing alone are powerful practices, when combined with tools that enhance relaxation, it can create an even more enjoyable and tailored experience. It’s important that you are mindful of both the quality and composition of the vape liquid to make sure that it aligns with your overall health and well-being goals.

Cut down on screen time:

Cutting back on your screen time will be very beneficial for stress management and relief. The extent to which screen time can negatively impact your stress levels and mental health will astound you. You will undoubtedly feel more at ease and content when you go to bed and throughout the evening if you cut down on your screen time each night.

Get more rest:

When it comes to lowering your stress levels, one of the best things you can do is to get more sleep. Your body and mind may feel extremely stressed and exhausted if you are not getting enough sleep. Setting a daily goal of 7 to 9 hours is crucial. That is okay if you can not get this much sleep or if you need less. On the other hand, you will worsen your health and experience more stress if you do not prioritize getting enough sleep. You will undoubtedly feel more at ease and be able to sleep for a longer period of time if you go to bed earlier and put down your phone a few hours before.

These simple steps can be incorporated in your life immediately to help start reducing your stress!

Featured Image By: Leah Kelley

Jul28

Breathwork For Relaxation

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Breathwork For Relaxation

Those in high-stress careers or those who have a lot on their plate probably catch themselves taking a deep breath once in a while. That single deep breath can work wonders, but to keep that little bit of peace and clarity going, learning some breathwork is going to be beneficial. Try the following when you need to chill out:

Why do breathwork?

Breathwork has been shown to stop the body’s stress response as it is happening and to reduce stress levels overall. There are a few accompaniments to breathwork, like ice baths, therapy, meditation, and other stress and trauma management. Breathwork dates back to 2700 BCE and is said to help calm the body, mind, and find some balance. This can be a particularly useful tool when you feel overwhelmed and are prone to anxiety attacks. You could consider using an anxiety tracker app to log anything that is a potential trigger to help identify these overwhelming feelings of stress and anxiety. You can also log anything that helps ground you, such as doing these breathwork techniques.

Can anyone do breathwork?

For the more simple breathwork, it is easy to get started, but it’s a good idea to watch a YouTube video to make sure you have the method correctly in your mind. There are some forms of breathwork that will need to be led by an expert instructor as they have a bigger impact on the body, and those are Holotropic Breathwork and Breath of Fire.

Whistling Lips:

To slow your breathing down even more than just regular box breathing, you can make use of this technique. Just like a regular deep breath, breathe in through your nose, hold it for a moment, pour your lips into the shape you’d use for whistling, and exhale as slowly as possible through that shape. You’re not forcing yourself to whistle, though; instead, just let the air pass through. You’ll need to focus on keeping your lips pursed, so there is a lot of mindfulness in this method. Run this through five times, and you’ll feel much calmer at the end of it.

Lion’s Breath:

The first few times you do this, you might feel a little silly – but it works wonders for relieving tension in your face and chest, and many people do it for a little energizing. Get comfortable, take a deep breath through your nose, and be sure to open up your eyes as wide as possible. Open your mouth, stick out your tongue as far as it will go down towards your chin, and let the breath out with an ‘ahhhhh’ or ‘haaaaa’ sound. As a fun addition, you usually put your eyes focusing on the tip of your nose or up to between your eyebrows. Doing three rounds of this should have you feeling nice and relaxed.

478:

This type of breathwork is something that many people are familiar with, as it is often recommended to those with anxiety and high stress. Focusing on breathing pulls the mind away from the source of the issue, and the breath itself helps to slow the heart rate down to a healthy speed. For the 478 method, you inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, and slowly release the breath for 8 seconds. The hard work here comes from the controlled exhale, as it encourages the body to let go of stress.

For those who know that their stress level is high and needs work, here are some other things that can help: Reduce Your Stress With These Hobbies | lifewithlilred.

Featured Image By: Katie Bush on Unsplash

Jan3

Habits That Boost Your Mood & Health

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Habits That Boost Your Mood & Health

Life can be very busy and chaotic at times and may not always go as planned. All of this can begin to negatively impact your attitude and health as time goes on. Avoid negative consequences by choosing to take good care of yourself and being more mindful of your behaviors and lifestyle. Focus on what’s in your control and live healthily for the best outcome. These are some simple habits to incorporate into your day that will boost your mood and health and make those crazy days easier to manage:

Exercise Daily:

It’s in your best interest to fit in daily exercise if you want to feel happier and boost your health. Move more and get your heart rate going so you can get fit and have more natural energy. It’s a great way to reduce your stress and you’ll feel more motivated to tackle your to-do list after a rewarding workout.

Maintain A Clean & Orderly Home:

Boost your mood and health by maintaining a clean and orderly home. Declutter and get on a regular cleaning schedule to get rid of dust and dirt. Go a step further and invest in natural and eco-friendly household cleaning products such as L’AVANT Collective, which are non-toxic and will get the job done right and well.

Slow Down & Recharge:

Be present and live more mindfully. Slow down and avoid rushing around and multitasking all of the time. Make sure you take breaks and set aside time to rest and recharge so you don’t experience burnout. Ask for help when you need it and make a priority list of to-dos so that your daily schedule becomes more manageable.

Eat Wisely:

Sugar and saturated fat can slow you down and cause you to gain weight. Instead, get in the habit of eating clean and make smart choices. Be picky about what you put in your body during mealtime and for snacks. Consider cooking for yourself at home so you have more control over the ingredients and your portion sizes. You’ll feel much happier and healthier when you are taking good care of your body and mind by making wise food choices.

Reflect & Give Thanks:

Practicing gratitude will go a long way in helping you to feel more at peace. Reflect and give thanks daily and regularly so that you can focus on the positives and your blessings instead of what’s lacking or missing in your life. Consider volunteering your time, as well, which is an effective way to demonstrate kindness. Helping others will put a smile on someone else’s face but also on your own. Be thankful for what you do have and work toward being a more generous and giving person, which will make you feel more content in the long run.

Add one or many of these habits into your daily life to start a positive change on your mood and health. A New Year’s resolution, perhaps?!

Featured Image By: Pexels

Dec23

Small Things You Can Do To Be Healthier In The New Year

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It’s not long until the New Year now. That usually means thinking about all of the things that we’d like to change and improve. The problem is, is that if we always choose massive goals, then they can become overwhelming to complete. Instead, it’s a much better idea to choose small achievable things like the ones below:

Eat More Fruit and Veggies: Most people’s diets take a bit of a bashing over Christmas. There is so much delicious party food and nibbles around that it can take a will of iron to resist. That is often countered with the start of a strict diet come the first of January. Unfortunately, strict diets are hard to keep up and can cause you to fall back into your old ways defeated and sad by January 14th.

Instead of setting yourself up for failure in this way, focus on the types of foods that you are eating. Increasing fibrous food and fruits and vegetables in our diets provide more nutrients and are more filling. This, then squeezes out the opportunity to eat too much junk food. If you are struggling to get more fruit and veggies into your diet, then you might want to consider getting a kitchen gadget or two like a spiralizer or a juicer. If you are unsure about the type of juicer to get, you can check out the ones selected by Juicer Cruiser to help you make your decision.

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 SO. ORANGE.

Exercise Daily: Exercising daily might not sound like a small activity, but we are not talking about running marathons or spending hours at the gym here. Instead, we are talking 5-10 minutes sessions. The idea here is to get used to building movement into your daily routine until it becomes normal.

It can be any sort of movement you like – you can dance, jog, or lift weights. You can clean the house or run around the garden with the kids. It’s not really what you are doing that matters, it’s that you’re doing it daily. This will help you lay the foundation for a healthy habit to be built into your everyday life.

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 Pixabay Image

Practice Being Mindful: Mindfulness is a very popular concept at the moment. It is about being aware of where you are internally at any given moment. It is about being present in your own body and mind and observing what is going on in there. This might sound like an activity that entails hours and hours of silent meditation. But it can be broken down into small periods throughout the day, repeatedly.

In fact, it suits intermittent periods of practice throughout the day best. Our minds have a tendency to wander off into the past or future, and you have to practice bringing you focus back to the here and now. That means the aim is to not have a streak of being mindful, but to rapidly bring your presence back to now again and again. To do this, you can set a timer on your watch, or you can get smartphone and watch apps that remind you throughout the day.

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 Mind your mindfulness!