Take A Chill Pill


Aug 2, 2021

Share

I have noticed that a lot of people are full of stress and anxiety. Their necks are tight, they complain about their traps being tight, feeling like they're in knots all the time, having trouble moving because they're stiff and achy and holding all this stress and inflammation. It’s not a fun place to be. Towards the end of last week I was really feeling it myself. I was carrying a ton of stress and feeling like an emotional mess. Mentally I was fried and my anxiety was crazier than I would like to admit. My body was holding onto all of my different worries and my body felt heavy, tight, and twisted. I’m proud of the fact that this hasn’t happened to me in quite some time and I thank the little things I do on a regular basis for that. I have put things in place that I do as often as I can so that I don’t always feel like a tight ball of stress.

 

 I try to help my clients implement these things into their daily lives so they too don’t feel like they’re going to break at any moment. Life is stressful, work is stressful, everything can and is stressful at some point. Sometimes it’s all of those things all at once. We can’t avoid it-but the goal isn’t to avoid all stress. That’s impossible and we need a little bit of stress here and there. The goal is to respond to the stress better, minimize the reaction to the stressor(s).

 

So, I’m going to give you the things I like to do that I believe have helped me. Maybe they will help you!

1. SELF CARE: I dry brush every morning and either ice roll my face or do some gua sha every morning

. 

  • Dry brushing: Exfoliates and helps to shed dead skin off the skins surface. Detoxifies by stimulating the lymph nodes to release waste. Increases circulation which directly improves immunity since your body is more able to transport immune cells and flush toxins. The rhythmic motions and taking time on yourself takes some of the weight of the day away:)
  • Facial ice rolling: Boosts circulation which brings blood to the skins surface to restore radiance and encourage optimum cell function which instantly reduces puffiness and redness in the face. I always feel less puffy and glowy when I do this. It’s especially great when you don’t get enough sleep or have allergies.  
  • Gua sha: An ancient Chinese healing technique that aims to improve circulation, alleviate chronic pain and inflammation, and stimulate lymphatic drainage. It's performed by scraping the skin firmly in long strokes with a solid massage tool — usually on the back, neck, arms, legs and face. decrease puffiness, promote anti-aging, improve elasticity, detoxify the skin, rebuild collagen and improve skin tone. I like to do this on my face and neck. 

 

2. JOURNALING EVERYDAY: Right now I just use a blank notebook and write down what I’m grateful for every morning. But my favorite journal is The Five Minute Journal because it gives you a daily writing prompt. Sometimes just writing is too open ended for me and I need prompts, even if it’s the same ones-because I always have different answers each day. Finding things I was grateful for used to be really difficult and when I first was told about it I thought it was dumb. Now there are many things big and small that I’m grateful for everyday. I even surprise myself how I can take something that is bothering me and find gratitude in it. It’s a really great practice to get in the habibt of.

 

3. WEEKLY/MONTHLY CHECK-INS: At the end of every week I email myself a questionnaire asking me what went well and what didn’t that week. I answer them honestly and it’s a really great tool for me to reflect and look at what I can do better for the next week. This way I avoid getting into ruts for long periods of time. I also send myself a monthly check-in. 

 

4. EPSOME SALT BATHS: I like to take epsom salt baths on the weekend or when I'm on my period. Epsom salt, otherwise known as bath salt or magnesium sulfate, is a mineral compound believed to have many health benefits. The idea is that these particles can be absorbed through your skin, providing you with magnesium and sulfates, which serve important bodily functions. Epsom salts and it’s magnesium content promotes sleep and stress reduction, helps with constipation, aids in exercise recover, and reduces pain and swelling. Magnesium flakes work too.

 

5. MASSAGE: I like deep tissue work when I'm really stressed and holding a lot of tension.

 

6. ACTIVE MEDITATIONS:  Things I consider active meditations: going for walks, taking care of my plants, cooking, exercising, and running. These things are tasks that I would have put off because I didn't feel like it or thought I didn't have enough time. I would cram these things in whenever I believed I had the time to do it. The issue really was't that I didn't have the time to do it, but that it wasn't a priority and used to be things that I didn’t really look forward to. They were more like chores to me than anything. But at the same time I would feel better after doing them. I changed my mindset around them and started viewing these activities as things that added to my happiness and wellbeing. And becuase they added to my happiness and wellbeing I needed to prioritize them and make the time. When doing these activities I get the chance to drown everything else out and just focus on that task, plus I get things done that needed to be done regardless. If you want to get into this and can't think of anything you currently do that you could turn into an active meditation try walking after every meal for 10 min.

 

7. READING: Reading: I try to take some time every week to read whatever book it is I felt like reading.

 

8. LISTENING TO PODCASTS: My favorite is Finding Mastery.

 

9. LISTENING TO CALM MUSIC: Especially when I wake up more anxious or feeling like I have a ton of stuff to get done and feel like I'm not in the present.

 

10. DECREASE PHONE USAGE: I set a timer for social media and other apps on my phone to shut off from 8pm-7am so I can only receive texts and phone calls. The night is when I use my phone the most. I would much rather spend quality time with my boyfriend during this time and make sure I don't mindlessly scroll social media before and after I wake up. 

 

11. BREATHWORK/MEDITATION:  Right now I’m working on belly breathing-working on expanding my diaphragm and not raising my shoulders while inhaling. I lay down on the ground with a pillow under my head and knees. Right now I set a timer for 5 min and do this in the morning or whenever I can during the day if I’m rushed in the morning. There are MANY benefits to adding breathwork into your routine including stress reduction, increased self awareness, improved self esteem, improved processing of emotions, reduces blood pressure, and many more but I added it in mainly because I want to decrease the use of my accessory muscles to breathe to improve the tightness in my neck and shoulders and improve my rib cage movement.

 

12. COLD SHOWERS:  At the end of my shower I turn the water to cold for a few minutes. Cold showers are known for calming itchy skin, waking you up, increasing circulation, reducing muscle soreness post-workout, potentially boosting weight loss. I really like doing it after working out or playing soccer to help with muscle soreness and in the morning to increase oxygen intake to wake me up.

 

13. CHANGING MY TRAINING: I change my training when I'm menstruating. Doing too much when I’m on it is a recipe for burnout and misery for me. So instead of working out and playing soccer I take naps and stretch. Try not to be so hard on yourself when you're feeling extra tired and crampy. You aren't going to lose your gains in a few days and you're not lazy for taking a break:)

 

I hope this helps! Let me know if you add any of these into your daily routine and if you have any questions or want to go into any of these things a little further feel free to hit me up! I would love to go further into it with you!

 

-Morgan