How to Manage Stress with Nourishing Practices

“How would your life be different if...You were conscious about the food you ate, the people you surround yourself with, and the media you watch, listen to, or read? Let today be the day...You pay attention to what you feed your mind, your body, and your life. Create a nourishing environment conducive to your growth and well-being today.”
― Steve Maraboli, The Power of One

As humans, we all experience stress in some way, at some time in our lives, both real and perceived.  Stress can be triggered by a variety of experiences and can manifest itself in many different physical and emotional responses in the body.  Stress can have an impact on your body and mind.  When stressed, your nervous system moves from parasympathetic state, or rest and digest, to the sympathetic state known as fight, flight, or freeze.  When experiencing stress, your brain releases the chemicals cortisol and epinephrine. These chemicals elevate your heart rate, quicken your breath, and prepare you to take immediate action to keep you alive. This reaction can be useful in small doses, for example, if you need to slam on the breaks to avoid a car accident.  However, if you’re experiencing stress often, it can have adverse long-term effects on your body.

The Impact of Stress on the Body

Experiencing chronic stress can impact your overall health. The Mayo Clinic outlines several different effects of stress on our body, mood, and behavior. These include headaches, muscle tension, chest pain, fatigue, anxiety, restlessness, and a lack of motivation, among many others. The impact of stress on the body does not stop there; it can also lead to eating problems, anger outbursts, substance abuse and social withdrawal.

This stress response system is there to keep you safe and alive if your life is threatened by something such as a lion or tiger.  However, your body and mind still experience the same response when stress is experienced in ways where your life isn’t literally in danger.  It appears stress is unavoidable in today’s world.  Whether it is traffic on the way to work, or relationship challenges, or the weight of the many responsibilities, there will always be things that bring stress into your life.

What Can You Do?

If you think of stress in your life like filling a bucket.  A bucket has a set volume of space that can be filled and when it reaches its capacity, if you add more, it will overflow.  This is similar to our capacity for stress.  It builds up over time and needs to be released so that it doesn’t overflow.

There are techniques for releasing stress as well as nourishing yourself so that you are more well equipped to handle stress.  When looking to release stress, here are some strategies:

• Vigorous physical exercise, such as running, hiking, strength training, dancing, or rock climbing
• Yoga, Pilates, other Mind-body practices
• Here is a playlist of Yoga videos
• Here is a playlist of Pilates videos
• Shaking your body
• Crying or screaming
• Journaling
• Listen to upbeat music

Nourishing Practices

“When you grow your own garden, it grows you.”
― T.F. Hodge

There are other practices that feel more nourishing and build up the positive energy within you. On of our favorite practices here at The Mindful Movement is meditation.  During meditation, you take the time to slow your breathing, ease your mind and disconnect from things in your life that may cause worry. Practicing regular meditation gives the body a chance to recover from the daily damages brought on by stressful situations. You can use meditation to unwind from the day or to put you in a good state of mind to manage the challenges that may come your way.

Meditation can put the body and mind in a relaxed state, and it can prepare the mind to better cope with future stress. It is as if meditation, makes more space to handle whatever is sent your way.  Meditation encourages you to become mindful of yourself and your environment. It helps put life in perspective, allowing you to focus your thoughts and energy on what is truly important. As a result, you may approach the stresses of daily life with a more positive outlook. A traffic jam may present an opportunity to call an old friend, or a stressful day at work can remind you to be thankful that you are employed.

Here are some nourishing practices:

• Spending time in nature
• Spending time with friends and family
• Giving or receiving a hug
• Laughing
• Breath practices
• Yoga Nidra Meditation
• Mindfulness Meditation
• Grounding Meditations
• Sensory meditation
• Movement as self-care
• Guide to Support your Mood and Energy with Restorative, Self-Care Movement

Relieve Stress with The Mindful Movement

The Mindful Movement is an oasis that allows you to tap into inner peace, a positive mindset and the ability to heal. If you are interested in practicing meditation, dive into the world of mindfulness and meditation with our four-day meditation journey here.

If you are experiencing an overload of stress, it may show up as symptoms of anxiety, worry, or overwhelm. Our 21 day mini-course to gain freedom from anxiety is for anyone who is ready to make a change and release the grip of anxiety.  This includes a lesson about how the mind works, two hypnosis sections, self-inquiry work, and a powerful hypnosis recording that is yours to keep and listen to for at least 21 consecutive days following your completion of the course.

Start TODAY!  After you commit to taking this step to gain freedom from anxiety, you will be emailed access to the course immediately!

Additional Resources:

The Mindful Movement’s 5-week online course, Living Fulfilled is another great opportunity.  During the course, you will explore how to find your purpose, love yourself, and connect with your authentic self.

Members Oasis for: Unlimited access to all Mindful Movement Meditations and Hypnosis Practices; Exclusive Members Only Content added EVERY month; Practice anytime, anywhere.

Purchase your favorite Meditation and Hypnosis practices from the Mindful Movement. You can download an MP3 file to listen to anytime, anywhere with no internet access necessary.

Hypnotherapy is an extremely powerful tool to support transitions and times of change.  If you decide you want to work one on one with a hypnotherapist, I’d love to help you!

Let us know how we can help.  Please feel to leave a comment with any other suggestions, comments, or questions for the community!

With love and gratitude,

Sara and Les

The Mindful Movement