How We Can Help Reduce Your Stress
Acupuncture
Our body can overreact to chronic stressors like heavy workloads, financial burdens and emotional stressors like fears about the future. Acupuncture helps us regain balance, by blocking the stress-induced increases in the HPA-axis and the sympathetic nervous system, clicking us into the parasympathetic nervous system in charge of slowing our breath, strengthening our digestion, increasing our reproductive function and healing our body – that means it’s a great way to help reduce your stress!
Massage
The beauty of massage is that we get to feel f—ing good while simultaneously reducing stress in our physical and emotional bodies. Our therapists use gentle and safe healing touch to work on areas where we unconsciously hold physical tension. As a result, this creates a cascade of neurotransmitters telling our brain to release chemicals in the body such as serotonin and dopamine, effectively reducing stress, pain, and enhancing relaxation. When we are in a state of relaxation, we continue to make positive decisions creating cumulative and long lasting effects.
Reiki
Using universal life force energy, Reiki calms the mind and body, while aligning vibrant new energy with the seven main chakras (energy centers). For example, during a reiki session most people will enter into a meditative, or theta brain wave state, which allows for deep relaxation and a positive mental outlook. After a reiki session most people feel tranquil, peaceful and better equipped to handle life’s stressors.
Herbs
Herbal medicine can help our bodies reduce stress indirectly by giving them what we need to function optimally. However, there are many herbs that can help us deal with stress directly. For example, adaptogens like Ginseng and Ashwagandha boost our bodies’ ability to cope with stress. Nervines like Lemon Balm and Skullcap help relax the nervous system, making it easier for you to let go of the stress.
How You Can Reduce Stress at Home
Food
Stress encourages us to make poor food choices but we need to be stronger than our cravings. Have you heard of the sugar dragon? Yeah, we need to slay that! Certain foods like sugar and gluten can actually exacerbate difficult-to-manage emotions. For breakfast, swap cereal for oatmeal. Need a snack? Try homemade guacamole or a bowl of berries or nuts. In other words keep it clean with grass fed meats, plenty of omega rich foods, like grilled salmon, fruits and vegetables!
Exercise
You’ve heard it before: “20-30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise daily”… but honestly it has a whole host of mental benefits. First, it releases stress-busting chemicals called endorphins that can hang around for the rest of the day. Moving those muscles releases tension, invigorates our blood, increases our energy during the day and improves sleep… All which help us glide through stressful situations with ease. Also, let’s not forget how we can increase our sense of wellbeing as we achieve a goal. But ugh! How do we find the time in our busy lives when we don’t love to exercise? You just have to make it happen! Carve the time out of your schedule for 3 weeks and at the end of the 21 days you may be surprised at how great you feel!
Essential Oils
Aromatherapy has the unique ability to cross the blood brain barrier making it a beautiful solution in response to both chronic and acute stress. Studies show that sweet orange is highly effective in diffusing the fight or flight response caused by PTSD triggers, and can ease labor for women by reducing fear induced stress. Lavender is another gentle tool that can calm the nervous system and enhance sleep, both of which are essential for stress relief. Plus, they smell amazing!
Sleep
It’s the chicken egg dilemma. Chronic stress causes poor sleep… and … lack of sleep can make us hypersensitive to stressful situations. How do we break the cycle? Acupuncture, reiki, essential oils, exercise and meditation! 🙂
Meditation
A great way to reduce stress is by focusing and centering. In our lives it’s so easy to get pulled in so many directions at once. Meditation helps to bring us back into our body, into the present moment. In the present there is PEACE. Here is a helpful app we use often! (link to insight timer)
Outdoors
Nature is a great healing balm for stress. Get out in the beauty of the trees and rivers, let your mind wander. The plants don’t judge you. The rocks aren’t pressuring you to get anything done. You can be who you are and think what you want, and the nature all around you will give you all the space you need. Watch the river meander, notice how the water doesn’t fight or struggle, see how effortless it’s movement is. Soak up that effortlessness. See the tree swaying in the breeze. Notice how it doesn’t overextend itself but rather stays within its own power. Breath in that stability. There is lots of this kind of medicine out in nature, all you have to do is put yourself there.
Journaling
Journaling is a great way to transmit and release energy of the brain and body through pen and paper. Writing allows us to drop out of our headspace and into our heart-space where words will flow out like water. This practice can leave us lighter, with more clarity around what’s really causing stress.
Music
Whether it’s dropping into our bodies to dance around the house while listening to a favorite song, or a more meditative approach, music has the ability to instantly uplift our mood and calm the nervous system. For example, meditative music gives us a variety of different hertz wavelengths that correspond with the chakras of the body. Try adding it to your meditation, yoga practice, journaling time or even as part of your sleep hygiene routine!
Stones and Crystals
Stones and crystals are a wonderful addition to the home and work space. They hold specific energetic frequencies that correspond to the chakras of the body, the energy of the environment, along with the variety of ways stress is manifesting in your life such as: migraines, insomnia, chronic fatigue, irritability to a range of other symptoms.
Find Stress Relief Solutions Near Me
If you are in Grand Rapids, MI or West Michigan we are here for you. Read more about how Acupuncture, Massage and Bodywork, Reiki, or 1:1 Movement Therapies at Grand Wellness can help relieve your stress!
Ready to feel great? Schedule a session and let’s get started!
