On Managing Stress

The importance of releasing stress in the body and mind cannot be over emphasized!

Stress management is one of the 3 pillars of good health along with a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle.

A stressful lifestyle is hard on our bodies and depletes us and thus can weaken our immune system. There are many ways to incorporate practices in our lives to release, to let go and activate our parasympathetic nervous system, which calms and relaxes us. Daily practices such as a long savasana, restorative poses, yoga nidra, guided relaxations and calming breath practices, such as deep diaphragmatic breathing and alternate nostril breathing, are all beneficial and help relieve the effects of stress on our body and mind.

In addition to daily self care practices, it is also beneficial to take time off and go somewhere where you can surround yourself with art and nature's beauty. If you only have a day, take a long hike in the woods or by water or spend the day at a museum. The day before Mother's Day, we ate lunch at my favorite Indian Restaurant with our adult children, and then we all took a walk around Lake Needwood.

Do also save up for a longer trip where you can let your body relax and take more time to renew and refresh yourself. My husband and I took a belated anniversary trip to England in May, spending half of the time in and around St. Ives in Cornwall and the other half in London, where we met many years ago.  Closing my eyes, I can still see the wondrous landscapes and gardens! 

These are some pictures from this trip. They include St. Michael's Mount and a garden in Cornwall, the coastal path near St. Ives, the Barbara Hepworth museum in St. Ives,  a garden in Hampstead Heath in London, and the meditation garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in London.