Stress

Stress is something that we all experience. Whether it be with work, school, friends, family or any other aspect of life that can get hectic. Do not stress the stress, there are many things that you can do to help deal with negative stress and they are very simple!

RAW: To help with stress there are many different foods that you can eat. Some of these foods include vegetables, fruits, and nuts.

A vegetable that is great with helping stress is Asparagus. The reason this particular vegetable helps stress is because it has folic acid and it's packed with antioxidants. These two nutrients are known to help stabilize moods and release positive hormones into the body. Another possible benefit of Asparagus is that it may help slow down the aging process.

Photo from: Simply in Season

Blueberries are also known to help with stress. Since Blueberries are part of the fruit family, they are always a great option to eat when you are in need of natural sugar, plus they are finger food!
Blueberries are packed with antioxidants, fiber, and vitamin C. This super fruit is also known for helping other aspects of life, and I am sure Blueberries will come up again throughout this blog! Berries in general have great benefits that can help with stress and enhancing food. They also add a lot of color to your diet, which is needed!

Photo from: Garden of Eaden

Another way to reduce stress is by eating healthy foods that have a crunch and that you might crave throughout the day. These foods include mostly nuts like almonds and seeds.  Almonds have vitamin B2, vitamin E, and also magnesium. All of these nutrients together help regulate mood and actually can help relieve stress.

Photo from: Market Watch

Balance: Yoga is a practice that includes many different positions and stretches that can help your mind, body and spirit. I have been practicing Yoga for three years now and I find the practice very calming and fun! I am very far from being a perfect Yogi, but I am always looking for ways to improve my own practice and learn the different benefits of Yoga.

Specific yoga positions to help reduce stress:

Child's pose: This is a pose that requires you to get on the floor and do a slight stretch. You are to spread your knees wide and then fold forward. The reason Child's Pose is known for reducing stress is due to the fact that you are touching your forehead to the ground. By doing this, it allows your body to feel a connection to the Earth and it can really bring down your heart rate. This is also a pose that you can practice anywhere, whether it be your home or your office, it does not require a lot of space or time. Coming to this pose throughout a stressful day will really ground your thoughts and can really help reduce stress.

We are always told in my yoga classes to refer back to this pose if we need a break from the other positions because this pose calms the mind and reduces stress and anxiety.

 

Half Moon: This pose require you to stand up straight and take one leg and place it at 90 degrees, and lift the same side arm up to the sky. You must always remember to keep your back foot active in this pose. It creates more balance in your body and also keeps everything active in your body allowing you to stay in the pose for longer. This pose requires balance and concentration. By focusing on balancing your body, it helps your mind relieve stress and anxiety.

One variation is to  keep your gaze to the floor, or to the bottom hand.

Another variation is to take your gaze to your top hand. This adds more of a balance challenge.

 

Tree Pose: This is a position that almost anyone can do. All you have to do is take one leg off the floor when standing, connect it with your other leg in a triangle position and place your hands together at your heart, or for more challenge, lift them to the sky as branches. This pose is one that I really enjoy in my practice because I am thinking about balancing and being a graceful standing tree.

This is one variation you can do in Tree Pose. By holding your hands in the center of your chest.

  

 

If you would like a bit of a challenge, which I always love, feel free to bring your hands to the sky while still balancing, your arms are to be the branches of your tree. To add to this challenge, take your gaze up to the ceiling and keep looking farther and father back. You can always make your tree into a slight back bend as well.

Don't forget to smile!

 

Namaste