My Body Screams for Relaxation
Lately I’ve been feeling the build up of stress in my body. I suffered with super aches and pains prior to ovulation a couple of days ago. This came with a relentless headache that has made it hard to concentrate on anything.
My time has been pretty packed since moving into our new home with my full time job along with the extra roles I fulfill with my husband’s business.
My studies at IIN also take up my time. I started doing health histories with other students. While I have really enjoy doing so, this has been an additional time commitment.
With my body screaming at me, I decided to take a day of self care today that has been completely dedicated to relaxing, therefore stimulating my parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) — a major player in restorative practices in the body.
A Day of De-Stressing — Relaxation Flowing Through….
As I write this tonight I am feeling so completely relaxed. I would love for you to experience this, so I thought I’d share some things I did today that helped create this feeling of pure bliss 🙂
Steps to De-Stress:
1.) Morning Meditation — For the past couple of weeks I’ve spent about 15 minutes a day participating in Oprah and Deepak Chopra’s 21 Day Meditation Program. The meditation I did today was entitled “Miraculous Union” with the centering thought — “I radiate love”. How beautiful is that? 🙂
Its been recognized that daily meditation significantly reduces stress. It has been shown to reduce cortisol levels in the body — an important component for physical stress and hormonal imbalances.
This program has kept me meditating every day. I enjoy it best when I do it in the morning before things really get going in the day. I’ve found it easier to meditate with the help of a guide and I love listening to the brief lessons each day from Oprah and Deepak. Both inspiring and relaxing 🙂
2.) Relaxation Yoga — I tried out a new yoga DVD today called Element: Yoga for Energy and Relaxation. The DVD includes two sets — one for energy and one for relaxation. I chose the relaxation set, which is about 40 minutes long.
I always watch through my yoga DVD’s before practicing them. When I watched this one I admit I was somewhat turned off my some of the cheesiness, Lol. The yogi — Tamal Dodge — is a bit…. well….goofy, Lol.
But I realized today this doesn’t really matter, because I barely look at the screen when I go through the routine. The verbal cues are what matter, and I didn’t mind Tamal’s voice. I appreciated the additional tidbits he gave on the health benefits related to different poses.
Most importantly, I finished the set feeling super relaxed…. success 😉
3.) Swedish Massage — I was in habit of getting massages every couple of weeks up until we moved. It has been a couple of months since I had one. The pain in my shoulders and neck was evidence of this.
Without further adieu, I booked one this afternoon and it was glorious 🙂 I left feeling so, so relaxed. Tension released.
There are many health benefits to getting regular massages and healing endometriosis. One of which is getting the lymph nodes moving to remove toxins from the body and another is to simply relax the body.
4.) Get Creative — In my time today outside of the events listed above, I got creative. I love to write so this is my creative outlet. Today I worked quite a bit on the first draft to my new book I hope to share with you in the near future 🙂
When I am creative other stressors drift away. It gives my mind a positive thing to focus on and usually the process creates something to enjoy later — a reminder of my thoughts — a reminder of a moment of inspiration. Much like this blog that I oh so love 🙂
On the Positive Side?
I am feeling so good right now — so relaxed. The stress has melted away, which I know is key for my body’s restorative properties. Most of the activities outlined in this blog stimulated my PNS and I can totally tell.
After having this lovely day of self care and relaxation I know that I need to include these days more — at least once a month.
Life is busy. There is always something to do, to accomplish. If you are like me, then the time in each day is crowded. I tend to have a lot of projects going…. always, Lol.
Sometimes it’s best to do little — except focus on me — on relaxing and letting be.
With much love,
Aubree.
