Stress, anxiety, and even depression have risen to epidemic proportions in our society today. These issues can be due to many factors, and everyone has a different level of sensitivity to their environment; however, implementing daily or weekly habits to reduce overall tension in the body and mind can benefit everyone.
It’s easier than you think to bring more peace and calm into your life! Starting with a basic understanding of homeostasis – a state of balance within which our body and mind want to exist at all times – you can begin to notice the firsts signs of stress and take steps to bring yourself back to a state of balance.
Set aside time every day to “check-in” with your body, mind, and emotional state. Our fast-paced and disconnected lifestyles can cause a disassociation from our true feelings, needs, and desires. These responses are defense mechanisms meant to protect you from a perceived, dangerous environment. Still, by creating a safe space for yourself, you start to change these patterns and create fluidity in experiencing who you truly are on the inside.
Journaling is a wonderful practice that is easy to incorporate into your day to day life, and it can have amazing results. Give yourself grace and freedom to express whatever you want, however you want in those pages – whether you sketch with colored pencils, make lists, write poetry, or purge your most profound, hidden feelings through stream-of-consciousness writing.
In addition to at-home self-care practices like journaling, making time for bodywork therapy such as massage, reiki, or craniosacral therapy can be an essential step in allowing the body to come back to a state of homeostasis. As stated above, homeostasis is the state of peace and balance within the internal environment; a state the body is always trying hard to create for itself.
When stress and trauma are stored in the body, it works so hard to try and balance itself, creating a host of other issues such as inflammation, chronic pain, fatigue, digestive issues, and many more. Incorporating bodywork therapies allow the parasympathetic nervous system to relax and create a more conducive internal environment for everything to come back into balance.
The theme of homeostasis is a helpful tool in understanding where our body and mind want to exist at all times – in a state of balance, openness, where all processes can function fully and to their highest expression. Many natural products are easily accessible that can support you in this endeavor: aromatherapy, flower essences, hemp flower, and CBD Vape, and herbal teas.
When implementing any new routines to support your body and mind, the most important thing to remember is always to do your best to choose self-compassion over judgment or blame. After all, our bodies and minds are just trying their hardest to protect us, and they are our first and more critical team members in our lives.
The next time you begin to feel stressed or anxious, or sens that you’re losing hope for positive outcomes in your life, set aside some time for self-care. Try some simple breathing techniques, a mindfulness coloring book, or a self-guided meditation. These simple practices can have enormously positive effects on your body, mind, and spirit.