Stress Management Practice #2: Breathe!

The second stress management practice is a short breathing and meditation practice that absolutely saved me when I worked in the high stress corporate world. This super simple practice can be done at night to help you relax before bedtime, if you find yourself lying awake at night unable to sleep, or anytime during your day that you need clarity and calm. I have even done it standing in line at the grocery store!

Click HERE to download the 5 minute how to video. Once you get the hang of it, do this practice often, even if you only have a minute. It is so powerful!

Let me know how it goes!

Stress Management Practice #1: Get Upside Down!

Look, I get it, you are dying to have more energy, get more sleep, and/or lose weight but you are so stressed out and overwhelmed that starting a new diet, exercise plan, or even getting 30 minutes more sleep seems totally impossible. And I know that some days you feel like you are absolutely drowning in to-dos, conflicts, and obligations and you just don’t have any time for yourself. Therefore, to help you get your head above water, I have three stress reducing practices to offer you. And because you are so busy, each one can be done in less than 1 minute.

Your first stress management practice is a simple yoga pose called legs up the wall pose. Legs up the wall pose, or viparita karani for you yogis out there, is an amazing pose that re-establishes a sense of balance and promotes a feeling of calm and well-being because it allows the lymph and blood from your legs to flow with gravity towards your head and heart. This is especially beneficial if you have tired and/or swollen legs resulting from prolonged sitting, standing, or travel. This gentle inversion (the legs are above the heart and head) can help bring relief for a headache, energize your tired body, or relax your mind to encourage sleep and rest. And don’t worry, you don’t have to know anything about yoga or even be flexible to do this pose.

Click HERE to download the 1 minute how to video. Once you get the hang of it, practice this pose whenever you need to rest. Stay for as little or as long as you can. 

Let me know how it goes!

I have a confession...

I have a confession to make… I still get stressed out and overwhelmed from time to time. Now, you may be thinking, Beth quit her stressful job last year and now teaches yoga and helps people restructure their lives to better manage their stress, sleep, and energy, so how come she still gets overwhelmed.

Here’s the thing, we can change jobs, avoid anxiety inducing situations or people, practice yoga, etc. but we still live in a fast paced world where things just don’t always go as planned. And my life is no exception. So while stressful situations are inevitable, handling them poorly is not. Therefore, I have several go-to practices that I count on to help me get through the tough days with greater ease.

I am excited to share three of these practices with you. So check back next Friday for your first stress management practice or send me an email (just put "I am Stressed!" in the subject line) and get it even sooner (beth at bethmarek.com)! 

What does it mean to be healthy?

What does it mean to be healthy?

Through my studies, I have come across a bunch of different answers including freedom from disease, healthy eating habits, regular exercise, regular meditation practice, no fast food, etc.

I have always had a deep desire to be healthy. What I have recently realized is that being “healthy” is actually more of a moving target for me. There is always more to learn about taking care of myself. There are always more bad habits that I need to break and more good habits that I need to cultivate. More and more, I am realizing that while there are still quite a few truly bad habits that I need to break (like my disgusting love of Dr. Pepper!); there are many habits that, while they aren’t inherently bad, they no longer serve me and my path of growth and change. For example, dairy has a lot of great, healthy benefits; but when I eat dairy, my body totally revolts (I will spare you the details! J ). Running is another example. It is my time to daydream, come up with solutions to problems, and release tension and stress. Basically, I am a nicer, more balanced person when I run regularly. Therefore frequently skipping my run is a bad habit for me. (But I do admit that I get lazy sometimes, so if I seem especially cranky, remind me to go for a run!)

So there bad habits and there are habits that are bad for me. And it is important that I am aware of all of these “bad” habits so that I can continue to grow and evolve. I know that I have mentioned this before but bringing more awareness into my life has given me such amazing insight into just what my body, mind, and spirit need most. Being healthy therefore means listening to my inner voice that speaks from a place of deep knowing and that can always spot a bad habit. So I am striving to continue to cultivate awareness and to act on that which serves my body, mind, and spirit every day. This is really exciting for me and I can’t wait to continue to see how my journey towards health continues to change and evolve.

How do YOU define healthy?