In this session,
I want to talk just about our top strategies for managing,
Ultimately reducing stress.
First one is mindfulness-based practices.
That ability to bring the mind into the present moment is one of the best antidotes to stress and anxiety.
Not worrying about the past,
Ruminating,
Worrying about something in the future,
Just being present,
Whether with the breath,
In the body,
Sounds,
Just brings us out of the wandering mind,
The monkey mind that keeps us in a stressed or anxious mode.
Second type of practice I want to bring up are just simple relaxation techniques.
This could be simple breathing practices.
It could be some type of yoga nidra or body scan or savasana and yoga.
Just being able to really trigger that relaxation response.
A third practice is simply exercise,
Moving the body.
You would think this wouldn't have much to do with managing or reducing stress because we normally think about exercise as purely for the physical body,
But just purely moving does wonders for our nervous system.
Another really important thing is connecting with friends,
Being around others,
Good conversation,
Connecting with friends and family in our community,
Laughter.
This is a great antidote to stress.
A fifth strategy is how we eat.
This is actually very important.
There are foods,
Plant-based,
Healthy foods that are going to bring us into a much calmer state of mind and just keeps our body and mind in a much better place.
Another thing I want to emphasize,
The kind of original,
As they say,
Blueprint for calming down the mind and triggering the relaxation spot is simply spending time in nature.
This is something that a lot of people don't consider in today's age where a lot of people spend time on devices,
But there is so much good science behind the common effects nature has on our nervous system.
Finally is this notion of selflessness.
We really want to emphasize through this program to get beyond the project of me.
We work on ourselves.
We bring kindness and love to the self.
We do all these practices to improve ourselves and connect with our authentic and our deeper sense of who we are.
Then we need to do that for others.
We know step one,
Become as healthy and happy as we can be.
Learning to move towards a state of optimal health and wellbeing.
Then we do what we can to bring that to other people.
By being selfless,
We get out of our own heads.
Almost all of stress and anxiety is about yourself.
So the more you're able to do things for others,
The actual amazing thing about it is the happier and healthier you will feel as well.
So thanks for joining me.
That's just,
I wanted to lay out the really kind of best kind,
As we call it natural medicine.
These are natural,
Healthy antidotes to stress and anxiety and depression.
