Stressed?

How do you deal with stress? Regardless of how great your life is we all have stress. How do you handle the stressors in your life? I've always used working out to balance my mind and body. I can go into a workout feeling horrible. I might be frustrated, drained, aggravated, mind boggled, etc. The music goes on, I WORK OUT AS HARD AS I CAN and I come out calm and relaxed.


Are you able to do this? Do you have an outlet? When I am really stressed I like to work out. Most recently injuries have been impacting my workouts. I've altered all of my morning workouts to be less impact. Two mornings a week I have been doing yoga. I also added hot yoga on Saturday. I LOVE hot yoga. I go into the class and sweat my butt off. They have soft music playing and the instructor is calm. I like the whole way they go about the class. They start by having you sit down and just take a second to release the day (or begin it). Then the instructor directs you to think about an intention you set for the workout. You go through all of the movements and end in Shavasana (final yoga pose). I LOVE this pose. I've gone through my workout, cleared my head and I get to lay there, relax and get ready to restart. At the end of hot yoga I feel cleansed and ready to go.

What works for you? Is it a dip in the tub, a great workout??? Let us know. You could be helping someone else!!!

What's your Favorite Way to Reset?

Life is stressful. It moves way too QUICKLY. Before you know it we are through a month, a year, our kids breeze through being babies, into elementary school and it seems like you just blinked. With all of the CRAZY moments of life, work, and other obligations, how do you make time stop? How do you decompress? What do you do to relax?

Yes, I use exercise to de-stress. But, I also try to take each weekend to completely break free from work. I want to leave work on Friday and not think about it until Monday. Can you do this? My weekend is dedicated to the kids and making the most of every moment. This weekend was really wonderful. We were able to get out on the water and grill.

I like to be able to break away from life for a while. Not be so attached to our cell phones, to sit around and do nothing, but have snacks (some healthy, some not so much) and drinks.

This weekend we also made it to my parents for a barbecue.The kids had lots of fun playing with squirt guns and in the water.

They were soaking wet in their clothes, but they had a GREAT time!

I want my kids to remember all of the fun times that we had out on the water, barbecues with family and friends, meeting new people, and all of the adventures along the way.

To me this was a RELAXING weekend. No...I didn't get all of the housework done. Yes....I still have many things I need to get done, but we made the most of our time together. Are you able to do the same thing? I hope so.

Exercise as a Stress Reliever

Lately I have found that I have a lot on my mind. My family has experienced a very emotional loss and at the same time I have been dealing with my own stressors. What do you do to deal with your stress? I WORK OUT! For me, it's RADIO ON...WORLD OFF!

I find running to be the best way to clear my mind.

I turn my radio on loud and GO. Last week I ran 31 miles. This does not include judo, Insanity or other classes I take at the gym. For me, 31 miles is a little excessive, but I did it for my sanity. This is my time to think my day through or daydream about nothing important. I get my workout in. The harder I workout the better I feel when I'm done. I may start out agitated or frustrated. A hard workout where I am able to push myself leaves me with a clear mind and more level head.

Eating right also has a huge impact on how I feel. When I eat bad I feel bad and bloated. When I eat well I feel so much better and so much better about myself.

Exercising is the best way for me to start and end my day. Mind, body and spirit is very important. You need to find a way to balance these out. For me it's exercise. For you it might be something else.