Yoga Relief

I had always been curious about yoga, so last week I figured I'd try it out. Start off my resolution right, you know? Anyways, my friend and ventured out last week to one of the yoga classes at our gym. Both of us had never done yoga before so we had no idea what to expect. When we got there though, we were a little skeptical- all the breathing and namaste-ing was kinda strange and even a little funny. But, as the class continued, we grew more use to it, and we actually started to enjoy it. It was very peaceful, and while it could sometimes be challenging, you felt accomplished afterwards- not to mention your body feels great too. Best of all though, it totally clears your mind, which was a great way to relief some stress.Overall, I loved the experience and would recommend it to anyone. So, if you're looking for something to relieve your stress, or just wanna try something different or relaxing, I'd give it a try. Namaste everyone :)

Back from Break

Hi everyone! I hope you've all had a great holiday season and a happy new years- maybe you even made a stress-free related resolution! I apologize for not having posted in a while, I busy enjoying time with my family:) But, now that I'm back at school, and everything else, I'm more aware than ever about how hard it van be to transition back into a stressful environment like school and work . So, with that said, I thought it would be a good idea to start of the new year by sharing my tips for easing back into work or school, or any like enviroment. First off, after the transition from a relaxing break to work,  I find the most helpful thing is to set aside time after work, or school, to just spend at least 20 minutes or longer de-stressing. Since it's so hard to transition from one extreme to another, I find that this time helps me to balance out the first few days back, until i'm able to get back into the swings of things. Second, with the new work load I like to prioritize each task; I compare the each of the task's work level with its urgency, and then I try to compile a list from most important to less off (based of those two factors). Then I just slowly work my way down the list. Finally, I like to treat myself during the day. Whether it be a yummy snack or a new pen set of pens, I find that having a little something gives me something to look forward to and brightens up when I enjoy whatever it is. So those are my top three! If any of you have any you like that I have forgotten feel free to share!

Is food really a fix?

Hope everyone has had happy and stress-free holidays! I know I've been having a good break so far-it's definatly going to be hard going back to school! But anyway, this week I wanted to talk about how eating healthly can reduce stress. Now I know how hard it can be to eat healthy; after a long, draining day you just want something thats quick, easy and yummy, not something nessicarily healthly. But, when you eat these junk foods, your body is deprived essential vitamins and doesnt recieve balanced amounts of protiens, fats ans carbohydrates. Thus, the body isn't able to regulate everything as effienctly because it hasn't been fueled properly, which causes you to feel sluggish and tired. Combine that feeling with mounting stress,  and combating your problems becomes ten times more difficult. So recently, I did a little experiment and for a week straight I only ate healthy, well balanced meals. Within a few days that sluggish feeling went away and by the end of the week I had much more energy. I felt better able to accomplish tasks and fight stress, which in turn help me feel less stressed! Not only did I feel better, but by the end end of the week I had lost a pound! And that always makes anyone feel a little bit better ;)

FINALS!!

Its that time of the year again...FINALS. For many students, finals can be one of
the most stressful times of the year, so, to help battle finals stress, here are my tips to help you stay stress-free..or at least sane through finals.
1. Don't procrastinate. Start studying early; use those extra ten minutes that you use to check instagram to review some of your notes. Trust me, the time adds up. You'l feel less worried about knowing the information, cause you've been reviewing, and wont have to cram nearly as much. This rule also applies to projects. Get them done ahead. That way you won't have to spend valuable study time on them and you have enough time to go back and fix them if you need too. Its a double win.
2. Set up a study date with a friend. Sometimes, having another person can aide your studying since they can quiz you or explain things in a better way. Plus, its always nice to spend time with a friend :), espically when your stressed.
3. Use online resources. I'm the type of person who gets extremely bored of just reviewing notes, so I often search online for what i'm studying and use one of those resources instead. Many teachers have their own quizzes too, so feel free to browse teacher website too.
4. Finally, on the day of your finals, eat a breakfast and brings snacks. Nothings worse then being grouchy and hungry. Along with this, be sure to get sleep the time before; sleep gives your brain time to sort through all the information its learned.

Good Luck!!

UN-Pleasant Passiveness

When meet with a problem, sometimes the best solution seems to be to take the passive route. One may assume that it would minimize the chance of an argument from happening and may make someone feel like they're just doing the "nice" thing. But most of the time, not clearly setting boundaries only causes that person more problems and thus more stress. By being passive, one provides the person they are confronting with an opportunity take advantage of them, which never ends well. So while it may be easier to take the passive route, if you want to protect yourself it is much better to remain assertive when talking to someone. Being assertive isn't easy; sometimes you can take it one step to far and act aggressively, or you can fall back a step, and remain passive. So, to keep from being either of those, sometimes it is helpful to remember LADDER. L-look at what you want and examine how you feel, A-arrange a meeting; don't randomly confront them, D-define the problem, D-describe your feelings to the other person, E-express what you want clearly, and R-Reinforce the other person by explaining mutual benefits. Remember not to attack the other persons, keep a calm tone and don't feel guilty about asking for something. Even if you don't get what you want, you have set a fair boundary that people can respect.

**LADDER taken from: http://www.mindtools.com/stress/pp/Assertiveness.htm

Ahhh....

Sometimes, the best ways to de-stress, is to just relaxxxx... I personally think their's nothing better than the feeling of having nothing to do and being able to spend a few hours just resting. But, like most people, I very rarely have enough free time to do so. So, recently, I have been trying to incorporate little burst of relaxation into my hectic schedule. On a daily basis, I like to listen to calming music, give my self a small temple rub, or even just close my eyes and take a few deep breathe. During the week though, I always try to find a few minutes here and there to treat myself to a longer period of relaxation  For example, I might squeeze in a short session of yoga or take a hot bath instead of a shower. The small pleasure of having this  time to relax has really help relieve a lot of the stress I feel through out the week, and I have found I am also more focused and alert after than I am if I just push through the day without any breaks.

Managing Your Stress: A Plan

So this week, while browsing the web, I find this great site (This is it!). Though, it had a variety of interesting stress-related topics, I found this page on stress management the best. It has a clearly outlined and simple plan for developing a system to managing your stress,one that I found intriguing. The plan is comprised of four simple steps. The first step is to identify the source of your stress- they recommend you do this through something like journaling. The second step is to organize and prioritize your stresses, then to figure out how to manage these issues. They recommend using their key (Here's the link to that), to figure out what you need to do to manage each kind of stress. And finally, once you have identified what options you like best, to create a plan or schedule around those ideas.