How to Manage Stress, even when you’re home-schooling.
As a yoga teacher for over 15 years, I have helped many clients learn how to handle stress better.
The thing is, we will all experience stress (to a greater or lesser degree) during our lives. It’s not something we are likely to escape from.
So I believe that it is a worthwhile tool to know how best to manage stress.
Jack Canfield in his book ‘The Success Principles’ talks about E+ R = O Whilst we cannot always, or often, control the situation, we can always choose our response which will change the outcome.
Here are my 5 strategies to help you choose a better response:
1. Start your day with intention
Start your day on your terms, not by your alarm or your kids waking you up.
Give yourself anywhere from 5-60 minutes of time for any combination of:
- Gratitude listing
- Journalling
- Meditation
- Visualising your day going perfectly
- Self-development reading/listening
You will react far better to the stresses of the day when you have started the day from a non-reactive place. Trust me. Commit to setting your alarm earlier than you need to wake up and discover how starting your morning on your terms changes everything else about your day.
If you would like guidance you can sign up for my FREE MORNING ROUTINE e-mail sequence.
2. Your thoughts, words & behaviors
“Watch your thoughts, they become your words.Watch your words they become actions. Watch your actions they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” The Upanishads
What thoughts are you having about the thing that is stressing you out? Keep thinking it and you’ll keep having the same problem!
Abraham Hicks says, “Be in the energy of the solution, not the energy of the problem.”
You need to think differently to get a different result. And there are literally limitless possibilities, so don’t pen yourself in by the limitations of your thoughts.
What words are you using about the thing that is stressing you out? Are you complaining, gossiping, bitching? People almost always complain to people who can’t do anything about it, so why bother? Find ways to praise, be caring, and generous with your words and it will shift what comes back to you.
What actions are you taking? Are you moving your body or sitting too much? Are you spending too much time on social media or watching the news? What foods or drinks are you consuming? What actions can you take that will help you to feel healthier, happier, and more relaxed? Ditch the Netflix binge for an hour’s yoga, switch the morning news for a motivational speaker. Simple changes will create new habits.
3. Self-care, self-care, self-care.
No one else is going to give you what you need, you need to give it to yourself.
When we take care of ourselves, when we mother the mother, it shifts us from being the victim to knowing that we are capable of anything.
We have to fill our own cup first, because we can’t give from an empty one!
What nourishes you?
Write a joy list of simple things that bring you pleasure. Maybe it’s a hot bath every night, or a coffee first thing in the morning. Write your list and be sure to do something for you every day.
Make sure you have the right foundations in place too.
- Get enough sleep, a minimum of 8 hours
- Drink enough water, a minimum of 1.5 litres
- Eat nourishing foods that help you feel balanced and grounded (avoid too much caffeine and sugar).
4 Change your state
Tony Robbins talks about being in a “peak state.” It’s when you feel alive and energised.
There are a few ways that you can change your state almost instantly. They are:
- Play/laugh
- Music
- Exercise
- Breathing
- Essential oils
Next time you’re feeling stressed move your body, to release the pent-up adrenaline. Run outside, put music on and shake your body out till your laughing or take deep breaths and inhale some calming essential oils. DO SOMETHING to move the energy through you.
5 Let go of perfection
Sometimes stress is a result of the pressures we put on ourselves.
Are you trying to do too many things at once? Is there too much on your plate?
What can you let-go of? Remind yourself what is truly important, and go back to all the steps above making sure you’re doing those things first.
Release the internal pressure of having to be and do everything.
And if your house is a mess, who cares, mine is too!
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