As I write this, I’m cozied up with a soft blanket, sipping warm green tea, listening to the raindrops gently pitter patter on the roof…a rare and special occurrence here in LA. The rain triggers something deep within my body and sends signals for it to relax. This process of just taking a few minutes to sit down and be still melts away stress and leaves me feeling energetic, enlightened, and full of joy.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could feel that uplifted all the time? But rather than look at stress as our enemy and go to battle with it, maybe we can make peace with it. After all, stress does serve a purpose. Stress is our body’s response to change, and the automatic fight-or-flight response that stress triggers is genetically coded within us.
There are plenty of reasons to learn how to manage stress. One of the top reasons for women is that stress is a sure-fire way to drain your energy and add inches to your waistline! When your body reacts to stress, your adrenal glands pump out the hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Some cortisol is healthy, and even necessary for you to be able to function every day. But too much can wreak havoc on your body.
Another reason that we’d be doing our bodies a favor if we could take stress down a notch is because heart rate increases when we’re stressed which leads to higher blood pressure and blood being shunted away from our stomachs, causing poor digestion.
So now who’s with me on prioritizing a little personal inner peace every day?
For me, nothing else provides as much relief, energy, clarity, positive feelings, and that incredible feeling of rejuvenation than taking a minute to pause in stillness, then taking a moment to stretch my body. Just those few seconds of stillness to mindfully connect with our bodies allows us to be our best selves, and completely restore body and mind.
That’s why in the video above, I’ll guide you through a 2-minute relaxing stretch routine that will help you shed stress so you can connect to the vibrant energy within you.
