In my 9 Steps to Perfect Health series, I argued that stress management may be the most important of all of the steps.
Why? Because no matter what diet you follow, how much you exercise and what supplements you take, if you’re not managing your stress you will still be at risk for modern degenerative conditions like heart disease, diabetes, hypothyroidism and autoimmunity.
Many of you may feel defeated or overwhelmed by stress. I understand this. Stress management is hard. It asks a lot of us. It forces us to slow down, to step back, to disengage (if only for a brief time) from the electric current of modern life. It asks us to prioritize self-care in a culture that does not value it.
While I feel your pain, and still struggle with stress management myself, I’ve got to lay down some tough love here. If you’re not doing some form of regular stress management, you will sabotage all of your best efforts with diet, exercise and supplements. Stress management is absolutely crucial to optimal health and longevity. If most health conscious people spent even half the amount of time they spend focusing on nutrition and exercise on managing their stress, they’d be a lot better off.
Many of you have done a 30-day Paleo diet challenge, whether the Personal Paleo Code, Whole30 or maybe a program through your local gym. You’ve probably done something similar with exercise and fitness. But what about stress reduction? Why doesn’t it get the attention it deserves?
We’re going to change that. This month, let’s dedicate some of our time to taking it easy. April is Best Your Stress Month!
Here’s how it works:
From April 1 to April 30, pick one way you’ll plan on de-stressing your life. This could be something like meditation, yoga, deep breathing, or spending more time in nature. There are many possibilities here. What relaxes and calms you? (If you need some ideas, check out my article on stress management.)
Now make a specific goal.
Write your goal somewhere you’ll see it often – perhaps your fridge, your desk, your car, (your forehead?) – and then leave a comment on this post with your goal so we can share ideas and support each other. Please also post your goal on Facebook and Twitter if you use social media so others can see what you’re up to.
Use your community as a resource:
Having trouble sticking to your goal? Need some other ideas for decreasing your stress? Tackle your issue in the comments section of this post. Ask your peers for advice. What are they doing to de-stress? It’s time to make some friends! A strong community of peers is also very important in maintaining a healthy life.
I truly hope this challenge allows you to let go of some of the stress you may have been hanging on to lately and that you make lots of new friends in the comments!
I’m in.
My goal for the month is to meditate daily. Even if its just for one minute. Hopefully I’ll enjoy it by the end of the month to where I’ll be up for fifteen or more minutes at a time. I’m going to step away from the computer, sit my ass down and just be calm. I’ll do my best to ignore thoughts as they come. It will take practice.
And, as you said Chris, I want to be fully present and focus on one task at a time. I think meditating daily will surely help with this.
I haven’t meditated yet today… time to take a few minutes to do so right now!
My goal for the month is to do one thing at a time, and be fully present for whatever it is that I’m doing – whether cooking, writing, spending time with Sylvie, walking, or working.
I’m in. My goal is to do deep breathing exercises twice a day, once with a Powerlung in the morning, once with binaural beats in the evening.
I never manage to stick to 30 day programmes that interest me as I get stressed and give up! Time to tackle the stress. Makes so much sense that this is the place to start. 5 minutes twice a day of meditation is my commitment.
This month, I’m going to be the observer. Rather than worry about how hard I am on myself (too hard, too lax), or worrying about how, positive or negative I feel, or motivated, or productive, or smart, or lazy, etc., I’m just going step outside it all and observe it. I’m going to let myself be, feel, want, and think whatever I do and notice it all, rather than judge it or change it.
Yes! I’m in my 3rd week of that and it has been incredibly freeing. Other than mindful shopping to ensure my kitchen contains healthy options, I’ve distanced myself from constant self-analysis/critiques and I’ve been very pleased to feel myself relax and enjoy more of my days.
My Zen teacher used to be fond of saying “Change is not possible without awareness.” Excellent choice!
This is what we learn to do in meditation: to BE the neutral observer.
“I’m going to let myself be, feel, want, and think whatever I do and notice it all, rather than judge it or change it.”
Jon H, are you sure you’re not Jon KZ?
I love this idea Chris. As a stressed out, perfectionist, graduate student, this is just what I needed! I’m so good about making sure I exercise, eat the right foods, take my supplements, etc. However, I struggle with being consistent with my stress management. I started doing the Body Scan cd that you recommended, but it’s hard to set aside 45 minutes each day! This is a good way to rethink my stress management plan.
Here are my goals:
1. Continue going to yoga at least twice a week (If I can’t make it to class… take my mat out and practice at home!)
2. Mindful eating! I’m totally taking this idea that someone already mentioned. I eat most meals by myself because my husband works long hours. As a result, I eat my meals in front of the tv, listening to a podcast, or playing a game on my phone. My goal is to eat in my kitchen, at the table! I work so hard to prepare my meals and do I even really taste them?
3. Meditate for 5 minutes twice a day. I am new at meditating and so it’s hard for me to be still for a long period of time. I used to meditate twice a day, once in the morning and once before bed. I don’t know why I got out of the habit.
4. Body Scan (45 minutes) 1 or 2 a week. When I first started doing this, I’d try to do it every day. However, it’s not always possible to commit 45 minutes each day.
By the way, everyone had such great ideas. I’m feeling more relaxed and stress free just after reading them! Time to start my meditation.
Amanda,
Your goals are fantastic! If I may make a suggestion, though – it’s generally more effective to choose one goal that stretches you somewhat but is attainable, than several. This makes it more likely that you will succeed, and then be able to build upon that success with other goals.
That said, this is just a general guideline when making changes. Feel free to disregard it if you know what works best for you.
That’s the overachiever in me! Well I’m already practicing yoga twice a week. To add to that I want to meditate 5 minutes twice a day and eat mindfully!
Ah, great! Here are my goals/commitments:
1) Sit at the table and eat mindfully (not gobble in front of TV)
2) Turn off TV/computer by 7:00 p.m.
3) 5 minutes of breathing every night before bed
Thanks for putting this out there, Chris!
Kathy! How do you manage, breathing only 5 minutes per day? I’ve tried and tried but I’m still breathing 24 hours per day (Happy April Fool’s Day.)
I’m in too!
1. I’ll be turning off all electronics one hour before bed and start reading paper books again.
2. I’ll be going back to bikram yoga
Wish me luck!
Great timing! I really needed this.
I will go on a walk and do guided meditation daily. I’m so grateful to have a supportive community like this one!
Great! I’m in!
Here are my goals:
1.) Take a few minutes to relax before eating and then focus on the meal (not be distracted by reading or TV)
2.) Meditate (I use the Sedona Method) for 15 minutes before bedtime.
3.) Add a hike in our nearby state park once a week (weather permitting).
Thanks for the great idea!
This is so important. Thanks so much for continuing to bring it to our attention.
It is so easy to not see how stressed we are because it is like the air. It is always there. Even if life is going well, there could still be less stress for almost everyone I know, and certainly for me. I know this. I have had periods in my life when I have meditated twice daily and my life was much the better for it. And I keep intending to get back to a regular schedule.
These days it seems the computer is my biggest stumbling block. When i get up in the morning, get my coffee I always get on line to check things out….only for a moment, I tell myself. Then I will meditate. But I always find something I just have to know more about or reply to. Then I am just too hooked in –my thoughts become everything and acquiring more ideas and expressing them is so self perpetuating it becomes almost impossible to let go and to take the mental break I really need.
So for this month I will not get on line till I have meditated.
That’s my plan: twice daily meditation. Starting now.
I agree. I like meditating twice a day. I used to start my day with 5 minutes and then meditate for 5 more minutes right before bed. I agree that you really need to do it before your day gets ahead too hectic.
What would cause me to have a black mark on my face?. That looked like a bruise after being on Rx iron supplements for 3 months. It would appear about 15 minutes after taking the supplement and leave in a couple of hours. Did not hurt but looke like someone punched me in the face.. I don’t need the Rx any more but have added a vitamin c plus iron supplement instead to keep my iron levels up. Blood work in January indicated I was anemic and had Celic disease. My doctor has no idea why the black mark would show up.
Dorene
I will be leaving for work early to beat the heavy traffic and reading in that extra time before work begins.
You’ve inspired me! I don’t have time for a full lunch break, but if I can’t take out 20 minutes for myself, then I need to re-prioritize my life. I commit to taking a 20 minute walk every day at lunch.
I will be incorporating a qi gong series that I just learned into my daily routine at least a few times per week, shooting for daily! Qi gong is an Asian practice of breathing and gentle movement that raises the qi (“chi” or life energy) in the person.
I’m in… Goals:
Sit down while eating and slow down (chew, chew, chew)
Yoga two days/week
Meditation audio (Personal Paleo Code) 3 days/week
Hike or Ski for Nature time at least once a week
Ahhhhh, I feel better already.
I guess I needed this. I’m supposed to be doing the Rest Assured program but never remember. I’ll commit to 15 minutes sometime between arriving at home and bedtime 4 days a week.
Modern life is full of chronic stress that leaves us metabolically deranged and can seriously derail our health. I suggest starting with starting your day with Bible study and prayer, and starting/renewing a commitment to daily family worship. “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” (Psalms 119:165)
Lots of other thought-provoking ideas already posted, thanks everyone!
Many wonderful things have come to my life recently which has left me trying to balance the wonderful new things with my wonderful family. My goal in April is to take a few minutes every morning to reflect on what I am thankful for in my life and then to practice present moment awareness. If one of my teenagers need to talk to me, I am going to physically remove myself from my computer chair and listen to them with both ears rather than one ear listening and one ear reading or typing.
I agree with stress management being very important and have found Buteyko breathing to be very helpful. It’s a big paradigm shift for most in that it teaching you to smooth out and reduce your breathing so that you stop what passes as hidden hyperventilation in a lot of people. It turns out that we actually need carbon dioxide retention more than we need more oxygen; as a matter of fact the carbon dioxide increase allows for more oxygen ( Bohr effect – see your Chemistry book from school). absorption. I have found this paradigm shift similar to that of learning that high fat is better than low fat – it takes a while to get your mind around it. I was married to a CPAP machine for 12 years and have been able to smooth out my breathing and eliminate my severe sleep apnea – which for me is huge. The Buteyko breath training is a huge stress reducer and it’s something I recommend more look at to relieve stress. Deep breathing (meaning big breathing) is the wrong direction.