7 Steps to Reduce Stress

Stress seems to be our Nation's number 1 disease these days. Millions of us suffer common symptoms of stress including:

• tension
• restless sleep
• difficulty focusing and remembering
• irritability
• health complications

Generally speaking, stress speeds the aging process, slows metabolism and increases the production of cortisol eventually leading to weight gain. Incorporating the following ways to help manage stress will have you looking and feeling younger and healthier.

1. Start your day with meditation - this will invoke relaxation. Start with 5 minutes and work your way to 15-20 minutes each day. This is the #1 way to reduce the output of stress hormones and avoid adrenal exhaustion.
2. Manage your mood with diet and Chinese herbs - consider the liver to be the center of your emotions. Eat green leafy vegetables, seaweed and barley grass - all high in chlorophyll to keep your liver in good health.
3. Suppress stress with positive thinking. Don't let your thoughts run with anxiety, instead say affirmations such as "I can handle the tasks I have ahead of me. I enjoy my responsibilities and fulfill them well." Repeating positive affirmations can actually suppress cortisol - leaving you peaceful and calm.
4. Get stress out of your head and on to paper! Write in a journal to help release the thoughts and emotions which cause you stress. Write as an observer, recording thoughts free from judgement so you can see what is clearly going on. This will help to identify the source of anger or stress so you can begin to make changes.
5. Exercise! Constant pressures from work and family can lead to chronically increased levels of cortisol which is a direct cause of muscle and joint pain.
6. Retreat...take one out of 7 days to minimize "screen" time. Don;t watch TV, don't check email, no news...it will all be there tomorrow and after a day of rest, you will be refreshed and ready to look at them.
7. Go outside - take a hike or walk, anything that puts you into contact with nature. It is difficult to feel stress when surrounded by nature's abundance of vitality and wonder!