Do you ever feel stressed out? I have three tricks up my sleeve for you.
As a mama, it's sometimes hard to find time to just BE. There are endless demands and we seem to be the only one that can take care of it all! Too much of that and pretty soon mama is gonna SNAP! It is SO important to carve out some time to just sit with ourselves and relax though.
Lowering stress also lowers anxiety, lifts depression, makes managing our weight easier, clears up our skin, can help infertility, and lower the risk of a whole host of stress-related health issues. They don't call it the "silent killer" for nothing.
We don't just find calm, though. We have to *create* it.
To be calm in a world that celebrates going, going, going is something that only happens with intention.
Part of my radical self-care is carving out time to calm down.
To breathe.
To turn off my mind.
To meditate.
To pray.
To listen to my body.
To hear my heart.
To do yoga.
The truth? It's HARD for me. Sitting still finds my mind racing to the next "to-do" and pretty soon I'm up again checking something off the list.
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I have found a little collection of things that have been *really* helpful though! Here are a few of my favorite things for creating calm:
1. The CALM app: This amazing app is loaded with tons of calm-inducing goodness! Soothing sounds, soothing, visuals, guided meditations with specific areas of focus, bedtime stories (for adults and kids), and even peaceful music. You can choose to get reminders to take the time to chill out, you can track your "mindful minutes" and see on a calendar each time you completed a session.
2. The SPIRE STONE: http://amzn.to/2DFQrOC
This awesome little stone hooks over your bra or the waist of your pants to monitor your state based on scientific research about how we breathe. It lets you know when you are having a calm streak, which I LOVE in conjunction with the Calm app! That app WORKS y'all. It senses when you're focused, alerts you after you've been tense for a couple of minutes so you can take some deep breaths, and even lets you know when you haven't taken a deep breath in a while. I LOVE that since I tend to shallow-breathe. It also tracks your steps and calories burned, which has made getting my 10k steps in for each day super simple. I love that it congratulates you after being active for a while! A little pat-on-the-back always helps me keep going! It has seriously helped me understand what triggers stress and what brings me calm so I can make better choices throughout the day and find a balance! Love this little thing! The battery lasts 10 solid days and the charger is an adorable little round dock that looks good on the nightstand... cause that also matters. haha
3. My Weight Lifted roll-on: My little roller bottle full of Lavender, Frankincense, and Stress Away instantly relaxes me and makes my prayer/meditation time so much better! The sense of smell is the only sense we have that accesses the part of our brain that stores our memories and emotions. Rolling this on is like lifting a weight and letting go of all the things that do not serve me. I totally swipe this on the kids when they are acting crazy, too!
If you don't have oils yet, all three of these come in the Premium Starter Kit... I have no idea how I could mom without them. It's probably time to chill and get oily! bit.ly/thedroppery
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Okay, so those are my three best tips! Do y'all have any favorite ways to chill out? Do tell!
spire stone