Beyond the Butterflies: Relieving the Stress in Your Body

"What tools are available to me to relieve stress-induced tension and pain?"

Sometimes, simply developing a holistic understanding of your pain helps to relieve it. For example, once you are aware that the tightness in your chest is a symptom of stress, you can work on reducing your stress, or at the very least, release your fear that the pain is indicative of a larger health problem. You can also develop an awareness of your stress patterns. For example, if you only experience chest pain during exams, you can be reasonably sure that your pain is related to stress, and can choose to allow more time for stress-relief and self-care.* 

For chronic pain and stress, or if you need help creating a self-care routine, Mind Body Global Wellness offers a variety of tools to help you relieve your stress. Here are a few examples:

• Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
• An effective stress-relief technique that combines acupressure with cognitive restructuring. Visit www.mindbodyglobal.com to download your free instruction manual. 
• Guided Imagery
• A guided meditation practice that uses suggested visualizations to relieve stress and gain insight.
• Mindfulness Meditation
• A meditation technique that relieves stress by helping us learn to disengage from stressful thoughts and feelings. By returning our attention to a single focus, such as the sound of our breath, we train ourselves to let negative thoughts and feelings go. 
• Diaphragmatic Breathing
• Practicing slow, deep breathing of any kind will reduce your anxiety, increase your ability to focus, and promote overall physical and emotional health. Practicing diaphragmatic breathing is the most effective, and has the added benefit of being a gentle abdominal workout.
• Yoga
• Practicing either restorative or power yoga will help relieve your stress. Practice power yoga when you need to build heat and "work the stress out." Practice restorative yoga before bed to prevent insomnia, or whenever you need to relax and be gentle to yourself. 
• Lifestyle Coaching and Counseling
• Mind Body Global's 1:1 e-coaching sessions and CALM Plans will not only help you learn how to practice specific stress relief techniques, but will provide a comprehensive wellness assessment and recommendations for making changes to reduce future stress.

Questions? Ready to get started? Please visit www.mindbodyglobal.com to contact me, learn more about stress relief, or purchase an affordable stress relief coaching package. 

Just joining me? You may want to go back and read Parts 1 and 2 of the Beyond the Butterflies series.

*Remember, physical symptoms must always be checked out by your healthcare provider, and if you are experiencing chest pain or other symptoms of a heart attack, please go to the hospital or call your doctor immediately.