Starting Over

For as long as I can remember there has always been a strong dialogue around ‘starting over’ and finding the ‘new you’ each January. And whilst in recent decades this has often led to a great deal of focus around detox regimes and weight-loss diets, people are now becoming much more aware of other areas of their life that need regular attention and nurturing, such as mental wellbeing, and the interrelation between this and our physical body.

I believe this shift of awareness comes from knowing, intuitively or otherwise, that when we prioritise our brain health, it allows the body to shift towards functioning at a more optimal level, which helps us feel less tension overall. So it makes sense then, that if we would like to enjoy improved all-round wellbeing in the year ahead, that we make reducing stress levels our main focus.

Becoming ‘less stressed’ is not something that tends to happen overnight, however, as in my experience a routine is required to create the rituals that become the habits, which ultimately lead us to reprogramming ourselves. But where do we begin? Well, let’s look firstly at why so many of us are feeling more stressed than ever.

Recent changes to the way we live due to so called ‘technological advances’ have led to an expanded business day, shrunk our leisure time, our meals are often rushed and processed due to time constraints and sleep is less abundant. We are now drip-fed stress in such a way that it is our normal way of being, often leading us to become so desensitised to it so that we often don’t even acknowledge it. That is, of course, until our mind and body begin to show us acute signs of stress. These can include shallow and erratic breathing patterns, increased heart rate, headaches, skin and digestive disorders, insomnia, weight gain or loss, cognitive impairment, hyperactivity and/or exhaustion, anxiety and depression.

We can, however, empower ourselves to reverse many of these acute symptoms before they become chronic by creating simple new habits. They could include limiting screen time, decreasing your availability to others, saying ‘no’ more often, eating more whole foods and staying hydrated, and of course practicing slow and steady yoga and pranayama on a regular basis. And the good new is that it doesn’t have to be all at once.