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Author Archive for Caroline Collins

Yoga Poses Relieve Stress

Yoga Poses for Managing Stress

Posted on August 12, 2019
by Caroline Collins
No Comments

While we cannot always avoid stressors in our daily life, we can manage our response to triggers.
Yoga Poses Relieve Stress

By adopting some simple and effective coping mechanisms, our lives can be more harmonious. Practicing yoga is not only effective at managing stress, but is also a way to ease symptoms of anxiety and mental fatigue. By transferring focus and attention to the body and breath, we can access a calmer mind, improved sleep, and many more health benefits.

Easy Sitting Pose

  • Promotes grounding and awareness
  • Opens hips, lengthens your spine
  • Assists with anxiety
  • Helps to relieve physical and mental fatigue

 

Spinal Lift (Bridge)

  • Provides a slight inversion and therefore increases blood flow to brain
  • Assists with deep breathing
  • Re-energizes the body

 

Shoulder Stand

  • Called the “queen of all yoga poses” for its extensive benefits
  • Considerable inversion greatly increases blood flow to the brain
  • Stimulates the lymphatic system, aiding circulation and immunity
  • Re-energizes the body and mind
  • Caution if you have neck issues (spinal lift/bridge is a safer alternative)

 

Downward Facing Dog

  • Provides a slight inversion and therefore increases blood flow to brain
  • Releases tension from hamstrings, calves, shoulders, neck and low back.
  • Re-energizes the body

 

Child’s Pose

  • Excellent pose for calming the mind
  • Releases tension from hips, low back and shoulders
  • Low effort
  • Assists with anxiety
  • Helps to relieve physical and mental fatigue

 

Legs up the wall

  • Stimulates the lymphatic system, aiding circulation and immunity
  • Increases blood flow to brain
  • Assists with anxiety
  • Helps to relieve physical and mental fatigue
  • Low effort

 

Resting Pose

  • Excellent pose for calming the mind
  • Relaxes the entire body
  • Promotes improved sleep
  • Low effort
  • Assists with anxiety
  • Easiest position for practicing deep breathing
  • Helps to relieve physical and mental fatigue
Mind/Body Wellness

Understanding Stress

Posted on March 28, 2018
by Caroline Collins
No Comments

Everyone at some point or another has experienced symptoms of stress. Stress is a word we use to describe both how we feel and what is happening around us. There are many levels of stress, both positive and negative. Some of the positive stresses include the anticipation of an exciting event, the pursuit of a goal, or even a challenging workout. Some of the negative sources of stress include the heavy pressures we can feel from the outside world and those we place on ourselves.

Why do we stress?

While we relate to the symptoms and triggers of stress, understanding what is happening on a physiological level is an important piece in better managing stress.  Let’s take a closer look at the purpose of stress. Stress is a survival response. It is a programmed instinct to survive in the presence of danger. This is a valuable and necessary trait, but issues arise when this response is over productive, causing our health to suffer.

Our world has changed immensely over the course of human history.  Our physical survival is not threatened the way it was thousands of years ago.  However, our physiological response to stress remains the same.

Unfortunately, today’s high pace creates an onslaught of potential stress triggers. While we may consider stress a part of life, the fact remains that our physiology doesn’t understand the difference between some of these triggers and a life threatening situation.

The good news is we can use this knowledge as power and begin to take stress management more seriously. We can make stress reduction a priority and employ tools to act vs. react to situations. Stay tuned for much more on Mindfulness from Curtis Health!

by Caroline Cretien

Curtis Health

Mind/Body Wellness, Mindset, Uncategorized

Three Ways to Reduce Stress in the Workplace

Posted on September 21, 2017
by Caroline Collins
No Comments

While some workplace stress is to be expected, excessive stress can interfere with productivity and performance, impact your physical and emotional health, and affect your relationships and home life. You can’t control everything in your work environment, but you can incorporate some daily activities to reduce the impact of stress in the workplace!

1. Movement 

One reason your energy may be dropping at work could be that you’ve been sitting for too long. Try getting up out of your chair and moving around for at least a few minutes every hour. Try shoulder and arm circles, hip rotations, knees up, hamstring curls and reaching over the head to open up the area of your ribs. Instead of sending an email, go to your colleague’s office. Schedule a walking meeting. Take the stairs to the restroom a few floors away. Just find a reason to move around and be more active. Engaging in small bursts of physical activity can help to re-energize your body and mind.

2. Stretch it out!

Sitting at a desk can create imbalance in the body, overly emphasising certain muscles while “turning off” others. This can contribute to poor posture, back and joint pain, and more. Stretching is one of the most effective ways we can help bring the body into muscular balance.

3. Breath & Relaxation

We can completely change our physiological, mental and emotional state with deeper, more effective breathing and mindful relaxation.

Nostril Breathing: Breathing through the nose as oppose to the mouth warms the breath and has an immediate calming effect as it brings us into our parasympathetic nervous system (our rest and relax system).

Abdominal Breathing: Initiating our breath in the belly uses the largest and lowest regions of the lungs, contributing to more oxygen and vital energy in the body as well as increased lung capacity.

Extended exhales: When it comes to releasing tension, the exhalation is of the most importance. Elongating the exhalation will further sedate the nervous system.

These breathing exercises can be learned in order (the nostril breathing being the most foundational) or they can be combined as a complete breathing practice as the practitioner becomes more experienced.

Guided Relaxation- Guided relaxation helps to replace our busy thoughts with a journey through the body and mind. This could include but is not limited to a conscious relaxing of the body, a positive visualization, or mindset exercises.

Curtis Health has a wide variety of programs to help your employees combat stress and improve health in the workplace. Contact us today to find out how!

 

Corporate Wellness, Mind/Body Wellness, Nutrition and Exercise

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