I just spent 3 magical days and nights filled with yoga, music and nature . . . and not a whole lot of sleep. Although I had fun beyond my expectations, the high energy of riding on adrenaline is stressful to the body – even when it is good stress.
When tougher times hit, or you become so busy your head spins, the stress can be compounded by difficult emotions or extra mental and physical demands.
Stress is stress and, if you are alive and breathing, it is also inevitable. You can’t avoid it, so you might as well learn the secrets to surviving and thriving, right?
Over the many years (and many stresses), I have discovered some fantastic and super simple ways to create resilience. And a resilient body is a stress-proof body.
Does this mean you can be immune to stress completely? No, but it means you can bounce back with energy, and really get the most out of your life without constantly being in recovery mode and feeling like you are a victim of life, or like you have been hit by a truck.
When stress-proofing your body, I believe in the holistic model, which means addressing all aspects of you – body, mind, emotions, spirit.
In this article, I want to begin with your foundation – your physical body.
Below are 3 simple steps to creating a rock solid physical foundation.
1. Eat Well
This is a huge piece of the resilience pie. If you are eating processed, chemicalized, dry (no water content), nutrientless, packaged or fast food, you are way overdrawn in your resilience bank.
This is like putting Kool-Aid in your gas tank and expecting your car to run well, if at all. With this image in mind, it becomes a little easier to see how what you put into your body can have a bigger effect than you thought.
So, what are stress-proofing foods? Well, generally these are brightly colored plant foods, organic whenever possible, full of water, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Whenever I include more of these in my diet particularly in easy ways like green smoothies, vegetable juices and salads, my body bounces back from set-backs in ways that astound me.
Yes, you need protein, fats, and good carbohydrates, but fresh (raw) plant foods actually have these in them. Leafy greens are especially potent stress-busting foods. So, by putting emphasis on abundant veggies and some high octane fruit like berries, you have your bases covered way more than if you rely on a bag of pretzels.
2. Move Freely
Another piece to the physical part of resilience is moving. We are not just brains, we are bodies that have a brain. In modern day living it can be easy to live above the neck and wonder why our bodies are breaking down.
You need to give your body love. And one of the ways you give it love is to move it!
Moving your body also has a way of connecting you to a sense of peace, purpose and inspiration. I often find that my moments of greatest inspiration are during or after movement – especially if I am in nature.
Your body loves to move, I promise. So dance, walk, run, climb, wiggle, stretch, garden, bike, swim – enjoy your amazing body. When you start to enjoy and use your body, immunity increases, blood flows, toxins are released, good hormones are triggered. Find what you love and do it!
3. Relax Often
Moving is soooo important, and so is relax time. One of the reasons I love yoga so much is because it is really quite an efficient practice. It exercises the body, but it also includes relaxation, spiritual connection, calming the mind, oxygenation, detoxification and immune system support. This is a big part of why I was able to get away with less sleep while on my 3 day trip – because I was doing so much yoga!
If you are pushing, pushing, pushing, you need to find time to relax. This is the time when our body repairs and restores. If you can get some bites of relaxation in everyday, you will find your body getting more and more stress-proof.
Body resilience is really a beautiful thing. It means less sick days, depression, fatigue and even weight gain, and more vitality, joy, health and lightness.
If you want to learn more about how stress-proofing your body can naturally lead you to a healthy weight and joy in your life, be sure to sign up for my upcoming F.REE teleclass:
Secrets to Natural Weight Loss & Body Love
Click here to register and learn more.
love and health,
Ana
