5 Ways to Find Your Calm

 Trying to stay calm or find any calmness these days seems nearly impossible. How many mornings have you woken up and felt exhausted and you got 8+ hours of sleep. Or you wake up at 4 am with your mind racing and can't get back to sleep? Maybe you feel your heart race or sense of anxiety over come you for no reason at all. It seems to be the world we live in these days and it's one of the worst things we can do for our health. So here is 5 ways to find your calm! Implement these into your daily routines and you're guaranteed to feel better, sleep better, clear your mind from the clutter, possibly lose weight by staying focused on healthier goals and avoid reaching for comfort foods or alcohol.Check in with me on instagram if you want to chat more or if you try any of these and something is really working, make sure to share it! You never know if you'll be helping someone else to feel better!

5 Ways to Find Your Calm:

1. Get a Green Thumb- Surround yourself with plants. Inside and outside. Put them in your work space, in your bed rooms, living rooms, on the porch, in your yard. Anywhere you spend a lot of time. They can help destress an area, they purify the air to help breathe cleanlier and healthier air. Even just interacting with them (yes you can sing to your plants too if you don't think anyone will think you've lost your mind) ;) Taking care of your plants, give you feel good feed back of nurturing and caring for something. Seeing something thriving always brings a sense of calmness. Learn to garden here!
2. Eat Avocados & Oranges- Good fats and Vitamin C can help reduce stress and fight viruses! Double bonus! Avocados are high in omega-3s which are known for improving your mood, helping with anxiety and clearing the mind. Oranges are high in Vitamin C which can also lower stress levels.
3. Breathe- We all know we need to present when we breathe. Not so much right! Most times we do shallow breaths from our diaphragm. Learning to breathe through your lungs and getting those deep breaths will help bring calmness and health to the body.         Pilates and Yoga are great practices to learn to help with breathing. Both have different styles to learn. But me being the Pilates guru, I know more on the Pilates side. We focus on lateral or coastal breathing-which teaches you to breath through your nose deep into the lungs by expanding your rib cage and exhaling deep to soften the belly and release the stress and tension. I've even used my breath to break hours long heart episodes. (I'll have to do a post on that one day so you guys can learn with any anxiety attacks or health issues involving the heart it may be able to help!)
4. Music- We all love music right! Think about when your favorite song comes on and you crank up the volume so you can belt it out! Yeah that's me every day! A song or your favorite artist or even strumming an instrument can give you instant gratification and boost your mood and energy. Instant calming affect! So just grab your headphones, jump in the car for a ride with the windows down or slap on a record and sing your little heart out!
5. Chocolate- Yes! You heard me right! Eat more chocolate! But you have to eat the good stuff! Cacao or Cocoa that is 70% or higher is the kind that is packed with antioxidants. It helps lower cortisol levels (stress hormone in the body.) Plus chocolate makes us happy just thinking about being able to have a bite. Boost your energy and your mood! Just makes sure to eat a small amount, about an ounce and make sure it's the dark chocolate! Grab a couple of your favorite bars and store them in the freezer, break off a little piece when you're feeling low! Need a good chocolate recipe grab my chocolate bark recipe here!