6 Natural Ways to Beat Stress

I walk a fine line on this blog. I would like to say I brazenly talk about all the difficult stuff I might face as a mom but really I don’t. Instead I blog more about the good stuff which can of course leave people with the impression that you are either perfect or dishonest. But alas it cannot be helped most times because I value the privacy of my children as they get older and I have to be mindful of everything that gets sent out into the world wide web. You just have to try and be as real as you can without hurting your kids in the process and it isn’t easy.

I have been having one of those weeks. No, one of those months. I think all moms probably know what I am getting at… life just gets so stressful and overwhelming that you feel as though something has to give. Well, I let work go quite a bit and that didn’t help because I just had more time to stew about what was stressing me. I let cooking go and that worked out well initially because my husband started doing the cooking instead. But then I felt guilty about that, so problem not solved after all. I ended up reaching out to a professional for help with the biggest source of stress in my life and hope to see some results with that soon (pretty please) but with every step forward there seems to be two steps back.

This week it has become abundantly clear that we are going to have “bully” issues in this new neighborhood, which is always fun. AND my 10 year old son announced to me this morning that after 4 years of no epileptic symptoms… his seizures are back. He described what he was experiencing and I compared that with some bizarre things I had noticed myself and it just seems pretty clear that we are dealing with small seizures again. If history repeats itself they will get bigger and more frequent. I keep remembering the words of a neurologist many years ago… “We don’t know what the extent of the damage will be and we may not know for years.” Well, we saddled up that pony 10 years ago when we decided to vaccinate our first child and now we get to ride it, wherever it may go.

Stress relief has become a serious matter for my sanity lately. Here are some small things that really make a difference…

Meditation Rituals – Making time for quiet and reflection has become really important and to help me get in the zone I am making it more ritualistic. One thing that helps is creating a circle or a clear cut area where you can meditate. If I go outside I might make a circle of leaves and then sit inside it or I might draw a circle with chalk on the deck. I am a very visual person and carving out that “sacred space” has really helped. I grab my Shuffle and then listen to a guided mediation or some inspirational music and for just 10-20 minutes I will concentrate on nothing more strenuous than breathing. Just make a circle… and then call out the four corners. Okay, just kidding about that last part.

Music – It really does work miracles, at least for me. I have gotten in the habit of putting on some headphones whenever I am feeling stressed and listen to some celtic or new age songs or perhaps nature sounds like birds chirping and waterfalls. I really like Quiet Heart & Spirit Wind… beautiful music and nature sounds together. As I write this post I am listening to a composition called “after the rain”.

Crystals – Cultures for centuries have had beliefs about the properties of crystals.. that they offer protection, luck, or that they have healing properties. And this is no new concept to me since I have long been singing the praises of amber teething necklaces and their natural analgesic properties when worn in contact with the skin. Each crystal has a vibrational balance and an energy that can help to regulate your own energy. Good stress reliever crystals are Clear Quartz (my fave), Rose Quartz, Citrine, Amethyst,  Aquamarine, Garnet, Howlite, and Amazonite. You can wear them in pendant form or hold them for quick stress relief. I like to hold a Clear Quartz crystal to my temples or the inside of my wrists. You can find lots of crystals on Etsy including a fave shop of mine called White Magic.

Feng Shui – I used to be a VERY much into Feng Shui and in fact I consulted with a corporate office to redo their large space to align with the principles of Feng Shui and positive energy. It is essentially the art of arranging objects and spaces so that they create balance (yin and yang) and allow for the unobstructed flow of energy (chi). This concept introduces the idea that our life and work spaces reflect and affect our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. I am sure you have had the feeling once that your house or office is just so cluttered you can’t think straight, right? Well, that is EXACTLY what Feng Shui addresses. By re-designing spaces with a Feng Shu Bagua in mind you can create the positive energy and outcomes you want. Once you get started, it is really quite fun.

Candle Therapy – Candles give us feelings of calm and serenity. I find it HUGELY relaxing to light a couple candles in the evening and take a shower or bath with only candlelight. I also like to take candles outside to sit in the dark during various phases of the moon. Candles at breakfast time can also help to get the day off to a peaceful start.

Walking – There is almost no better way to clear your head and let go of some negative energy. When my husband returns home after work I enjoy taking a short drive to a local Metro park and walking in the woods for 30-60 minutes. The fresh air and the exercise do wonders for my mental health.

Sometimes when we are stressed to the brink of what we can take it is amazing what we can accomplish with some simple items like candles, crystals, or a walking trail and just a few minutes of relaxation time.

What do you do to relieve stress?