As a recovering stress junkie, I know first-hand how burnout feels. It's a horrible combination of complete physical exhaustion with an over-stimulated mind. The phrase tired and wired sums it up. Our mind is in overdrive and unable to stop while our body is begging us to slow down and rest. Burnout is usually the [...]
People often ask me the best yoga pose for a stiff neck, sore back, or tight shoulders. But chronic muscle tension is not caused by a lack of stretching. The real cause of muscle tension is stress, and that stress is often emotional. Every time we bottle up our anger, we suppress our resentment, or [...]
What if we could lower our anxiety by changing the way we think about it? Do you ever get anxious about feeling anxious? A lot of people do. Because anxiety feels so shitty, we begin to dread and fear anxiety more than the thing that’s actually causing it. So we try to avoid [...]
Insomnia sucks. It's estimated that 1/3 of us suffer from insomnia from time to time. We either have trouble getting to sleep, staying asleep, or both. Sometimes insomnia is the result of an illness or medication. But if you've ruled that out, the underlying cause of insomnia is often mental or emotional stress: When our [...]
Do you think that you thrive under stress? That you perform better under pressure? Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, dear reader, but after the initial adrenaline rush that lasts about 20 min, stress actually makes us stupid. Let me explain. The stress response releases adrenaline into our bloodstream, which [...]
When it comes to self-care, we're pretty good at eating our greens, drinking enough water and moving our body. But self-care extends beyond what we eat and drink. Self-care includes looking after our emotional and mental health too. If you’ve been to our Yoga Studio lately, you will see that we have tape on the [...]
I don't know anyone whose mental health hasn't been challenged this year. Even if you haven't been impacted directly, it's hard to escape the collective uncertainty. Mental wellbeing isn't something that's always in abundant supply - but it can be cultivated with our daily habits. I liken mental health to a bank account. If I make deposits in [...]
If we treat exercise as a chore, it will always end up at the bottom of our 'to do' list beneath the pile of ironing. Life is hard enough already. Between trying to eat our vegetables, drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, taking our vitamins, paying the bills, there's not much time for pleasure and [...]
Anxiety is so much more than feeling worried. Some people experience physical sensations; for others, anxiety affects their emotions more than their body. How anxiety shows up in the body: racing heart racing mind difficulty breathing headaches muscle tension insomnia knots/butterflies in the stomach sweating shaking lump in throat/difficulty swallowing irritability impatience/easily frustrated nervousness quick [...]
Life's hard when we lack Faith. Without Faith, life feels like we're on our own and that we have no one to turn to for support. Without faith, we struggle; we feel overwhelmed and anxious. Without Faith, we feel unsupported or even forsaken that life has overlooked us. Faith can be hard to come in [...]