188. Essential Guide to Stress Management and Wellness

Speaker: 00:00:03

Hey, what's going on everyone.

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Welcome back.

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And thank you for tuning in.

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You are listening to the elemental

Evan podcast designed to provide

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you with a simplified and holistic

breakdown of health and wellness topics.

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So you can walk away from these episodes

ready to apply this knowledge to your

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life and take control of your health.

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Today's episode, we're diving all

in on stress, stress regulation,

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the implications of stress, stress

on our health, as well as methods

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that we can use to regulate our

stress, lower our stress and find

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a more balanced place with stress.

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Uh, the goal of today's episode

is really going to be, to kind of

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reiterate the importance of managing our

stress because of the serious health.

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Uh, impact that or the impact

that it can have on our health.

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I think that it's very well

known in the medical world.

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That stress is a legit.

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Uh, Issue, um, for health and, you

know, it's something that needs

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to be really taken seriously.

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And I know that the general population

has an idea and, you know, we know

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that stress is bad, but I don't think

we actually know how bad it truly is.

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So I just really want to

highlight that and then leave

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you with some of my favorite.

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Practices for managing stress to hopefully

help you manage your stress as well.

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Before we jump right into all of the

good stuff that's going to be in today's

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episode, I wanted to give a quick shout

out to some of the sponsors of the show.

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With some really awesome products

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Uh, they also have a new product called

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those ones out yet, but apparently the

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Uh, they contain saffron, which

is currently one of the things

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that I'm enjoying greatly in

terms of mood improvement.

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And I'll talk a little bit more

about that in today's episode.

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With actually a different product.

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And, uh, yeah.

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So go ahead and check those bad boys out.

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They're going to be in the show notes

or the description of today's episode.

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You're also going to get

a discount code with each.

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Uh, each one of those.

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That's just for being a

listener to this show.

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And, uh, of course, just kind of my

way of saying thank you to all of you.

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So please feel free to check them out

and let's go ahead and dive in on stress.

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So.

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First off.

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I like to typically take.

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Just a really kind of like ballpark

outside view of what stress is and

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kind of put a definition on it.

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Of course, I'm sure everyone has

an idea of what stress is, you

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know, and for the most part, we

understand what the definition is.

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Uh, in terms of, you know, just layman

terms, but if we look at it from like the,

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I guess, medical terminology here, or just

a higher level terminology, Um, stress

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is, is any physical or psychological

stimuli that disrupts homeostasis, which

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if you're unfamiliar with homeostasis,

it's just kind of like your natural

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state of being like you're neutral.

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Um, and so it's anything that

takes you outside of that?

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AKA, like getting too

hot, getting too cold.

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Um, getting frightened by something

as well, can do this, uh, which

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results in a stress response.

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So the stimuli which are called stressors,

that's the thing that's acting upon.

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You that's causing the stress either

externally or internally, and

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physiological and behavioral changes

in response to exposure to stressors

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constitute the stress response.

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So, sorry if I made that even more

confusing, but essentially you have

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the stressors, it's the stimuli, right?

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So it's the outside forces or internal

forces that are causing you stress.

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And then you're going to have a

physiological or behavioral response.

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Uh, change in response to those

stressors, uh, acting upon you.

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So like simple way to think of this is

you're driving in a car on a freeway.

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Um, a car accident happens

right in front of you.

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And you have to swerve out

of the way to Dodge it.

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Well in that moment where you are

driving in your car and you know,

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you're at rest, like you're just

kind of cruising through traffic.

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Uh, like hopefully no traffic

just cruising on the freeway.

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And, uh, once that car accident happens,

you're going to have some, you know,

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different things happening within

your body because now you have this

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external stressor occurring, right?

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You have to react to, uh, this

car crash to make sure that you're

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not going to become a part of it.

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So then, you know, your heart

rate is going to increase

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your breathing is going to.

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Uh, increase as well.

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Probably your eyes will dilate

and you're just going to become

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basically better at reacting.

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Uh, so that would be a pretty extreme

case of a stressor and then a stress

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response, which the stress responses,

the way your body changes in order

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to respond to that outside stressor.

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Sorry, getting into the weeds

of this one, but just wanted

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to kind of lay that foundation.

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So that is essentially stress.

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Now I want to make it very well-known

that there are multiple types of stress.

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So there are, I don't know, I saw

a list of maybe it was like seven

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or eight different types of stress.

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Um, you know, you can think of

ones like acute stress, chronic

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stress, environmental stress.

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Those are just a few of them,

but honestly, I just want to keep

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it very digestible for today.

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I want to, um, kind of.

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Dumb this down a little bit and just

kind of put two categories here and we're

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going to call, uh, well, not call it.

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This is the name for it.

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Good stress is you stress

that's EDU and then stress.

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And then we have bad

stress, which is distress.

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So these are the two types of stress that

we can kind of categorize things into.

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And yes, for those of you who didn't

know, there is a good type of stress.

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Actually stress can be a very

beneficial thing for our bodies.

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Um, it can be a very beneficial

thing for our minds as well.

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It can help us to get things done, um, and

as well, it can help us to adapt to our

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surroundings and become more resilient.

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So there is a good type of

stress called you stress.

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Now.

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The caveat here is that not everyone

perceives stress equally, right?

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As with pretty much everything.

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When it comes to the body, we are

all very unique individuals and

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therefore some event that might.

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Completely stress.

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Someone out, maybe hardly stresses

another person out at all.

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Maybe it doesn't stress them out at all.

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Uh, you know, so it's very dependent

on the person and therefore, I

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just want to make it known that

when it comes to stress, you

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really do have to know yourself.

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You have to know, uh, you know, how

your body works, what stresses you

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out, what doesn't stress you out.

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And, uh, you know, it's kind of hard for

me to give a kind of black and white.

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This is good stress.

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This is bad stress

version, but you know, an.

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Uh, type of good stress

that we tend to think of.

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Would be something like going

into a sauna or a cold plunge

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or going and doing an exercise.

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These are all different types

of stressors on the body.

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And to a large degree, they're very

beneficial for our health, right.

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They cause us to get away

from homeostasis, right?

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With it's, you know, hopping into

a sauna, it's heating up our body,

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um, which has many beneficial.

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You know, properties to a, uh, by

heating our body up, it increases

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the heart rate a little bit.

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It's good for cardiovascular health.

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Uh, but what's happening is,

is our body's heating up.

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And then when we come out of

there, we have to cool down.

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We have to come back to our homeostasis,

to our normal normal kind of setting.

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Um, and then same thing with an ice bath,

you know, we're dropping that temperature.

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Our body's kind of.

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Freaking out for a bit.

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Uh, but it is going to

release things like, uh,

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adrenaline , and, uh, what is it?

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Uh, Dopamine and all

these good things, right.

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Uh, so there are benefits to these, but

I think it's also really good to point

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out that for someone who is living a very

stressed life, like someone who hates

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their job gets chewed out by their boss.

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Every single day has a million

decisions to make, and it's

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all writing on them at work.

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And then they come home and they

have kids that are just crazy

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and out of control and, you know,

disobedient and blah, blah, blah.

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And maybe their partnership

is just not good.

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And, you know, there could be

a million different things.

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That person that lives a

very extremely stressed life.

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Maybe jumping into an ice

bath and hitting a CrossFit, a

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marathon, you know, competition

workout is not the best option.

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Now.

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I don't want this to be in like

an excuse for us to miss out on

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some really beneficial stressors,

such as exercise and sauna.

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Right?

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These are incredible things for

our health, but I think it's

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important for us to know that.

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We have to know our bodies.

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Right?

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We have to know that if I'm

super stressed out, maybe I don't

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go do the CrossFit tournament.

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Right.

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Maybe I go do a yoga class with some,

you know, light weight lifting, maybe

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a little jog, something that's much

easier on the body, but still is

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a form of movement because we know

that's very beneficial for the body.

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Um, you know, as opposed to going in there

and just going super hard and causing

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even more of a stressor on our body.

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So just kind of wanting it to, uh,

highlight that and make it known.

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Uh, that we do, we have to know ourselves.

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We have to know what's good for

us and also tap in and tune in

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with ourselves and understand.

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I am I stressed out right now?

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Do I feel good right now?

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Um, does working out make me more

stressed or does it make me less stressed?

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And for a lot of people doing some

working out can actually help, uh,

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to kind of alleviate some stress in

terms of, uh, you know, kind of like

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just getting things off of their mind.

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I would say, uh, It can be

very therapeutic for sure.

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So.

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I want to jump into really why stress

is bad for us, because once again,

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I know people know that too much

stress is bad, but I don't think

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we actually know the very specific.

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Uh, implications it

can have on our health.

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So first off stress can

weaken your immune system.

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That's one of the first things that

kind of comes to my mind when I

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think of being super stressed is,

uh, people who are very stressed.

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They tend to have a

weakened immune system.

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They tend to get sick more often.

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Uh, that or a lot of headaches, right.

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Which is another thing it can lead

to MUSC, uh, musculoskeletal tension.

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Which can lead to tension,

headaches and lower back pain.

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Those are kind of like the two things I

always think of when it comes to stress.

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But there's a bunch more other things.

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It can also lead to high blood pressure

and an increased risk of heart disease.

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Uh, prolonged exposure of elevated

levels of cortisol can lead

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to a decreased bone density.

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Uh, which by the way,

Cortisol is kind of like the.

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The hormone that we primarily

think of when it comes to stress.

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Uh, it's released by the adrenal glands.

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And, uh, yeah, if you have cortisol

levels elevated too long, because

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you're stressed out for, you

know, A large portion of the day.

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This can lead to decreased bone density.

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Uh, it can also affect the brain bowel

axis and lead to irritable bowel syndrome.

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Intestinal inflammation and peptic ulcers.

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This one obviously hits home for me.

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If this is your first time listening

to the show, that's kind of like

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my whole background is I've dealt

with a lot of gastrointestinal

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issues and that's what led me onto

my path of health and wellness.

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Uh, so this speaks largely to me

because as a kid, I can remember

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being super nervous about something

or scared about something and

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it would actually affect my gut.

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I would literally feel like my stomach

churning and maybe even having to go

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to the restroom, whatever it might be.

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Uh, that was a very

common experience for me.

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Um, and so hearing it now, as

I like go and do the research.

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It's just crazy to kind of

put those two pieces together,

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but it makes a lot of sense.

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And you know, that's for a person who

had a lot of gastrointestinal issues.

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So for a person who gets stressed, they

might not have it show up in that way.

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It might be a prolonged.

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Level of stress that then leads

to inflammation in the bowels

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or, you know, the gut somewhere.

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And, uh, then eventually leading to, you

know, um, More frequent, like loose stools

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or maybe even the opposite constipation.

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Right.

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It can be very dependent on the person.

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Uh, it can also, stress can also cause the

liver to release extra glucose, AKA sugar

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into the bloodstream, which can increase

the risk of type two diabetes, which if

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you haven't heard last week's episode,

I highly recommend you go check it out.

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I talk all about the ways in which

sugar sneaks its way into your foods.

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It's very surprising how

much sugar is in our foods.

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And, uh, it's very also surprising that

there's a lot of foods out there that you

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wouldn't expect to have sugar in them.

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You get, they absolutely do have sugar in

them and in pretty significant amounts.

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Um, and so in that episode, I really

break down, you know, what are the

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foods that have some of the highest

levels of sugar, as well as what are

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those sneaky foods that have sugar

in them, but you wouldn't think they

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do so definitely check that one out.

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It was just last week's episode.

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Uh, and then stress can also lead to

anxiety, poor sleep and lowered sex drive,

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which all three of those make sense.

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Um, you know, especially with poor sleep,

for example, if you're stressed out,

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it can be typically hard to go to bed.

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Your mind can be racing, and then if

you're getting poor sleep, I guess what

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you're going to wake up even more stressed

because your body wasn't able to kind

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of do the repair and all that, that it

needed to, and then you're more stressed

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out because you didn't sleep well.

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And then it's just kind of a

really negative feedback loop,

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a feedback loop cycle there.

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Uh, and then of course with lowered

sex drive, if you're just, you know,

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if you're not feeling yourself and

you're not feeling in an intimate mood,

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it's hard to be in that mood as well.

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Uh, so stress can affect

a ton of different things.

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And that's just really, what I

wanted to highlight here is that,

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um, you know, it's not just a.

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Oh, I'm stressed.

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Like it's okay.

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Things will get better.

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And like, I don't really need to

worry too much about my stress.

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It can absolutely cause

some very serious health.

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Uh, problems down the road.

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Um, I think it's maybe not something

that shows up immediately all the time,

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but a prolonged high levels of stress

can really wreak havoc on the body.

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So I'm not just going to leave you on this

cliffhanger of like, okay, stress is bad.

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What the heck do I do now?

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Of course, you know, I'm going to come

in here and give you all my favorite tips

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and tricks on relieving or controlling

or regulating your stress levels.

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Um, and.

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You know, as, uh, as, as someone who,

uh, you know, has felt the effects of

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stress in my gut, and then in other

ways as well, um, it's been really kind

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of a neat journey for me to try out

some of these different modalities,

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um, that can help regulate stress.

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And, you know, one of the big

things that I tell people if they

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are super stressed is simply.

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To just stop.

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It's literally just that simple.

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Like take a break.

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Um, of course I recognize that in

not every situation, are you going

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to be able to just drop everything

and stop what you're doing?

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Uh, when it comes to, you know, things

at work, or I don't know things with

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your family, whatever it might be.

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But truly if you're able to, like, let's

say you're on a project at work and

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it's just completely stressing you out.

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You're, you know, squinting at your,

your computer screen for hours and

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hours and trying to figure this out.

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And it's just really getting to you and

you can feel your shoulders tightening.

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And you're just like a little ball.

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Ball of stress.

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Take a beat, take five minutes.

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I promise you for just five minutes

is going to make a huge difference.

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If you could do 10 minutes even

better, but what I would love for

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you to do, and this is the number

one practice that I use when it

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comes to stress and managing stress.

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And that is breath work.

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: 00:16:09

Now, if you are new to breath work,

and you're like, Did this dude

308

: 00:16:12

literally just tell me to breathe.

309

: 00:16:14

Yes, I really did.

310

: 00:16:15

Breath work is incredible.

311

: 00:16:17

It is proven that if you do a specific

type of breathing, you can activate

312

: 00:16:22

your parasympathetic nervous system

and your parasympathetic nervous system

313

: 00:16:27

can be thought of as the brake pedal.

314

: 00:16:30

So it's your rest, your relax, your

digest state, as opposed to your

315

: 00:16:35

sympathetic state, which is like the

gas pedal, the get up and the go state.

316

: 00:16:40

So what kind of breathing will activate

this parasympathetic nervous system?

317

: 00:16:45

Well, it's very simple.

318

: 00:16:46

It's deep, slow breathing and you know,

there's many different types of breath

319

: 00:16:51

work you can use for relaxation, but I

like to just keep it simple and what it is

320

: 00:16:56

is a deep, slow inhale through your nose.

321

: 00:16:59

And then an even slower exhale through

your mouth, but you're going to blow out

322

: 00:17:05

through pursed lips almost like you're

breathing out through a small straw.

323

: 00:17:09

And when you do that, it's going

to really prolong your exhale.

324

: 00:17:13

And by prolonging that exhale,

that's going to really tap into

325

: 00:17:16

that parasympathetic nervous system.

326

: 00:17:19

So.

327

: 00:17:20

What I'll typically do.

328

: 00:17:21

I'll take five minutes.

329

: 00:17:23

I'll go sit on the couch or a chair,

or, you know, outside on some grass.

330

: 00:17:27

W like wherever I'm at, just kind of

get some space from everybody else.

331

: 00:17:32

And I will literally just take five to

10 deep breaths as deep as I possibly can

332

: 00:17:37

do it as slow as I can possibly do it.

333

: 00:17:39

And then I'll typically finish it

off with a short meditation, like

334

: 00:17:43

two or three minutes where all I

do is I just focus on the body.

335

: 00:17:48

I like do a body scan, head to toe

and just really tap into how my body's

336

: 00:17:53

feeling, especially after the breath work.

337

: 00:17:54

And when kind of leave your body maybe a

little bit tingly or feeling very relaxed,

338

: 00:17:59

maybe you noticed, uh, some tension.

339

: 00:18:01

In your shoulders and your

cheeks and your forehead.

340

: 00:18:04

Right.

341

: 00:18:05

And then maybe that's a time where you

can just relax and let that all go.

342

: 00:18:09

And I'm promise you five to 10 deep

breaths with like two, three minutes

343

: 00:18:14

of meditation, right after it is

going to make a huge, huge difference.

344

: 00:18:18

I do this very, very frequently.

345

: 00:18:21

So that's going to be the

first thing I would recommend.

346

: 00:18:25

Now there is another type of breath

work that I'm going to mention

347

: 00:18:28

on here, just cause it is also

very, um, It's very powerful.

348

: 00:18:33

And I've heard it from

Andrew Huberman first.

349

: 00:18:35

I don't know if someone

else came up with it.

350

: 00:18:37

I wouldn't be surprised if

they did, but basically it is

351

: 00:18:40

a deep inhale through the nose.

352

: 00:18:42

Once again.

353

: 00:18:43

But at the top of your inhale, you

kind of hold it for a second and then

354

: 00:18:47

you suck in just a little bit more air

in, through, in, through your nose.

355

: 00:18:52

And then you blow that out

through the mouth pursed lips.

356

: 00:18:55

Like you're blowing through

a tiny straw once again.

357

: 00:18:58

So the only difference here is on

that inhale, you do a pretty much

358

: 00:19:01

a full inhale pause for a second.

359

: 00:19:04

Then inhale a little bit more

through the nose and then do the XL.

360

: 00:19:07

Just like I said, with the

purse lips, like you're blowing

361

: 00:19:09

through a tiny little straw.

362

: 00:19:12

Those breaths are incredible.

363

: 00:19:13

They're super powerful and they

can make a huge difference.

364

: 00:19:17

Now that is kind of a, in the moment

thing, and it can have lasting effects

365

: 00:19:22

throughout the rest of your day.

366

: 00:19:24

Typically I'll do a breath work

session at least once a day.

367

: 00:19:28

Uh, just because the effects are so

powerful and really, really beneficial.

368

: 00:19:32

But I think it's also important for us

to kind of carve out time in our day to

369

: 00:19:37

make sure that we're including activities

that also help to relieve stress.

370

: 00:19:42

Now this can typically show up

in the form as anything that.

371

: 00:19:47

Is away from work and whatever the thing

is that is typically stressing you out.

372

: 00:19:53

So if it's a person, if it's work, if

it's, you know, whatever it might be, you

373

: 00:19:57

want to do it a way from whatever that is.

374

: 00:20:00

Just take some time for yourself.

375

: 00:20:02

And it can be literally as simple as maybe

in the morning, you take a moment to.

376

: 00:20:06

I go out for a morning, walk with

some coffee or go sit on a bench

377

: 00:20:10

and just look out at nature.

378

: 00:20:12

Whatever that might be for you.

379

: 00:20:14

Uh, I would highly just encourage you

to find what works best for you and

380

: 00:20:18

what works best for your schedule.

381

: 00:20:20

If you're a person that has a really

hard time with just kind of going

382

: 00:20:24

for a walk or, um, you know, like

just kind of zoning out, I guess.

383

: 00:20:29

Right.

384

: 00:20:29

Like.

385

: 00:20:30

Or reading a book or whatever it

might be, then go ahead and schedule

386

: 00:20:33

something into your daily or weekly.

387

: 00:20:37

Uh, schedule.

388

: 00:20:39

That is really just revolving

around a stress relief practice.

389

: 00:20:43

It could be something like yin yoga.

390

: 00:20:46

For example, yin yoga is a very

deep, slow stretching type of yoga.

391

: 00:20:51

And.

392

: 00:20:52

You know, a lot of the times

they have it in the evening time.

393

: 00:20:54

So it's really close to when you're

going to go to bed, it's a great

394

: 00:20:57

way to start kind of just getting

ready for the evening and getting

395

: 00:21:00

the body prepared to go to bed.

396

: 00:21:01

It's super relaxing and it's a

really great practice as well

397

: 00:21:05

for people who have a hard time.

398

: 00:21:06

Um, Once again, just doing nothing

like going out and trying to do

399

: 00:21:10

some meditation or something.

400

: 00:21:12

Uh, this is a great way to feel like

you're still achieving something.

401

: 00:21:15

But it's very distressed.

402

: 00:21:18

Defying.

403

: 00:21:19

I don't know if that's a word,

but we're going to roll with it.

404

: 00:21:22

So.

405

: 00:21:23

That's definitely a great one.

406

: 00:21:24

Um, float tanks are

also another great one.

407

: 00:21:27

However, float tanks for kind of, a lot

of people are a little bit of a challenge

408

: 00:21:33

because if you've never been in one of

them before, it's essentially a tank

409

: 00:21:36

filled with water and a ton of Epsom salt

so that you can essentially float on the

410

: 00:21:40

water and then they close you in this pod.

411

: 00:21:43

And usually you turn off the light.

412

: 00:21:45

So it's pitch black and a, yeah,

you just kind of like hang out in

413

: 00:21:49

there for 30 minutes to an hour.

414

: 00:21:50

Um, I love it.

415

: 00:21:52

And it's incredible.

416

: 00:21:53

It helps you relax and as well, you get

some really deep sleeps after doing those.

417

: 00:21:58

But if you're not a person who's

really good at kind of just sitting

418

: 00:22:02

alone with their thoughts, um, which

many people are not, um, then maybe

419

: 00:22:06

that's not the best idea for you.

420

: 00:22:07

Um, maybe you start with some meditation

to start getting to a place where

421

: 00:22:11

you are more comfortable, which is

sitting alone with your thoughts.

422

: 00:22:13

But whatever your.

423

: 00:22:16

Ideal de-stressing type of

practice is it doesn't matter.

424

: 00:22:21

Just whatever helps you let go of

whatever is stressing you out and can

425

: 00:22:26

kind of bring you more into the present.

426

: 00:22:28

It could be also just kind of

hanging out with some friends, right?

427

: 00:22:31

Like.

428

: 00:22:31

Spending some quality time with

people not being on your phone.

429

: 00:22:35

Right.

430

: 00:22:35

Because being on our phone can as

well cause some stress or, uh, just

431

: 00:22:39

give us some really poor dopamine

hits that we really just don't need.

432

: 00:22:43

Right.

433

: 00:22:43

And it's also kind of a

bit of a waste of time.

434

: 00:22:46

Uh, to just like doom scroll when you

could be doing something productive, such

435

: 00:22:49

as, you know, a yoga class or hanging out

with friends and spending quality time.

436

: 00:22:53

So.

437

: 00:22:54

There's many different practices here.

438

: 00:22:56

Um, but whatever works for

you, highly recommend you start

439

: 00:23:00

including that into your day.

440

: 00:23:01

So that.

441

: 00:23:02

Into your weekly schedule so

that you can have scheduled time

442

: 00:23:06

specifically just for de-stressing,

because I think a lot of people also.

443

: 00:23:11

You know, we don't happen with

our body and we can be super

444

: 00:23:15

stressed and not even recognize it.

445

: 00:23:17

We don't even take a moment to just check

in with ourselves and see how we're doing.

446

: 00:23:21

So, um, another practice that I'll

typically do is like mid day when I

447

: 00:23:26

start to get a little bit tired and

I noticed myself a little, getting

448

: 00:23:28

a little bit more irritable with,

uh, whatever work is coming up.

449

: 00:23:32

I'll go ahead and I'll either do

some breath work or I'll even do

450

: 00:23:35

yoga nidra or the, what is it?

451

: 00:23:37

Non sleep.

452

: 00:23:38

Deep rest, I think is what

the other term is for it.

453

: 00:23:41

Uh, but they have like 10 minute

videos and they just help to rejuvenate

454

: 00:23:44

you, um, make you feel a little

bit more rested and as well, they

455

: 00:23:48

can be pretty distressing as well.

456

: 00:23:50

So that's a great practice.

457

: 00:23:52

Um, once again, if you go on to

like YouTube, you can find some yoga

458

: 00:23:56

nidra videos, very simply or very

quickly and free of cost, uh, as well.

459

: 00:24:00

I want to give a huge shout

out to my friend, Sandy.

460

: 00:24:05

Um, he has a YouTube page

called breathe with Sandy.

461

: 00:24:08

NDI I've had him on this podcast.

462

: 00:24:10

And actually, I think his

episode has the most downloads

463

: 00:24:13

of any episode I've ever done.

464

: 00:24:15

So shout out to Sandy, um, he has a

free YouTube page that has all kinds of

465

: 00:24:22

breathwork videos, everything from morning

breath, work to nighttime breath, work

466

: 00:24:26

to de-stressing to psychedelic breathing.

467

: 00:24:28

Like there's all kinds of breath

works and I highly, highly recommend.

468

: 00:24:34

Checking out one of his

videos, if you don't know where

469

: 00:24:36

to start with breath work.

470

: 00:24:37

Um, even though I gave you a pretty simple

one, but if you want to go a little bit

471

: 00:24:40

deeper, he has some great guided videos.

472

: 00:24:43

Um, and yeah, I can't say enough.

473

: 00:24:45

Good things like

definitely check out those.

474

: 00:24:47

I'll try to link him into the show

notes or the description as well.

475

: 00:24:51

So you can have some easy access to that.

476

: 00:24:53

Um, aside from that, I would say, you

know, I think we are a heavily caffeinated

477

: 00:24:59

society and you know, don't get me wrong.

478

: 00:25:01

I absolutely love my coffee.

479

: 00:25:04

Um, I'm currently drinking a decaf

coffee, which has, uh, actually been.

480

: 00:25:10

Very nice.

481

: 00:25:10

The decaf coffees tastes really

good, but I have kind of no noticed

482

: 00:25:15

a little bit of a lower energy levels

in the morning, which I think is

483

: 00:25:18

good for us to recognize that and

take some time away from caffeine.

484

: 00:25:22

Right.

485

: 00:25:22

So our body can.

486

: 00:25:24

Kind of get back into its natural cycle

of not relying on caffeine, but most

487

: 00:25:28

people drink way too much caffeine.

488

: 00:25:31

And I'm super guilty of that.

489

: 00:25:33

Uh, you know, I try to limit myself

to just two cups of coffee a day.

490

: 00:25:38

But there are many days that it has

gone to three or four cups of coffee.

491

: 00:25:43

So, um, it is important for us to

really watch our coffee intake.

492

: 00:25:47

Um, especially within that first, like

what, like hour to 90 minutes of the

493

: 00:25:52

day, we want to allow our bodies to just.

494

: 00:25:55

Wake up on its own.

495

: 00:25:56

Get outside, get some sunlight

on your skin and in your eyes.

496

: 00:25:59

Uh, this will help you to

wake up naturally as well.

497

: 00:26:02

And, uh, coffee as well can just

really do some damage on, on like

498

: 00:26:06

cortisol levels and just keeping us

wired when we really don't need it.

499

: 00:26:10

So, um, be a little bit

more mindful with that.

500

: 00:26:12

And then.

501

: 00:26:14

I would also recommend.

502

: 00:26:15

Uh, prioritizing your sleep.

503

: 00:26:17

Sleep is a great thing for

lowering stress levels.

504

: 00:26:20

And honestly just.

505

: 00:26:21

Benefiting your entire body

and all of your health sleep

506

: 00:26:25

is so key to all of that.

507

: 00:26:27

Uh, and then I would also recommend

maybe doing a little bit of

508

: 00:26:30

journaling or a, a practice of.

509

: 00:26:34

Uh, being in the present moment.

510

: 00:26:36

So that can literally be once again,

like just sitting down and observing

511

: 00:26:41

the things that you're seeing, uh,

you can do the practice of like,

512

: 00:26:44

what is it like five thing, notice

five things that you can see.

513

: 00:26:48

Uh, for things that you can touch, I

think three things that you can smell.

514

: 00:26:53

One thing you can taste.

515

: 00:26:55

I it's.

516

: 00:26:56

Yeah, basically you use all of your senses

to bring you into the present moment.

517

: 00:27:01

Um, that can be a really good practice.

518

: 00:27:02

The breath work as well as a form

of presence, because once you

519

: 00:27:06

do a meditation with it, you're

kind of scanning your body.

520

: 00:27:09

That's also a practice of being present.

521

: 00:27:11

Um, and then journaling is also

a good way to just kind of get

522

: 00:27:14

your thoughts out of your head.

523

: 00:27:16

Um, I think it's Anne Frank,

who said that the paid.

524

: 00:27:19

Uh, paper is more forgiving than people.

525

: 00:27:22

I love that quote, if it's not Anne

Frank, I'm not sure who said it, but

526

: 00:27:26

anyways, great co quote, nonetheless.

527

: 00:27:29

And, um, it's very true.

528

: 00:27:30

If you're struggling with something, if

something is, you know, really eating

529

: 00:27:33

at your core, um, you know, and just.

530

: 00:27:36

Stressing you out.

531

: 00:27:37

Essentially right.

532

: 00:27:39

Then go ahead and try some,

uh, journaling, right?

533

: 00:27:41

Like write that stuff down and keep it in

a place where no one's going to see it.

534

: 00:27:45

Right.

535

: 00:27:45

Like it can just be your personal journal.

536

: 00:27:48

And once again, the pages are

going to be so much more forgiving

537

: 00:27:53

than people, uh, as well.

538

: 00:27:54

Typically when we lash out, um,

we don't say the best things.

539

: 00:27:58

So lash out onto the paper.

540

: 00:28:01

Now last but not least.

541

: 00:28:03

I'm also going to leave you with a

couple of recommendations in terms

542

: 00:28:07

of supplements that I would recommend

for stress and stress relief.

543

: 00:28:11

Of course, I always want to give you the.

544

: 00:28:15

Easy practices that really make

the biggest change in our lives,

545

: 00:28:21

which typically are things like

diet, um, you know, breath, work,

546

: 00:28:25

meditation, sleep, all those things

that I've already mentioned, but.

547

: 00:28:30

As well, there can be benefit with

supplements and there are a couple

548

: 00:28:34

that I personally really enjoy.

549

: 00:28:35

So I'm going to go ahead

and share those right now.

550

: 00:28:37

First off, I already have

told you many times on this

551

: 00:28:40

podcast, but I work for ritual.

552

: 00:28:43

So, you know, there is

a tie here with ritual.

553

: 00:28:47

I don't receive any

money off of this, but.

554

: 00:28:49

Rituals stress-relief capsule

supplement is hands down, probably

555

: 00:28:55

my favorite for stress relief.

556

: 00:28:58

It's an all day stress relief

capsule that has ashwagandha Safran.

557

: 00:29:03

And L-theanine.

558

: 00:29:04

So once again, coming back to that

saffron, which is really great for mood

559

: 00:29:08

improvement and as well, we have the

ashwagandha, which is a nice adaptogen.

560

: 00:29:13

It's good for the adrenals and it's good

at really helping to regulate stress.

561

: 00:29:16

And then L-theanine, which

is also great for stress.

562

: 00:29:18

Yes, because I used to take L-theanine

with my coffee in the morning, because it

563

: 00:29:22

would keep me from getting too jittery.

564

: 00:29:24

It would keep me at like

a steady kind of focused.

565

: 00:29:27

Um, energy level.

566

: 00:29:30

So I really, really, really can't say

enough good things about this one.

567

: 00:29:33

I take it pretty frequently and

it's a time to release capsule.

568

: 00:29:37

So you feel it all day long.

569

: 00:29:39

It's not just like you feel it at the

time of which you take the capsule.

570

: 00:29:43

No, it's literally the entire day.

571

: 00:29:45

So really love that one.

572

: 00:29:47

Can't recommend it enough.

573

: 00:29:49

Um, it's, you know, if you are

going to try a supplement, that'd

574

: 00:29:52

probably be my first place to start.

575

: 00:29:54

And then my other one is something that

I typically do more, uh, more towards.

576

: 00:29:58

The evening, and this is

just kind of like to help me.

577

: 00:30:00

Unwind and relax and, you know,

get into kind of a sleepy state.

578

: 00:30:04

And that is a reishi mushroom

and reishi mushroom can be taken

579

: 00:30:09

at any time of the day, but it's

also, I believe in adaptogens,

580

: 00:30:12

it's the mushroom of longevity.

581

: 00:30:14

There's like a ton of great properties

to it, but it can be really great

582

: 00:30:18

for, uh, kind of winding down and

typically the way I consume Rishi,

583

: 00:30:24

Uh, in the evening is in the form of a

powdered drink, which is from Organify.

584

: 00:30:30

They do the, uh, the gold serum,

which I believe has the Rishi in it.

585

: 00:30:34

Um, as well as like tumeric.

586

: 00:30:36

And then I do the it's the gold, the gold

juice, but it's the chocolate version.

587

: 00:30:42

That's personally my favorite one.

588

: 00:30:44

It just tastes like hot chocolate.

589

: 00:30:46

Um, and so I'll usually whip that up at

night and it's just kind of like my it's

590

: 00:30:50

like my nightcap kind of helps ease me

into the night, something warm and nice

591

: 00:30:54

to drink and just kind of ease me into

getting ready for a nice peaceful rest.

592

: 00:30:59

Hopefully.

593

: 00:31:00

Uh, of course it has been pretty

freaking hot out here lately.

594

: 00:31:04

Uh, in California.

595

: 00:31:06

Um, so having hot chocolate

hasn't really been my go-to.

596

: 00:31:10

Um, so I have taken Rishi

and just capsule form.

597

: 00:31:13

Um, but if you are going to take

reishi in capsule form, I'd recommend

598

: 00:31:17

finding a brand that does it properly.

599

: 00:31:19

Um, you know, if it is just fruiting body,

then that's probably a pretty good way

600

: 00:31:24

to go unless they're doing mycelium in a

correct manner in which they extract it.

601

: 00:31:29

Um, and then.

602

: 00:31:30

As well, the dual extraction

is pretty important.

603

: 00:31:33

We want to make sure that we're

getting both the alcohol extraction

604

: 00:31:36

as well as the hot water extraction.

605

: 00:31:38

Um, so, you know, just kind of keep

that in mind, uh, with Organify you're

606

: 00:31:42

getting a super high quality product.

607

: 00:31:45

Like everything they're putting in

there is really high quality as well.

608

: 00:31:47

It's like third-party tested

for things like glyphosate.

609

: 00:31:50

So.

610

: 00:31:51

It's just, you know, it's a

really easy one to trust and

611

: 00:31:54

to go for and tastes good.

612

: 00:31:56

But those would be my recommendations

for stress supplements.

613

: 00:31:59

I think, um, those two are my favorites.

614

: 00:32:02

Um, I can't really speak on any other

ones cause I haven't really tried them.

615

: 00:32:05

But these two.

616

: 00:32:07

Uh, they, you know, the

kind of stay in my rotation.

617

: 00:32:10

Uh, and honestly, The chocolate

gold serum that I take at night is.

618

: 00:32:17

It's just something I enjoy.

619

: 00:32:19

I mean, like, I know I feel the

benefits of the Rishi, but it's also

620

: 00:32:21

just something that's almost become

like a little bit of a practice to

621

: 00:32:24

unwind and get ready for the evening.

622

: 00:32:26

So.

623

: 00:32:27

Anyways, that's going to do it.

624

: 00:32:29

I want to just reiterate, we want to

start with the high level stuff first.

625

: 00:32:33

So things like breath, work,

things like meditation.

626

: 00:32:35

A yin yoga journaling, taking a time to

just be in the present moment, right?

627

: 00:32:40

Like these are the big

needle movers or as well.

628

: 00:32:44

If you're super stressed about

something and you just can't do

629

: 00:32:47

anything to change it, you might

need to reevaluate your life.

630

: 00:32:51

Like if it's really worth

being so stressed about.

631

: 00:32:54

Right.

632

: 00:32:54

So those are the big needle movers.

633

: 00:32:56

And then beyond that we

have supplements, right?

634

: 00:32:59

I always like to keep

supplements as a supplement.

635

: 00:33:01

It is to supplement everything else.

636

: 00:33:04

Um, and if I am going to take one,

it's typically going to be rituals,

637

: 00:33:09

stress relief, or the organic,

uh, gold juice mix that they have.

638

: 00:33:15

So anyways, that's going to do it

for today, by the way, if you do

639

: 00:33:19

want to try out the organic Uh, any

of their products, please check out

640

: 00:33:23

the description and you will get a

discount code for being a listener as

641

: 00:33:27

my little, thank you to all of you.

642

: 00:33:29

So, thank you all so much for

sticking with me through this episode.

643

: 00:33:33

I really appreciate you being

here and just tuning in.

644

: 00:33:37

Hopefully you found a lot of

value in today's episode and you

645

: 00:33:40

have a lot to take away with you.

646

: 00:33:42

I just want to really, once again

mentioned that stress can have some

647

: 00:33:46

serious implications on our health,

so please don't take it lightly.

648

: 00:33:49

And if you are finding yourself to be very

stressed, Take proactive measures now.

649

: 00:33:53

And it can be as simple as even just five

minutes doing a little bit of breath work.

650

: 00:33:58

So that's maybe.

651

: 00:34:00

Answer everything for a super stress

person, but it's a great place to start.

652

: 00:34:03

And it's made a really big

impact in my life personally.

653

: 00:34:07

So anyways, thank you all once again.

654

: 00:34:10

I can't.

655

: 00:34:10

Thank you.

656

: 00:34:11

Enough.

657

: 00:34:12

But truly from the bottom of my

heart, appreciate you all being here.

658

: 00:34:15

Um, if you haven't already subscribed

to this podcast, please do.

659

: 00:34:19

So it helps out so much with

this, uh, with this podcast.

660

: 00:34:22

And if you would like to refer this

podcast to a friend, family member

661

: 00:34:26

loved one, anyone that can benefit

from this episode or this show,

662

: 00:34:30

then please feel free to share it.

663

: 00:34:31

That also does so much

in spreading the word.

664

: 00:34:34

And then please leave a rating

or review if you haven't already.

665

: 00:34:39

And of course I read all of those.

666

: 00:34:40

I love to see them.

667

: 00:34:41

And once again, it just helps

people to find this show and.

668

: 00:34:45

A really easy, no cost way of helping, uh,

this show if you found some value in it.

669

: 00:34:50

So I appreciate you all so much.

670

: 00:34:52

And, um, you know, thank you for allowing

me to be here and sharing this information

671

: 00:34:56

with all you, it means the world to me.

672

: 00:34:58

I love you guys very much.

673

: 00:34:59

Have a beautiful rest of your day.

674

: 00:35:01

I'll see you all next week.

675

: 00:35:03

And until then, You know, the motto of

the show, it's do everything with good

676

: 00:35:07

intentions and connect to your elements.

677

: 00:35:10

Y'all I'm sending much love and I hope

you have a beautiful rest of your day.

678

: 00:35:14

Peace.