Now, I know you don't need a dedicated month to be aware of your life's stress. Chances are you're acutely aware of it! However, most people soak up their stress and don't honestly deal with it. At least not in a healthy way. Headaches, muscle aches, short tempers, lack of sleep, drinking, stress eating; it's all just the price to pay to get through the day, right?

This article will provide an overview of each, their benefits, similarities, and differences so that you can make an informed decision about whether these styles are a good fit for you. Nobody likes signing up for a class and then finding out it's not at all what they expected! And as much as I hate to say it, many yoga teachers can inadvertently cause some of this confusion with their choice of words. This article should help you be able to decipher class descriptions better so you know what the class is really about and ask questions if needed.

Relieving stress and reducing anxiety is often what brings people to a breath practice. However, there are several other benefits worth enjoying as well.

Balanced breathing is an easy breathing technique that can help you whether you need a pick-me-up or need to find calm during anxious or stressful situations.

There are tons of great breathing exercises available that can help with anxiety and stress. One of my favorites is 5 Finger Breathing. In this mindful breathing exercise, you engage multiple senses as you focus on the breath (sound) while tracing the outline of your fingers in sync with your inhale and exhale (touch). At the same time, you are watching one finger as it moves along the outline of your other hand (sight).

There’s a myth; maybe misinterpretation is a better way of saying it, that meditating always leaves you feeling good or better when you’re done. You’ll feel lighter, calm, peaceful, and enlightened somehow. And if you don’t, then you’re doing something wrong.

My experience in recent years changed my life completely and set me on a new path. I’m sharing my story about how I came to my breaking point with stress and anxiety two years ago and how my life and career changed as a result. My sincere hope is that this will resonate with someone else feeling like I did, and give them hope that change is possible for them in the New Year.

Ah, late November is here and the holiday season is in full swing. This is one of the busiest and most stressful times of the year and we are all under the gun to get things done. Avoiding stress right now is highly unlikely, but that doesn’t mean it has to take center stage and steal your spotlight.

Recently, I began exploring the idea of daily intention setting and how it may help reduce stress. Setting intentions is a well-known practice, but I hadn’t heard it being talked about much in regards to how daily intention-setting may help reduce or relieve stress. So, I thought I’d share my thoughts and some basics around the practice so you can figure out if you’d like to try it too.

Do you jump out of bed every morning refreshed and ready to greet the day? If you do, congratulations! But, this article probably isn’t for you. If, on the other hand, you’re like most of us and getting out of bed is a slightly slower process filled with low energy and a few aches and pains, then read on!

One of the worst things about sitting all day with little variation is how stiff and tense our bodies become. When that happens, it's not long before our minds start feeling that tension too. However, it only takes a few minutes to help ease that tension and continue with a productive day.

I'm sure I'm not the only person who occasionally struggles with a little mind-racing keeping them from getting to sleep. Unfortunately, not everyone can do an hour of restorative yoga before bed to help them wind down. So, I came up with a short sequence of four poses that you can do not only before bed but in bed!

Do you remember the saying that if you repeat a lie enough times, you and others will eventually believe it? Well, positive affirmations are the same idea with a much more beneficial result. Keep repeating your affirmations, and you'll train your brain to believe them and perhaps, even manifest them.

Without fail, whenever I meet someone new, and they find out I teach meditation, the first thing they say is, "Oh, that's amazing! I can't meditate, though, because I can't clear my mind." Cue my internal scream.

This is the meditation equivalent of "I can't do yoga because I'm not flexible enough." Yes, I'm a yoga teacher too, and no, I can't put my leg behind my head either!

Many beginner meditators become intimidated or frustrated because they don't know how or where to start. Some quit before they even try.

However, there is one method that is welcoming to beginners. Mindfulness.

Clearing your mind and sitting for hours is not required.

An effective meditation practice doesn't mean you have to clear your mind of all thoughts, sit for long periods, or have a profound spiritual experience. Yes, it can be all those things, but it doesn't have to be. I want to dispel the belief that if you don't experience that, you're not meditating or that it's not going to work for you. Especially if you’re busy and have limited time during the day.

"Self-care is not selfish." You've seen and heard this a thousand times, right? But, do you believe it?

Is taking care of yourself the first thing you move to the bottom of your priority list? Do you feel guilty for taking time for yourself? Do you feel like you don't deserve the pleasure of self-care unless you've taken care of everything and everyone else first? Do you believe self-care is a reward and not a necessity?

That's right. I said it. Stress is not bad. How can someone who specializes in helping people manage stress say such a thing? Well, hear me out.

I champion the benefits of mindfulness practice in my work. There's no arguing that there is a mindfulness movement in full swing right now, and this is a good thing. In our current "Go! Go! Go! culture", we've become conditioned to move through our lives almost on auto-pilot. We focus on the task in front of us, the one ahead of us, and check them off our lists without even thinking, it seems. Accomplishing the mission is essential, not why we are doing it or how we do it, especially not how we feel doing it. Too many of us are going through the motions of our daily lives and not engaging with them.

Everyone has fears. It's part of the human condition. Some of us are more willing to admit to them, let alone share them, than others. Some of us tackle them head-on, while others get tackled and stopped by them.