I break Holistic Stress Management into eight sections- but keep in mind they are always ALL connected:

Spiritual

Emotional

Mental

Physical 

Environmental 

Social

Financial

Sexual

Check in with yourself- how are you doing in those 8 areas? Rate each one on a scale of 1-10. If you are above a 7 in each, congrats! I think you are doing great! But any areas below a 7 might want some attention. Consider checking out my online programs for some possible tools and tips.

Those 8 areas are ALL connected. And it is ALL energy. We must keep things moving and flowing if we want to avoid energy blocks. And what do energy blocks look like?

Anxiety

Addiction

Disease

Unsatisfying relationships

and the list goes on…

Here are some of my thoughts on stress and our current culture…

These are the basic tenets of what I have learned to be true 99% of the time (because there is always an exception- but we must one day humble ourselves and admit we are more often the rule than the exception…)

1) Stress is the leading cause of most diseases. Even Western Medicine is starting to admit it.

2) The American Culture SUCKS at stress management.

3) Stress can actually be managed fairly easily- if you’re willing to commit to healthy practices that help you de-stress on a regular basis. For some reason- many people are not willing to do this.

4) When stress isn’t managed effectively, it starts to build up in the body and create issues. From a minor cold to a heart attack- stress is often the underlying culprit. Some take a few days of stress to develop, some take years. We know we can prevent some of these things from happening- but why aren’t we taking action?

5) Stress is like energy and energy is like water, if it can’t flow well it gets backed up or blocked, and can create a real mess. Or when too much goes into a cup, it can overflow, spilling onto everything it comes in contact with. When blocks occur in the body, we get sick. When our stress overflows, we freak out (think panic attack, angry outbursts, etc).

6) This is where I start using the concept of stress and energy interchangeably- because stress can cause energetic blocks in our system (think that clenching in your gut when you are worried, the shaking when you are nervous… this is energy moving through you- or getting stuck if you don’t discharge it). If you start to develop energetic blocks, you can start to develop disease (better yet, dis-ease, meaning the body is not at ease), you can block yourself from developing a healthy intimate relationship or fulfilling career, the list goes on. But are you doing any of that on purpose? Of course not! This is where the combination of the powerful subconscious mind (which controls upwards of 90% of what we say and do) and energy coincide.

Here are a few things I recommend to start managing your stress TODAY:

• Talk to someone you trust (a friend, spouse, counselor etc)

• Exercise (running, yoga, etc)

• Creative outlet (drawing, writing, making music, etc)

In order to get lasting relief, you’ll want to do at least one of the above options daily for 1-2 weeks. Use a scale of 1-10 to track your stress levels before and after each activity to see how much relief each one provides, so you can start tracking which tools work best for you.