Navigating Stress: Understanding Its Impact and Finding Balance

Stress Awareness Month: Since 1992, April has been designated as Stress Awareness Month, a time dedicated to increasing public awareness about the causes and cures for our modern stress epidemic. A time dedicated to shedding light on the silent, yet profound influence stress wields over our lives.  At The Heart of Holistic Health, we're committed to supporting you on your journey towards wellness, and in this month's newsletter, we delve into the complexities of stress and offer insights into fostering balance and resilience.

The Many Faces of Stress: Stress is a universal experience, stemming from a myriad of factors that can affect each of us at various points in our lives. While a healthy dose of stress can serve as motivation, chronic and unresolved stress can become debilitating, triggering inflammation within our bodies, and disrupting our physical, mental, and emotional equilibrium.

Physically, stress can manifest in diverse ways, from headaches and disrupted sleep to fatigue and high blood pressure. Its subtle effects extend further, contributing to the onset of autoimmune diseases, type 2 diabetes, and mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. Moreover, stress can exacerbate symptoms experienced during menopause and disrupt hormonal balance, impacting aspects like libido and digestive health.  By being mindful of these signs, we can proactively address stress and take steps towards healing and balance.

The 7 Dimensions of Wellness: It’s crucial to recognise that wellness encompasses multiple dimensions, including physical, emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual, environmental, and occupational aspects. Each dimension plays a vital role in our overall wellbeing and nurturing them holistically is key to achieving balance and resilience.

Managing Stress - Strategies for Wellbeing:

1. Physical Exercise: Incorporating regular physical activity into your routine can help alleviate stress, boost mood, and improve overall health and vitality.
   

2. Prioritise Sleep: Quality sleep is essential for mental and physical wellbeing. Prioritise restful sleep by establishing a consistent bedtime routine and creating a comfortable sleep environment.
   

3. Learn About Your Mental Health: Educate yourself about mental health and wellness and seek support when needed. Our upcoming courses and workshops offer valuable insights and practical tools for enhancing mental resilience and emotional wellbeing.
   

4. Relationships: Additionally, fostering meaningful connections with loved ones and engaging in activities that bring us joy and fulfilment can serve as potent antidotes to stress, nurturing our spirits and fortifying our resilience in the face of adversity.
   

Theme #LittleByLittle: Our theme for this month's newsletter, inspired by Health Assured's #LittleByLittle campaign, aligns perfectly with our holistic approach to wellness. By taking small, consistent steps towards self-care and stress management, we can create profound shifts in our lives and cultivate lasting wellbeing.

Upcoming Courses and Workshops: Don't miss out on our upcoming courses and workshops designed to empower you on your wellness journey. From mindfulness meditation to stress management techniques and support groups, we offer a range of transformative experiences to support your holistic wellbeing. Click the button below to view what’s on at The Heart of Holistic Health.

As we navigate Stress Awareness Month together, let us embrace the journey towards holistic wellness, one step at a time. Remember, your wellbeing is worth investing in, and we're here to support you every step of the way.

Here to Help - Because We Care,

The Heart of Holistic Health Team 💙💙💙

www.heartofholistic.com 

What's On at The Heart of Holistic Health

🌿 Find Your Tribe: Embrace Change and Thrive! 🌟

Imagine living a life you truly enjoy!

Change can be frightening and difficult, but when we take ourselves out of our comfort zone progression happens. In the past society has told us to except what we have and to just keep ticking along.  Post covid “Health and Wellbeing” has become a massive industry, with articles continuously in newspapers, magazines, social media, television etc. We are now being encouraged to do the exact opposite of ticking along!  Make those changes. “Don’t keep doing what you keep on doing”. 

Envisage waking up every morning filled with excitement and anticipation for the day ahead, even on those "ordinary" workdays. It's possible when you surround yourself with the right people and environment—when you find your tribe.

It is said that when we feel comfortable in our surroundings, and we feel as though we “fit in” that we are happier, healthier, more active and achieve more and have less pain. When our surroundings i.e. our home and neighbourhood/environment suit us and nurture us, we thrive. It’s a bit like a plant living in the right position, it thrives.  Having the right people in your surrounding environment and life are paramount.  It’s like finding your tribe!

It takes time and intentionality to find your tribe. Knowing yourself, investing yourself in others and being aware of those you resonate with will show you who you want in your tribe. Choose wisely and you’ll find yourself going further than you ever thought possible. The people who love and support us are our tribe. They are like minded but will challenge our thinking. They can be members of our family, friends, co-workers, or neighbours. We all need those who encourage us, accept us and love us as we authentically are. When we find our tribe, we feel a deep sense of belonging. This sense of belonging gives us strength and resilience.

Knowing how we want our lives to be and how we can make those changes to find our right environment and tribe can be difficult.  It can often simply be the difficulty in finding the time to step back and look at how we make those changes that prevents us from acting on it.  We live in a busy world and our minds are busy. Habits become formed, and routines set in.

I am reading a fantastic book called Atomic Habits recommended to me by my youngest son in Australia. The book looks at the process of behaviour change. We need to be aware of our habits in the first instance and how we can implement a change, with the two most common cues for implementation being time and location; for example, when and where we can make those changes.

Studies have shown that implementation intentions are effective for sticking to our goals and we are more likely to follow through and achieve our goals by doing this. Studies have also shown the first day of the week, first day of the month or first day of the year is the time we are more likely to change something. It is a natural reset time in the brain.

Remember, you have the power of free will. Even when you feel trapped or limited by circumstances, there are always options available to you. It's about recognising those options, making intentional choices, and surrounding yourself with the right people to support your journey.

So, embrace change, seek out your tribe, and unlock the potential for a life filled with joy, growth, and fulfilment. Together, we can create a community where we thrive and support each other on our individual paths to greatness.

With love and support, from Our Hearts to Yours...

Amanda and The Heart of Holistic Health Team 💙💙💙

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Are You Firing On All Cylinders?

We normally perceive January as the month for hibernation. As we look at nature around us, trees have lost their leaves, plants their flowers, animals are tucked away sleeping and just feeding and people retreat inside. I have certainly felt the hibernation this year. And I’m sure I’m not alone in that! With so many bugs/ germs/illnesses around, it has been hard to fight these off! I certainly have, and my low energy levels have been the hardest thing to deal with. And I’m just not used to that! I feel many of you will be resonating with that too.

The start of January is always full of thoughts of what the year ahead will hold. What things are already planned, what would I like to do, what will work look like, what things would I like to change in my life and most importantly how am I going to make those changes? Normally I try to start off as I mean to go on and put these changes into place at the beginning of January. This year it just didn’t happen!  I was not firing on all cylinders. I could feel the frustration creeping in. I so wanted to feel positive about the changes I was making and to make each day count. I wanted to be accountable for my time, using it to the best and making sure that self-care became a higher priority in my life. The main focal points were to be eating regularly and not having my last meal late at night, finishing work earlier in the evening, having time to relax and the biggie getting to bed at a reasonable time!  My energy levels were in my boots taking me twice as long to do anything and therefore an early bedtime was just a pipeline dream.

I have decided that with the new month of February its not to late to try again. Having worked on my health and wellbeing my energy levels have improved tremendously, my immune system boosted, and positivity restored. Let the new changes begin.

There are lots of small and simple changes we can make to really help boost our health. Below are a few tips from the team at The Heart of Holistic Health. I do hope you find them helpful and effective.

Make sure you are firing on all cylinders.

Wishing you a February of positivity, good health and wellbeing and living the life you can.

Michelle - Maximize Fitness… 

Hydration is important so your body can function at its best!

Dehydration can affect your mood!   Water helps energise your muscles!

Cameron Wickers…

Stress is proven to weaken the immune system so it’s important to support your physical and emotional well-being. The mind and body are not separate; what affects one affects the other.  Epsom salt baths for drawing out toxins & it’s relaxing to reduce stress.

Catherine Gowers…

Tissue salts are a fantastic way to arrest a cold or sore throat! Tip - Ferrum phos 6x for the 1st sign of inflammation or as a preventative! If I had a £ for every person this helped……

Nikki Mumby…

Eucalyptus oil in a balm or Vicks massaged into the feet clears the head and sinuses.

Allison Green…

Hot water with a slice of lemon, a small piece of fresh ginger and a spoonful of manuka honey. Plus, rest when you are ill as you will get better quicker.

Celia Leslie…

Breathe to have your immune system kick in. Healthy breath = healthy body - transformational breath helps you breathe more easily ❤️

Tim Everett and Janis Norman…

Tim - To help keep your sinuses clear simply hum for a minute! Janis - Love that from Tim – Bee Breath 🐝.  Bhramari pranayama breathing is good for calming the nervous system/stress.

Mary Walsh-Pammen…

Meditate and once you are very calm envisage yourself well, clear nose, breathing deeply in and out and create a future picture of yourself looking and feeling very healthy.

Helen Hunt…

To ward off coughs and colds and improve immunity- keep your lower back and feet warm, always wear a scarf in cold windy weather.

Mick Moxham…

Just a simple thing as there’s a lot of good info already is that many people don’t dress properly. Make sure your lower back is covered the Japanese often wear hara warmers. A scarf is vital if you leave your neck and chest exposed, you’re asking for trouble. I see people with gloves but no scarf!  And at the first sign of a sore throat, cook a curry or stir fry with chillis onions ginger and garlic it doesn’t always stop a cold in its tracks but speeds up the whole process at the least.

Jenni Shawyer…

Winter is a time when our bodies naturally seek rest and rejuvenation.  Remembering that self-care is NOT selfish is so important – we cannot pour from an empty cup. Nourish the body with wholesome, seasonal foods and soups, cleansing the air with diffused aromatherapy oils; eucalyptus, peppermint and lavender being one of my favourite combinations and generally being kind to yourself goes a long way!

Rushna Reid…

Sleep is key, so good sleep by 10pm with no blue light at least 1 hour before bedtime will reduce oxidative stress and help keep Immunity up.

Essential oils for airways. I recommend dōTERRA oils. 2 blends in particular. AIR for respiratory support and On Guard for immune support.

Angela Chapman...

Kinesiology....Thymus tap.....tap here to help boost immunity through times of ill health as it can boost vibrant health, support healing and helps with immunity. Tap around 20-30 times - if it is a little tender this is normal and generally means tapping is just what is needed. 😘

From Our Hearts to Yours...

Amanda and The Heart of Holistic Health Team 💙💙💙

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