Stress Awareness Day falls on the first Wednesday in November; this year, it’s today, Wednesday, 2nd November 2022.
Mediation and Mindfulness
Taking part in meditation and mindfulness exercises can really help your physical and mental well-being.
Yoga is all about breathing, meditation and relaxing techniques.
Stress can present itself in many ways; most of the time, the tension is built up in our minds or our bodies. Yoga encourages mental and physical relaxation, which helps reduce stress and anxiety.
Hotpod Yoga Northwich has regular classes where a teacher guides you through a series of flows, a sequence of postures, that are done in tune with your breathing.
A crucial component of yoga is being conscious of how your body moves and feels, and some people find that this can help them develop a sense of self-awareness.
Hotpod Yoga has a ‘Nurturing Flow’ session, which is a deeper, slower and more restorative class. Designed with a calmer tempo, combining passive and meditative postures, combined with the signature Hotpod heat of 37 degrees, will leave your body gently worked and your mind relaxed and calm. These classes also give you time away from stress, allowing you to process it and feel more in control.
A calmer mind will help you sleep better, allowing you to manage stress better.
Hotpod Yoga is doing £1 yoga in November! For anyone who wants to try out classes, you can for just £1.
Just give it a try; your mind and body will thank you for it!
Speak to Minna and her team to find out more: Hotpod Yoga Facebook.
The Power of Animals
Nothing compared to the joy of seeing animals. Spending time with pets can lower your blood pressure in stressful situations. They can make us feel less lonely, and they boost our mood!
Even staring at a Fish tank has an incredible effect on the body. It can almost send us into a hypnotic state, calming us down.
Now we know not everyone has their own pet to spend time with, so we spoke with Firthfield Pet Store.
Firthfield has fish, rabbits, birds, a parrot, snakes and more in store!
They are more than happy for people to come in and see the animals if they need something to brighten their day.
The Core
Stress, sadly, can cause weight gain. Weight gain can make you feel upset, overwhelmed, and angry and affect you in a very negative way mentally.
Nutrition plays a massive part in our mental health. You might feel tired, irritable, and depressed when your blood sugar drops.
Making sure your cells have the right balance of nutrients and water in the right quantities gives a feel-good factor that positively impacts in many areas of life.
The Core are here to help!
The Core are a nutrition-focused club to enable people to get real results.
John and his members have kindly shared their stories to hopefully give you insight and inspiration.
“I struggled massively in November last year; my mental health spiralled out of control. This was down to work stress, the stress of a child/young adult with special educational needs at home swell as looking after my disabled mum.
I wasn’t sleeping and my actual health really deteriorated; high blood pressure, cholesterol, achy joints and in time, depression and anxiety.
I saw a post and joined the club! I was a shaking mess, couldn’t breathe and was hot and sweaty. I longed to be able to get out and about to help my anxiety and to see if it could impact my overall health.
I have been part of the club since June, and wow my cholesterol is within normal range, my blood pressure has lowered, and the pain in my joints is 100% better.
The people are welcoming, and there is someone to talk to I believe from the bottom of my heart, this has been my lifesaver.”
“My mental health has not been great for about 10 years ever since my wife and I had a miscarriage.
I was sceptical about The Core at first and tried to get out of it, saying I couldn’t get to the club 3 times a week due to work. The fantastic supportive guys at The Core talked me into doing it from home. The home course worked, and in a short space of time, I felt better about myself. I even started going swimming (not far from The Core), proving I was making excuses which had no standing.
I am now a fully-fledged member! The support from both online and in The Core has been amazing. I am now walking to The Core 3 times a week at 6 am to have my breakfast shake before going for a 30-minute swim.
I still have the occasional ‘black dog day’ where I feel like my head is trying to take me back to a dark place; however, the nutritional benefit of The Core is giving me the physical and mental strength to know those moments will pass.”
“I was unaware at the start of this process how much Nutrition plated a part of our mental health. All I knew was how I was when I started and how I began to feel throughout the process.
7 months into the health improvements, I felt able to remove the medication I was on and thankfully have remained off them since.”
“I was in a bad place with work, and I didn’t really want to be here. I thought this needs to change; I can’t carry on doing this.
I saw a friend’s post on Facebook, and I thought right this is what I need to do. I walked through the doors to The Core, a shaking mess. I spoke to Pip, my lovely guide; we did the evaluation and talked about what I wanted from this and more than anything, it was to be in a better head space. I went home to think about it and came back the next day with the determination that ‘this was it; this is what I was going to do’.
I’m 13 weeks in now, and I feel amazing; I can’t believe how well I feel; the support and the love is just out of this world.”
We spoke to Sam, who has been on an incredible journey.
When she started at The Core, she sat in the corner of the room, not wanting to engage with anyone. COVID had a horrible impact on her mental health and weight.
Slowly she gained more confidence and found that many people were going through the same anxiety and stress as her.
Sam has found her second home with a group of unbelievably supportive people and she is now training to be a guide here at The Core.
Speak to John and his team to find out more: The Core Facebook.
Move your body
Walking is a great way to improve your overall health. Just a 30-minute walk can boost your energy and mood.
Endorphins are also known to reduce our stress levels. Spending more time in nature can also help to quiet the mind.
Spending time on yourself and doing something enjoyable for yourself can be enough to make you feel energised and more focused on daily life.
