The upcoming month of October is emotional wellness month, and we think it’s a great reason to take stock of ourselves, and how we are doing emotionally. After all, we do carry the weight of our emotions in our muscles and joints. We’d like to offer the following tips for staying relaxed and emotionally sound, even the most trying of times.
Breathe
Whether it is active meditation, or just slowing down and counting to 10… controlling the breath is an important element in one’s emotional state. If you find yourself getting stressed or extra emotional, a few deep breaths will help.
Move your body
Exercise, particularly when done outdoors in the fresh air, is very helpful to one’s emotional well being. Don’t think about this as “working out” if that is not your thing. I simple stroll on a nice afternoon will do wonders. Therapists in Japan are such big believers in this idea, that they often prescribe time in the forest to patients who are struggling with mood.
Be thankful
Perspective is the best medicine when feeling emotional. Take stock of the good things in your life and in the world at large. Realize that it could always be worse, and in fact much worse… so be thankful for the things that make you happy. In doing so, you establish a relationship with the “good” in life, and you can keep practicing thankfulness to strengthen that relationship.
Massage
Treat yourself to a massage if possible, to help alleviate some of the stress and emotions you may be carrying with you. We do indeed carry stress with us in our body, and that can result in poor posture, which results to pain, which in turn causes more stress… becoming a cycle. A massage therapist can help loosen your body and quite literally “work out” the stress from your muscles. Add this to your emotional care routine and it will do wonders.
We hope these tips have helped you. Be sure to care for yourself and others, and you will always find peace in that.