Today I wanted to share with you my 5 favourite methods to relieve stress. We have talked at length about our bodies storing and carrying stress and trauma and how it can affect our thyroid and immune system. And knowing that this is what’s happening is the beginning of the change process! Awareness is the first step, but now is the time to get off our bums and actually do something about it.
We release the stress stuck in our bodies through various body-centred techniques. By moving the body. Reconnecting. Applying pressure. Stretching. We remove emotion and stress from the body using the body, not our thinking brain.
1. Jumping, Shaking and Dancing
The best way to start a day is by jumping around in the kitchen, shaking your arms and legs pretending like you’ve been possessed by some voodoo doll enthusiast.
You can also try QiGong to move that stagnant energy around and clear some blockages.
Do it every morning for 5 minutes and tell me how you’re feeling after two weeks. There are various more advanced trauma release techniques (i.e. TRE), but just jumping and shaking will make a difference!
2. Myofascial Release
Fascia is a connective tissue, forming a matrix throughout our body, around our organs, muscles, joints, bones, and nerve fibres.
It stores all sorts of stresses and trauma, physically changing, becoming drier and harder. Myofascial release works wonders to free some of it up.
You can, of course, try a professional massage, or get yourself a foam roller or a lacrosse ball and get rollin’.
3. Meridian Therapy
Tapping on acupoints (meridian points) stimulates the energy flow and helps us clear blockages that can manifest as physical/ mental/ emotional symptoms.
This is one of the most effective emotion release techniques I have tried, based on the TCM meridian energy system (same principle as acupuncture).
I have developed a unique and highly effective technique called Thyroid Focused Emotion Release, rooted in meridian therapy, breathwork and Rapid Resolution Therapy modalities. Once a year over summer, I run an event when I run a group emotion release session (normally reserved for clients of my longer programmes). And this exciting time is coming up again! You can now join the waiting list for my 3-day event Thyroid Calm 21-day, where I will teach you how to tap & breathe for thyroid-related traumas and chronic stress. Can’t wait to share it with you!
4. Breath work
Ah, the wonders of breathing will never cease to amaze me. After a stressful event, we can hold a lot of tension in diaphragmatic area. Breathing helps us release that.
There are various breathwork techniques you can try at home, I teach Coherent, Heart Centred breathing that helps you increase your HRV and increase stress resilience. I am also a huge fan of hypoxic breathing (breath holds), which works absolute wonders for immunity and nervous system regulation.
During my Thyroid Calm mini-course I will teach you different breathing techniques so you can add those powerful tools to your daily routines and bring anxiety levels down, sleep better and give you a so-very-needed energy boost!
5. Yin Yoga
Relaxation Station. One of the most restful types of yoga, where we hold poses for extended periods of time allowing all the tensions to literally melt away. Yin Yoga is fantastic for trauma and stress trapped in the hip area (linked with relationships, pleasure, sexuality and creativity), reconnecting with the body and nervous system regulation.
Pick one method (or more) and start incorporating it into your day-to-day routines, and tell me how it worked for you. And if this subject resonates with you check out my 3-day mini course Thyroid Calm.