Tool No. 1:
Take 15 Minutes
Bodzak suggests taking 15
minutes in the morning to “fi ll your own
cup fi rst.” Her practice is to have some tea,
meditate, then go on a walk through her
neighborhood. Your own personal routine
could include reading a favorite blog or
journaling, “but make that walk a thing,
even if it’s just 10 minutes,” Bodzak says.
“The sunshine does wonders for your
health and sanity, and taking that time
for yourself fi rst thing in the morning
gives you extra bandwidth for the day.”
For Bodzak, meditation and mindful-
ness are like a daily vitamin. She encour-
ages meditating for fi ve minutes a day,
even while you’re still in bed. Numerous
experiments have shown that the practice
reduces anxiety, lowers levels of stress
hormones, and improves attention and cog-
nition. If you’re just starting out, there are
many good resources, such as the guided
tutorial on the UCLA Mindful Awareness
Research Center website, marc.ucla.edu.
In an article in Real Simple, Diana
Winston, director of Mindfulness
Education at the UCLA research center,H
ave you ever noticed your pulse accelerate when
you do something as mundane as watching the
news? In an automatic response to perceived
danger, the body fl oods with hormones and elevates the
heart rate, boosting our energy in preparation for “fi ght
or fl ight.” These days, some of us fi nd our bodies’ alarm
systems going off all the time, which can lead to serious
health consequences.
“Stress relief isn’t optional anymore, it’s a necessity,”
says Cassandra Bodzak, a holistic lifestyle expert, meditation
and wellness teacher, and TV personality. “Consider
creating a foundational support system for your life.
If you don’t have a way to relieve stress, whether it’s
national or personal, it’s so easy to crumble.” The following
tools can help us create that system.explains that the simple act of taking
a deep breath has been scientifi cally
proven to help curb anxiety and refocus
our attention. “That’s important,” she
says, “because dwelling on negative
emotions only pushes us further into
sadness and despair.” She also suggests
practicing mindful breathing at least
fi ve minutes a day. “Once you get used to
it,” she says, “you can use the technique
whenever you need it.”
Practicing gratitude is also advanta-
geous. “There is some neuroscience around
the idea that people can’t have fear and
gratitude in their minds at the same time,”
Winston says. Try calling a loved one
to express appreciation for that person,
writing down things you’re thankful for, or
just being aware of time spent with your
favorite people.Tool No. 2:
Stop Eating Stress-
Inducing Foods
This is the cardinal component of the
body’s ability to deal with stress. A
strong, healthy body is less aff ected by
stressors than a weak one.SEPTEMBER 2017 (^) • 39