Lower Stress & Improve Immune Health
Stress & the Immune System.
Believe it or not, these two go hand-in-hand. Stress & fear are immunosuppressants, meaning they turn off the optimal functioning of our immune system. In any period of time that provides both a challenge to our stress levels and immune system, we need to focus some extra attention on self-care.
As I often talk about, this entails a focus on the six foundation principles: Moving, Thinking, Breathing, Nutrition, Hydration, Sleep.
I invite you to make one conscious effort on each of those each and every day.
What are some tools that we can use to lower our stress? Here are a few:
Walking
Meditation
Reading
Writing
Creation (Painting, drawing, etc.)
Yoga
Gratitude Practice
Tai Chi
If you are interested in adding the 37 strategies to your toolbox that I outline in my short E-book, you can do so here.
Four ways we can boost our Immunity
STRESS RELIEF: As we just discussed, the immune system is set up to fail as long as it is in a state of stress. The first objective here is to de-stress by switching the body from the sympathetic (fight or flight mode) to the Parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system using the practices above.
SLEEP: Sleep is hands down the best free medicine we have available. This is where nearly all of our repairs take place within the body. Prioritize your sleep. Make it one of the most important tasks of the day and you will see a noticeable shift in your overall health rather quickly.
FOOD: This is the fuel that our body runs on. Quality input = quality output. Poor fuel = poor health & scarce longevity. By adding superfoods and adaptogens to our diet, we are priming the system to run at an optimal level. A superfood simply means a highly nutrient-dense food; many nutrients per calorie. Adaptogens are one of nature's most incredible creations. I think of them as a skeleton key. They can open just about any lock that is needed. Adaptogens, as the name may suggest, adapt to the body's changing environment to help bring the body back to homeostasis (balance). Adding more quality. adaptogens is a sure way to get the immune system regulated properly. Learn more about superfoods and adaptogens here. This is also a great option now as these are delivered directly to your doorstep. Please reach out to me via email or on Instagram (@wholehealthconnections) for any specific immune boosters you may be looking for.
PERSPECTIVE: At the end of the day, there is very little we can do to change our external environment. We do, however, have absolute control over our inner environment. How are we going to respond to these events? How are we going to CHOOSE to react? Are we going to choose to utilize this time for personal growth and connection with loved ones? Or are we going to react with fear and stress? Who is that going to help if we choose the latter? Let's all make a conscious effort to make the most out of this situation, no matter how grim it may seem. As the saying goes, it's always darkest before dawn. Let us be the light that the world needs. Do one small action daily that makes the world a better place. And if we all just do that, pretty soon there will be 7 Billion little lights piercing through the darkness.
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Thanks for tuning in!