When we’re stressed we forget to breathe properly and tense up, trapping our energy.  Calming stretches and deep breathing helps release the blocked energy so you can de-stress body, mind and spirit.  Here are five stretches and/or restorative poses that help calm your nervous system and help restore a sense of balance and peace.  Namaste. 

Cat Cow 

Cat/Cow while coordinating your breathing relieves stress and calms the mind.  It helps with flexibility to the spine, releases the back torso and neck, and softly stimulates the kidneys and adrenal glands. 

How to do it:  Start on your hands and knees with wrists directly under shoulders and your knees directly under hips. Point fingertips to the top of mat.  Place shins and knees hip-width apart and soften gaze downward.  Begin with cow by inhaling as you drop your bellow toward the mat and lift your chin and Chest and look up to ceiling.  Next, move into Cat pose, as you exhale, draw your belly up to your spine and round your back toward the ceiling.  Inhale, going to back into Cow pose and repeat 15-20 times.  

Downward dog.

Elongates cervical spine and helps relieve tension and trapped energy in body and head.  

How to do it: Get on your hands and knees with hands directly below your shoulders and knees directly below your hips. Spread your fingers wide and tuck your toes under. Inhale and lift your knees off the floor, pressing your hips up toward the ceiling. Draw your heels down to the floor or keep a slight bend in your knees. Press your hands firmly into the mat and draw your shoulder blades down. Keep the head between the arms (don’t let it hang). Take deep breaths the entire time.

Legs up the Wall 

This is a restorative pose that helps to reduce tension in your back, shoulders, and neck while promoting deep relaxation and rest for the nervous system.

How to do it:  Sit next to a wall with the right side of your body against the wall.  Lie on your back and swing your legs straight up the wall.  Scoot so your hips are up against the wall (or close to it) and legs are straight up the wall. Rest your arms in a comfortable position and remain in this resting pose for up to 10 minutes.  

Laying Spinal Twist 

Helps lengthen and release trapped energy in the spine.  Increases flexibility in hips and low back and stimulates digestive system.  

How to do it: Lie on your back and bring both knees in toward your chest. Bring your hands out to your sides and draw your knees up and over to your left side. Keeping your shoulder blades on the ground, rest your knees on top of one another. Take deep breaths the entire time. When changing sides (after holding for 30 seconds), make sure to use your core muscles to bring your legs back to center.

Standing Forward Fold With Shoulder Stretch

This pose helps to calm the brain, relieve stress, mild depression and reduces fatigue and anxiety as well as stimulates the liver and kidneys. 

How to do it: Stand with feet wider than shoulder-width apart and clasp your hands together behind you.  With hands clasped, fold forward from your hips and bring your chest toward your legs and head toward the floor, keeping your lower back flat as you move.  Lift your arms so they follow your head .  Hold for at least 5 deep breaths.  

(note, if you can’t clasp hands behind you, you can hold a strap or towel to bridge the gap.  If you have low back sensitivity, bend your knees slightly as you forward fold). 

When crisis hits, keeping a clear head is the hallmark of a good mental state.  But we don’t just automatically go there. A clear mind has to be a conscious decision — one that rejects fear and uncertainty in troubling times and instead focuses on gratitude for what is, on the eternal feelings of love and hope and the absolute knowing that you are doing everything in your power to keep yourself and your family safe and then letting go of what is beyond your control.  

Here are a few suggestions on how to get and maintain a clear head in times of crisis.  

1.  Manage your media diet.  Stay informed but do not consume news for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Opt for different sources of news other than TV  try not to make it the first thing you do in the morning. The news has a residual effect on your psyche that lasts hours.    Protect the start of your day, and therefore your whole mood, with more positive actions such as meditation or exercise or family pancakes from scratch. 

2. Protect your peace.  Don’t allow the barrage of speculation and negativity from news, friends or family.  Protect your peace of mind by drawing boundaries and changing the subject if talk isn’t productive.  

3.  Knowledge is power.   By this, we don’t mean news information. True power and a clear head comes from eliminating the unknown so be prepared and know what you would do if you did have an emergency.  Prepare a list of emergency phone numbers, know where your local Covid-19 test sites are, have a list of everyone’s medications on hand. Your mind will be clearer if you have a game plan.  

4.  Take care of yourself.  Self-care isn’t a trend.  It’s the catalyst for peace, for self-love and for good physical and mental health and clarity.  You’ve heard it a thousand times, but here’s 1001…  Eat whole foods, move your body, stretch, shower or bathe with beautiful products, meditate and get 7 or 8 hours of sleep a night, without question.  This is non-negotiable if you want clarity.   

5. Be present and remain positive.   The biggest fears are all “what-ifs.”  The biggest joy-stealers are “should haves.”  When you live focused on the past or what could go wrong in the future, you are not living in the present moment. Pull your awareness to your present moment. Don’t judge it… just observe.  Where are you standing? Are you safe?  Do you need anything at that moment?  What is good that you see or feel? What are you grateful for in the moment?  If you don’t currently meditate, this is the perfect time to begin. 

Let’s be real. With the amount of hand washing and rubbing and drying we are all participating in (gladly, mind you) our hands are feeling the effects and showing signs of dryness. Cue the moisturizer. But wait! Before you slather on the hydration, Is it safe to use moisturizers when you’re trying to keep hands clean? The answer, thankfully, is yes.  

Using a moisturizer after you wash is not only safe, it is a necessity to put moisture back into cracked skin. You can use our lush Body Butter for deeper hydration or one of our specialized Hand Creams to not only put back in essential moisture, but condition and nourish with naturally-derived ingredients that have an anti-aging, skin plumping effect.  

So sanitize, but make sure you use Hand Cream to moisturize. Instead of feeling hopelessly dry and irritated, your hands will feel loved, calm and happy and look that way too.