Stressed Out: Biofeedback for Relief

Stressed out, overly busy, constant worrying about the bills, sleepless or restless nights: This is a common state of affairs for many people nowadays. If you watch the news, it doesn’t look like things are getting any better.

But right here and now, you are sitting and reading this post; and everything is fine. Your mindset, the focus of your thoughts are what will either create stress, or relieve it. It’s your choice.

Stress isn’t just an annoying thought. It affects your emotions, and changes your body’s physiology. Over 90% of visits to doctors have been attributed to stress and its affect on your mood and your health. It can lead to chronic diseases such as hypertension, Heart Disease, Diabetes, asthma, skin disorders and even overweight. You name it, stress makes it worse.

Doctors will tell you to get exercise, and try to relax. But for most people, stress relief is just another “have to do” activity that rarely gets put into action. The longer you try to ignore stress in your life, the worse the impact will be on your body. Little annoying stiff shoulders eventually become “frozen”; headaches become migraines; stomach aches can become ulcers.

Effective stress relief doesn’t even take a lot of time. You can do it in as little as two minutes a few times a day to have a positive impact on your life and health.

The less time you have, the more you NEED to do stress relief.

Most people need reminders to remember to include stress relief in their daily schedule. If you have an smart phone, or you work at a computer all day, there are ways to send yourself alerts to remember to stop your activity, and take a break. During that time, getting up from your chair, doing a few muscle stretches, focusing on your breath, and thinking about gratitude can be done very quickly. But if you can take more than 2 minutes, the effects will be even stronger.

My practice includes using HeartMath’s tools for stress relief. Their newest biofeedback type of device is called Inner Balance, an App you can use it on your iphone or ipad.

I’ve been a HeartMath Coach since 2000, and have watched as their programs have changed and improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals, and been incorporated into Fortune 100 companies, hospitals and government agencies.

But for me the most valued change is when my clients tell me how much calmer and more present they are in their daily lives. They sleep better at night, don’t find themselves reaching for comfort food and expanding their waistlines. My business clients are able to calm themselves before networking, or making public presentations.

I learned about HeartMath for my own needs. My heart was pounding, and it was very frightening. I thought, I’m getting heart disease! But it was from stress. Yes, life can be stressful for coaches too!

I sit at my computer and use the EmWave Desktop because I’m so often working there, and can use the break. But when I’m away, my emWave2, which is smaller than my iphone worked out really well. But now, well, Heartmath has done it again with an amazing app for the iphone. It’s so well designed and beautiful – and of course, its accuracy is unparalleled in any other similar device.

But the most important thing is to link your practice to reminders. Because you’ll just let the time go by without doing it – unless you schedule your stress relief, and make it an enjoyable habit that improves your mood, your outlook, your health. And when you feel that way, it’s contagious to others.

Check it out – and let’s work together to bring down YOUR stress level! Contact me to set up a strategy session to determine what type of stress, and what type of relief program would work best for your needs. You’ll be amazed at how much better your life is when that stress is relieved!