Tag: stress relief

Five things to do when stressed

emyminzel

There’s been a lot of wonderful things happening in my life lately. Several opportunities have popped into my world as if by magic asking me to level up the effort and intensity I put into certain affairs. I find the new challenges exciting, even invigorating at times, but the sheer volume of the information I have been trying to learn and the effort I need to exert chasing dreams has me losing sleep and feeling anxious.

My anxiety is revved up so high I have heart palpitations and it feels like if I had an electric outlet in my chest like Iron Man I could power a small city. For some reason this also makes me feel even more excited about these opportunities because as an Adventure Sister I love to face my fears by doing things that frighten me just enough.

I won’t let the fear of the unknown stop me from pursuing my dreams and goals or any opportunity that God hands me. I believe if its meant to be it will be. If not, maybe that direction is just the way I need travel to get where I need to be. Just because I don’t let fear stop me doesn’t mean I don’t suffer the side affects of it like anxiety or stress. What do I do with all this extra anxiety energy banging in my chest? How do I calm the cyclone of thoughts in my head? How do I simmer down enough to sleep or even relax?

Exercise: I go to the gym or take the dogs for walks as often as I possibly can when I am feeling anxious. If it were summer I would take the kayak out. Exercise really helps to calm my mind and then my body seems to catch on and the anxiety passes. When I move my body it’s like all the energy goes where it’s supposed to go, and I no longer feel super charged like Iron Man.

Music: Blast it, sing along with it, jam out to it, cry to it, get mad to it or do as I do. Dance and jump around the house like a dingo while I sing to the dogs and birds is just another way that lets me release tension that makes my eyelid twitch. Music is therapy for you mind, body and soul.

Creating art: I’m talking any kind of art, craft or activity at all, working with your hands takes your mind off things. Scrapbook, make a vison board, I feel that making homemade soup or baking can be considered art. I love taking time out of life to get to enjoy making a yummy healthy soup that helps heal me from the inside out. I also like to write, but not always something like a blog or chapter, sometimes just escaping into making a manifestation list at the full moon is exactly what I need. Use your creativity.

Read: I find reading is a great distraction from the real world when you need a time out. I gobble up books as fast as I can when I have free time, I even buy books I don’t have time to read. I read at the gym, in the car or any time I just need to unwind and slow down the over active mental cartwheels keeping me wound up and anxious. Getting lost in a good story helps every time.

Friends, Family and pets: The very most important thing that I do when I am feeling stressed out and anxious is call on my closest friends for support. Having a friend or family member to talk about your thoughts and concerns helps you process emotions, releasing stress by talking about it can help you feel better. It eases my mind when I know that no matter how challenging life might be right now they have my back and are there for me. Somedays nothing tops cuddles from my dogs.

Wine: I will not lie, it is not the healthiest coping mechanism that a girl can use but I do have glass or two of wine in the evening because it helps me relax and fall to sleep. Maybe even a glass in the bathtub sound fabulous.  I don’t recommend it every night yet I do not judge, some doctors say a glass or two a night is A-Okay, so I won’t argue with that! Enjoying it with friends is even better. Tea is good too.

When I feel supported it helps me view these challenges as opportunities to level up and be the person I want to be. It helps me feel that even if things don’t turn out as I might like, I know that I will still be okay because I have my family and friends who love me for me. I think to myself “What’s the worst that could happen? If I try and fail I still have this wonderful life… If I do not try I will always wonder; “what if?” As an Adventure Sister think I would rather tell you what happened after I tried.

As I choose to pursue my goals I see stress is just component of the journey. I choose to be kind to myself and remember to relax a little. I must remember to enjoy the in between of here and there as much as I possibly can. By taking short time outs to rest my soul, ground myself, and be in the present moment it helps keep things in perspective. I remind myself each day bring my goals closer as I continue to put one foot in front of the other, with a glass of wine in my hand of course. Cheers!

Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@emyminzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

Just Dance!

emyminzel

It seems to me, somehow life snuck up on me and I got older, my gray hair is showing, the laugh lines around my eyes seem to stretch out further every year. My body acts differently then I am used to, but it still works fine and for that I am thankful. I love the person who I have grown into, my views on growing older have changed since you know, now I am old. The best part of growing older is learning who you really are inside and being confident to stand up for yourself and your beliefs. This may be just my opinion, but I really am enjoying the journey into midlife. I am in my early forties and I am finally able to really embrace the uniqueness that makes me; me.

I had a random thought that moved me to write about a topic that I haven’t participated in since the last wedding I attended. Dancing! I have found one thing I do not enjoy about growing older is the lack of dancing. I love, love, love to dance and now that I am too old to go clubbing on the weekends and attending concerts is difficult because ticket prices have gone astronomically crazy since ‘back in my day’. (Insert old fart saying here) So… it got me wondering, how do I keep the music alive?

I love to jam out, let my soul get all tangled up in the music so it moves me until my hair is wet with sweat, I am out of breath and need to rest before I can start dancing some more. Now the only time I work up a sweat is when its summer, I am in the garden or I am on the treadmill. That’s not okay with me. I need to figure out how to find the right atmosphere for shaking my tush because that’s something I still like to do!

There are plenty of people much older then I, who enjoy or even compete in swing dance or any kind of dance they prefer. Why is it that I can’t seem to find the right venue, time or people to want to dance with? I used to run with a fun rowdy crowd that loved to find local bands or concerts where we could go dance and have tons of fun. This no longer happens because they are older too, kids, jobs, time, good excuses but still excuses not to dance!

Dancing is not a priority in most peoples lives, there are plenty of things that top the list for good reason. I am finding after years of not dancing until there is a wedding it seems there’s no longer opportunities to dance in my adulthood, and this has bummed me out. Dancing is good for your body mind and spirit connection! It is scientifically proven that our bodies and brains react to the music in positive ways and we all know we need more exercise. I find it almost impossible to be cranky when I am dancing don’t you? This may be why I crave it so much???

I think it makes sense to dance MORE when we age so we can add more joy, music, exercise and entertainment to our lives, because this is when we need it the most! Growing older is not a bad thing, we just tend to be more in our heads then our bodies. Just thought I’d let you in on that secret. We don’t have to give up everything we enjoyed because now we are adults. So, don’t believe the hype if that’s what you’ve heard. It’s more than okay to still shake ya rump even if your over forty.

At times when I find I don’t have to have anyone to dance with my husband doesn’t dance, and my girlfriends are busy. I just remind myself “You can’t make others do something they don’t want to do!” that doesn’t stop me from wanting to dance! I choose to take full responsibility to fulfill this need in myself. I choose to take the opportunities of alone time that I am blessed with to turn up the Bose radio and get down in the living room/kitchen at any random time, or even while I am tidying around the house. Because why not?!

Dancing relieves stress, the music pumps up your chakras and basically flips on your happy switch. Its hard to misunderstand, bicker or argue with others when you are dancing,  because dancing unites us and brings all walks of life together. I believe there is power in letting loose and dancing so I am bucking the norm’s of aging letting my freak flag fly and choosing to shake my badonkadonk and rock out right here in the kitchen.

I chose to dance any chance I can get. In fact, There’s a dance party for one in my house today! I hope you find time to let your hair down in the way that brings you joy!

OOOhhhh HOOoooo shut up and dance with me!

Here is a link to a song that never fails to get me moving, I hope it helps you too!

https://youtu.be/6JCLY0Rlx6Q

Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@emyminzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

How do we honor our inner child?

emyminzel

I am continuing the conversation of honoring different aspect of our personalities that we may not like to acknowledge. The inner child is one part of my personally that intrigues me, maybe because mine seems to be asking a lot of me lately. It demands I spend time doing things that I love, not just the things that the adult part of me thinks need to be done. Like work, laundry, dishes, and other insanely boring chores of life that seem to steal my precious time, keeping me preoccupied with monotony. In short, lately I have found being an ‘adult” alllll the time is horrifically boring!!! This is when I feel the tug of my inner child the most. She seems to say day after day, “Girl, there’s gotta be more to life then this! Let’s go find it!”

“Heck yes. Let’s do this!” I, answer back to that little girl who just wants to have fun.

Then my adult voices says; “Mmmmhmmm sure, right after you vacuum.”

Gah!!!! Round and round we go, match for match, day after day. Until somethings gotta give. It’s odd to talk about playing as an adult, is it not? The adventures I have experienced with my soul sister Stacy in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area have let me feel free enough to remember how to play again. Is it only me? Or do you have days when wearing this adult version of my meat suit/body feels just plain weird?

My body gets older, my hair is graying, and there are life lines around my eyes. Yet there are times I feel so honestly inquisitive, full of love and trusting of life that I can feel the innocence of my childlike soul still shining inside. It makes me feel like playing outside, letting my hair down, and getting creative. At times I yearn to belly laugh until it’s hard to breathe and my face hurts.  Surely this is not too much to ask for?! As Stacy likes to tell me “I make the rules for MY life!”

I like the way you think sister friend. So, this is the new rule. I choose to listen to the little voice calling, I will call her my ‘inner child’ because it seems fitting. I will honor her needs because she is part of me, the best part if you really think about it. The innocence you once had as a child is still in you, it is where your hope lives. You cannot deny the importance of hope!  This is the part of us that if nurtured, will ensure we make the world a kinder place. There is no fear or violence in hope or innocent children, this part still lives in you and we can choose to nurture it.

I do this by adding play and whimsy to my life, in simple ways. I love to write, it feels like creating art and allows me to express myself. When I am with friends and family we like to play board games or interactive games at gatherings, bowling or hiking. It brings us all together to ‘play’ and build relationships with occasional team building skills mixed in. If I am by myself I might embrace the feminine part of my inner child and get girly. I will give myself a pedicure, or a facial, put on a hydrating mask and fully embrace the beauty rituals I use that make me feel good.

When in the Boundary Waters Stacy and I take blow up inner tubes put them around our waist or sit in them and float in the sun giggling and chattering away like best girlfriends do at any age. We would go ‘exploring’ in the forest on trails, hop in the canoe to find what we haven’t seen before just for the sake of pleasing our curious inner child. We often find the beauty in the simple things the Universe offers noticing the wonder of how moss can look like a teeny tiny forest all its own.

I might choose to go outside and play in the garden, well not today, its January in Minnesota. I can plan; scratch that… ‘plan’ sounds too much like work… In the winter I love to take the opportunity to dream and create a beautiful new garden lay out. I love to use color pencils and draw where the plants might go so I can visualize it. I love how each year is different and gives me the ability to get whimsical by using my artistic creativity in a fun playful way.

If I change the way I think about things, the things I think about change. I find how I feel about things is all in the attitude I bring to them. I don’t just have a garden that I must weed. I choose to see and enjoy my garden as a continuous work of art, the effort I put into it or not shows. Isn’t that true of all relationships? Even the relationships we have with ourselves?

If we choose to not nurture any part of ourselves, or relationships we cannot fully enjoy life’s offerings or its many infinite destinies. Why would fun show up for us if we are not able to embrace the richness it brings to our lives? Why deny any parts of yourself by not recognize the vulnerable part of you that needs to be heard, seen or validated in any aspect of your personality?

Aren’t the neediest parts of you the loudest and hardest to ignore anyways? Just possibly could these be the parts of ourselves that cause us to act out as not our best-self, causing unnecessary drama when you ignore it for too long? What if we tried to sooth that inner child, fulfill its needs, so we can move on from these triggers?

What’s the worst that could happen if you looked these tendencies right in the eye and asked. “What do you REALLY mean by that feeling? What do you really need?”

What if you had the courage to wait and listen to the answer? Oh boy! How exciting it could be to find out what it is you truly want and need! After all, you’re an adult now and you get to make the rules for your life. As an adult give yourself permission to admit when we just need a hug, admit when you need to feel validated and heard. It is okay to speak up when we aren’t feeling loved in a way that you can comprehend, or even if you need some attention. Your inner child is part of you, to deny it is to deny yourself.

What does your inner child ask from you? Is it to come out and play or is it demanding more? The inner child in you has plenty of hope and courage for today and the future. I can hear them calling, I know you can too. I’d love to hear your thoughts on inner child work. Feel free to comment below!

Wishing you and abundance of Love, Laughter, and Blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stop and smell the flowers…

emyminzel

I recently came down with a doozy of a cold, the day I felt it coming on, I started taking a homeopathic remedy containing zinc that were rapid melt tabs. It was supposed to lessen the severity and duration of my illness. But what it did was rob me of my sense of smell completely for a week now and I am still not smelling the same as I once did. This over the counter remedy has had FDA recalls on some of this company’s products for this exact reason, although I did not know this until it happened to me of course. After a google search I learned over load of zinc in your body can steal your smell and taste sometimes forever! There are lawsuits against the manufacture that claims these products are safe when they can harm you for a lifetime.

Today I sense some of my smell working slightly, I was able to smell strong odors finally and I was ecstatic about it. I had taken my nose for granted, not understanding or appreciating its function and the depth it adds to my life. When you cannot smell your sense of taste is severely diminished, I love to cook, and I really love to eat, I find contentment in my kitchen. Can you imagine what it would be like to love the smell of your fresh brewed coffee in the morning and when you go to pour a cup you don’t smell a thing and the taste is bitter and blah. Just like that, one of my favorite rituals was snatched away because I took an over the counter medication that was supposed to help me. I feel duped and livid all at the same time.

I used to think “Oh man, it would be terrible to be deaf or blind.” And it really would be! I never once thought of how I would feel if I could not smell or taste. Here I am telling you what it’s like, it’s also awful. I do not get to sniff my husband and tell him he smells like home. I do not get to smell coffee, bacon, essential oils I love to use or even the smell of my beautiful daughter. I would miss the smell of clean clothes fresh out of the dryer, soup simmering on the stove, smoke from the wood stove or smoke if the house was on fire for that matter. I also wouldn’t be able to enjoy the perfume I just got for Christmas. Or Christmas cookies, I can tell they are sweet but that is it, I do not taste the creamy peanut butter and chocolate in them only the taste of sweet. So sad. If there were a gas leak or fire I would not be able to tell or if I stink to high heaven I would not know. That is horrifying.

I feel lucky that I sense some of my olfactory coming back to life. I am very hopeful that this is temporary, and my body knows how to fix what I broke. Until this happened I never thought once about the richness the sense of smell brings to my life, have you? Sure, I wouldn’t have to smell bad things, but that also means I could not tell if my food was spoiled or if I stepped in dog poop either. Here is my cautionary tale, please be careful of the things you put into your body even if it says homeopathic or natural. Research it first! As my husband likes to remind me “arsenic is organic too, that doesn’t make it safe.”

Quiet Time

emyminzel

It’s no secret that I am a person who likes my down time. I have been known to turn into a hermit a least a couple times a year, hibernating like my bear spirit animal during winter. I also like to do this in micro bits of time every day. You know, check out of real life for a bit, put down the phone, turn off the tv, and just be. I can’t do this often, but I found the more I do, the better person I am. I don’t get as fussy about things that irritate me, because during my quite time I am able to process what’s really bugging me.

I believe quiet time is essential for everyone and it gives us time to ask ourselves just what is it that we need. What do we want? If something is bugging me, how can I fix it? It gives us time to clear our minds, or if you’re anything like me, quiet time allows the crazy in my melon to puzzle that shit together so I can move forward with a thoughtful plan of action instead of wandering around my life reacting to the day I face. Time for reflection helps me check my attitude, after all it is up to me who I want to be today. Sure, I can be a grumpy Gus, but acting like so won’t make me feel better or anyone else I encounter. I can choose to be a better person than I was yesterday. To me it’s like quiet time gives me magical powers, giving me time to count my blessings, put my big girl britches on and carpe diem.

I remember one of the most difficult journeys I’ve taken on foot was to Fourtown Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. My fellow Adventure Sister and I were naïve about the BWCA and we had overpacked, lugging five hefty portage packs and a canoe, while underestimating the difficulty of the portages. It took us a great deal longer than expected to get halfway to our original destination. Try as we may we could not find one of the portage paths heading to the next lake we wanted to get to. We were frustrated, unprepared, starving, and dehydrated. The sun was tipping well over to the other side of the world, and we had started before it came up. My Adventure Sister and I were exhausted. Mentally and physically we were being pushed to our limits. When we decided to give up the search for the portage we were seeking so we could finally rest, it only took us a short while to find an open campsite.

As soon as I saw that we would finally be able to stop going and going and going some more, my eyes burst into tears, an automatic response to relief my body so desperately needed. Stacy and I ended up staying at the same campsite the whole stay because we were both too sore to pack up and move. We had to soak our flaring aches in the cold lake, and rest to fight off the exhaustion before we became sick with colds too. We spent a great deal of time, doing nothing but recuperating in the beauty of the forest out of necessity. It was not how we expected our voyage to go, but hey, we were calling for adventure and we had an amazing time we will not forget.

Isn’t it funny how we can push ourselves and our bodies to the point of sickness, past the point of uncomfortable right into pain? Yet it just keeps on going, doing what you ask it to do, even if it doesn’t want too. Isn’t that what we tend to do in our daily lives, just on a less acute scale. Why must we wait for the pain of stress to take care of ourselves is it really that hard? We take care of others with ease, yet when it comes to nurturing ourselves we decide to be stubborn and ‘tough it out’ putting ourselves last.

I am blessed to work from home, yet I am not immune from stress and family life. In reality, I hardly have any quite time to just myself, I’m busy running the show. When that happens for too long it gets me easily irritated at the silliest things. I find when I am not able to just sit with a cup of coffee in silence and have the world to myself for just even a half hour that I get grumpy. Its seems every little sound, conversation, television noise, microwave dinging, it all just pisses me right off. Let’s just say I am not my best self when I am not able to check in with myself, by checking out for just a bit.

My point is to help you remember even in this busy holiday season, take care of yourself too. Your body, your spirit and your family will thank you because you will be your best self. Ask yourself every day ‘What will make me feel good today?’ then do it. It is not selfish to do what it takes to take care of you. Quite time is an essential part of that for me, the older I get, the more I embrace it. It can be hard at times to ‘fit me in’ the schedule but the moment I start feeling anxious or irritable I know I better listen. I seek nature and the sound of silence as my retreat. I will not judge your way of reconnecting, I just wanted to remind you how important is for you to go there.