March Madness

It’s almost March: the season of spring fever and March Madness (not just the college basketball tournament.)

Anxiety and depression are beginning to plague our clients in a more acute way, and we see more clients who “just need a little stress relief.” While many of our treatments are recognized as a way to treat a variety of medical conditions, stress relief is still one of the most commonly recognized reasons to receive treatment.

What stress feels like: a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol; your heart rate increases, which can cause chest pain; muscles tighten which can lead to pinched nerves; blood pressure rises which can lead to damaged arteries and increase your risk of heart disease; your breath quickens and becomes shallow, robbing your body of oxygen.

What happens over time to your bod: a weakened immune system, intestinal problems, fatigue, irritability, and a whole heap of other health issues.

What happens over time to your life: seclusion, depression, and increased risk of unhealthy coping mechanisms (like drug and alcohol use.)

I’m getting anxious just thinking about it…

Of course, feel good treatments with Perpetuity Skin + Spa in Boise relieve stress. But what else can we do, on a daily or even hourly basis?

BREATHE. Daily occurrences like getting into your car, stopping at a light or hearing a cell phone bing can serve as reminders to stop and breathe deeply for a few moments. Deep, diaphragmatic breaths draw more oxygen into the body and naturally lower our heart rate. It’s also a tool massage therapists use with clients receiving deep tissue massage to bring oxygen into the muscles, which allows them to sink deeper into those stubborn knots and release them. Breathing is the unsung hero of stress management 😉

MOVE. Once you’ve become familiar with deep breathing, try to incorporate it into movement practices like going for a hike, yoga, dancing or running. Aside from the obvious health benefits of increased body movement, the combination of movement and deep breathing allows you to flow, letting your mind becomes blank and kinetic energy takes over your body, allowing a deeper connection to your internal energy. The more frequently you can connect to your internal energy source, the more you are able to control stress levels, instead of allowing them to control you. WIN WIN!

MEDITATE. Another stress management technique is meditation, sitting still in an attempt to calm the mind. If you haven’t done a lot of meditation, start small with 5 minutes of meditation in the morning while you sip your tea or coffee. It can be difficult to do if your mind tends to race, or if you live in a place with a lot of distractions. Nature bathing allows you to get outside of the distractions of city life and into the calm places of Earth like the forests, rivers, and beaches. If it’s rainy or too hot and the outdoors aren’t an ideal place to practice meditation, try putting on some headphones and playing some soothing instrumental music or nature sounds. A good long-term goal is 30 minutes of meditation, but even 5 minutes will make a profound difference in your day,

While we live to provide our clients the spa treatments best suited for their level of strife, there are many other resources available to maintain your healthy lifestyle between your time at Perpetuity Skin + Spa. Especially body work is a wonderful tool to use for treating the muscular issues caused by stress, but daily management techniques can reduce a number of other health conditions that result from stress taking over your life.

Take this moment to breathe deeply and imagine your body filling with light. As you exhale, imagine the stress leaving it like a dark cloud that dissipates into the atmosphere. Remember, while outside forces are often beyond our control, our inner peace is something we can master through practice.

You cannot love anyone more than you love yourself. You don’t have to spa day to get into the self love game, you can do it during a hike, on your floor with a yoga mat, or sitting in your car reminding yourself to just be, in Perpetuity.