That’s exactly what I had this past weekend. My name is Doreen Jattan and I am co-owner of Roman Paradigm Massage in San Jose.

As a massage therapist and body worker, I’m always preaching to my massage clients that it’s very important to take care of not only your body but your mind and soul. Stress is one of the most slow and tacit enemy to our health. Everyone has stress. Some stress is good but most of it is bad. Good stress as our society refers to are events like weddings, child birth, planning a meal or making time for errands and getting caught on things. This is felt by everyone but the bad stress is what we have to look out for. And as a massage therapist I should know this, but I can lose sight. Here is my article to you.

Bad stress is common in individuals who suffer from life-threatening illness, divorce, or other crisis. These stressful events affect our health to many degrees which can lead us to depression. It does not matter if you have good stress or bad stress, our body will react to it almost the same. Stress triggers changes in our bodies. Research show that individuals with extreme amount of stress are more than likely to get sick. If they already have a sickness, it’s more likely that it will get worst.

As your body registers the Flight/Fight response; your sympathetic system kicks in releasing stress hormones. With this stress hormone released, your heart rate increases, digestion slows down, and you tend to sweat more to name just a few” stated by Lori Metroka PT of Replenishing Soul in Los Gatos. Her partner Dorothy Lizak mentioned that the opposite is true when it comes to your parasympathetic system, Rest & Digest-stimulates digestion and metabolism. It also releases the tissue building hormone. This is the mindset we all should be in.

I learned from these ladies the 3 crucial rules of stress:

1. If you repeatedly turn on a stress response, your body will be damaged.

2. If you can’t turn off a stress response for prolonged periods of time, your body will be damaged.

3. Chronic stress both increases risk of disease and weakens the body’s defenses to fight diseases.

I’m pretty sure by now, you have already identified where you stand with the level of stress you have in your life. Let’s talk about what I discovered and what I can help you discover.

When I took two and half days off this past weekend and drove up to Capitola where I stayed in a small cottage surrounded with nature and water, I felt at ease. At first I kept thinking, what if a client wants to get in tomorrow? Will Ms. Super Aeriol save the day? It took almost half the day before I realized that I took time off to RELAX and untwine my mind and body. Once I turned off my phone, it became easier. It became even easier when I realized that I left the power cord to my laptop back at the office so I can’t check my emails either. (Guess what I did? I wrote with a pen and a paper.)

When was the last time you set down and just wrote something meaningful? Walking on the beach in the chilly morning and later laying in the sun on the same beach was much needed. A glass of wine (ok we finished a bottle. It’s okay once in a while. Red wine does have anti-oxidant, at least that’s my excuse), nice meal and someone to share that moment with was just what I needed but I didn’t know it until the next day. I felt GREAT. I wrote few letters to friends and clients. I appreciated the things I have in life and just started living my life if nothing is stressing me out. It did wonders.

It’s shown that women tend to carry more stress than men. Don’t let stress make you sick. Why listen to your body; it really knows when it’s stressed out. Here are few things you can do to keep your stress level down:

• RELAX. No, it’s really not that hard to relax. 10-20 minutes a day. Find somewhere with peace and quiet where you can sit or lay down and just breathe.We all take breathing for granted.Next time you are alone in your car, turn off the music, park under a tree, roll down the window, and close your eyes.Avoid breathing into your chest. Take a deep breath into your belly for about 6 seconds. Let it marinate for 3 seconds and slowly let it out for another 6 seconds. Repeat this as many times as you can.Feel your body relaxing. Simple and doable. No trip to Capitola needed here. Just few minutes a day everyday for you only. Be selfish with this time. It’s okay to be.If you needed permission, well here you have it.

• SLEEP: Sleeping is so needed for your brain to get all the oxygen so you can perform your best.Try getting a good seven hours of sleep a night.Getting proper amount of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) can improve your energy the next day.

• Start Moving & Eating Right. You may not believe it but doing a little bit of exercise is really good for you. The endorphins released before and after a workout improve your mood and decreases stress. Proper foods fuel your brains. Fruits, vegetables, and protein and whole-grains are great source. Stay away from caffeine and sugar.

• Hobbies: Get a hobby to keep yourself busy. Talk to friends. Seek out a professional if you need to. I did for couple of years. Plan your time so you don’t feel rushed. Try doing some volunteer work. Try not to argue. Sometimes giving up an agreement is more rewarding to your body and mind. Or do what I did during my getaway-grab a pen and paper and write down your thoughts and feelings.

Having fun and not stressing out is not allot of work. But it takes time to perfect it. Now go call a friend or take a walk, or feed some geese in the park. For more Doreen check out her blog @ www.spicyd.com

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