Stress can literally take years off your life! Stress may not seem like a real illness but it can have a huge and powerful negative impact on your life, in the short and long term. Stress can actually trigger dormant diseases and worsen illnesses or injuries that are already present in the body. It can delay healing even if you are trying to do everything you can to recover from the flu or from that pulled lower back muscle. Stress can cause tightness and stiffness in the body leading to pain and discomfort. By taking stress seriously and learning to manage it, you can decrease pain, increase energy and help improve your overall health.

So, how do you decrease stress?

Two of the most effective ways to decrease stress and pain are through proper breathing techniques and stretching exercises.

Breathing : Some researchers have found that up to 90% of the population has some sort of breathing dysfunction. 90%! Because breathing is something our body does automatically, we tend not to think much about it but that doesn’t mean that your body is breathing effectively. Learn about your breathing style and how to breath more effectively to help heal and cleanse the body, and to help relax and decrease stress.

Stretching and Yoga : The benefits of Yoga are endless! And there are benefits from your head to your toes! Yoga helps increase brain function, releases our happy chemicals and sends messages to your nervous system to calm down. Our heart and lungs love yoga for the increase of oxygen in the body. Our glands that produce our “stress hormone” cortisol start to relax and stop pumping out so much cortisol. Our immune system gets boosted to help us fight off infection and disease. Not to mention all the physical benefits of increasing strength, flexibility and balance.

Come join us at BodyWorx Vitality for a special workshop designed to teach you how to decrease stress through various relaxation, breathing and yoga techniques! Dates from the end of March to April 2015.  Call or email to register.