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Ever have a really stressful day or week and FEEL it in your gut? Stomach in knots and fighting back with every meal? The good news is it wasn’t all your imagination. The bad news is it truly was your body under assault from the stress. Back to the good news:
Reducing stress can significantly improve your gut health.
I really don’t remember a time when I didn’t know what stress felt like. Growing up in a family that moved often and expected high performance in every new school meant I ALWAYS felt pressure to do more, be smarter, and try harder. What no one understood at the time was that stress and inflammation are closely linked, and chronic stress can wreak havoc on our bodies, especially our bellies. Learning to be active and engaged without letting stress build-up has been a huge help as I healed my system. Lucky for me, I was smart enough to listen to Bonni when she gently but firmly nudged me to let go. Here are five components of stress reduction she taught me more than a decade ago and still teaches to this day.
Meditation and Breathing
As silly as saying “try breathing” sounds, there is value in the suggestion. Why? Because a body with tense muscles probably isn’t a body that’s fully inhaling and exhaling. We all sort of hold our breath when we’re dealing with a fight-or-flight response. Taking five minutes to settle in a quiet space and focus on slow, deep, and steady breaths can reset your system and boost your energy levels. You can try simple techniques like deep sniffing or blowing out a candle or use guided meditation recordings. The key is to pause and shut off the world for a moment, letting your body and mind relax.
Movement
Physical movement releases dopamine and endorphins, triggering a positive response in our bodies. Additionally, moving your muscles signals your brain to restock necessary nutrients, which leads to a more efficient brain and reduced stress hormones. Get up. Get out. Get moving. Start with 10 minutes a day... in 5-minute bursts if that fits your life better. Move purposefully toward incorporating exercise, yoga, or any form of movement that suits YOU.
Healing Sounds and Music
Sound therapy, like a sound bath or calming music, can induce relaxation and mindfulness, similar to meditation. Sounds can trigger specific responses and bring up feelings of serenity and calmness. Some folks need quiet ambient music. Others like simple tones. The key is to find what works for you and incorporate it into your daily routine.
Healthy, Plant-Based Diet
A balanced diet full of plants and their micronutrients provides your body with the tools to operate efficiently. Plant-based proteins and healthy fats contribute to the production of dopamine, endorphins, and adrenaline, supporting a healthy stress response. Remember, you can include yummy smoothies made with fruits and vegetables as coconut water to sneak in more nutrients and hydration, too!
Herbal Teas and Infused Water
You will hear this from us A LOT: Hydration is crucial to your overall, gut, and mental health. If you’re going to be hydrating, you might as well bring in flavor and nutritional boosts as well. Infuse your water with herbs, fruits, or vegetables. Add herbal teas and infused water since they are packed with micronutrients promoting well-being. Creating a calming tea ritual or enjoying herbal-infused water throughout the day supports your body's natural stress-reducing mechanisms.
The Power to Transform Your Health
Taking control of your health and well-being starts with stress reduction. Chronic stress can lead to inflammation and gut health issues, but you have the power to make positive changes. Incorporate these tips into your daily life, and if you need help or guidance, please don't hesitate to ask for help. If you don’t ask us, please ask SOMEONE. You’re not alone in this journey!
Our Journey
Bonni’s start in holistic health and alternative medicine started when she discovered that she had a dairy allergy, which caused significant weight gain and acne. Mine started before I knew WHAT was hurting me. When it turned out to be an allergy to both egg whites AND peppers, I was grateful to have real-world, straight-talk help from Bonni. I knew to listen because I KNEW she’d walked the same path. Since then, we’ve worked together, healed together, and now come together as WildFree Health to help YOU on your journey. If you're unsure where to start, join our free Wild Free Health Community, where we offer a gut health assessment and a seven-day program to heal your body and reduce stress naturally.
You Can Be a Wellness Warrior!
Around here, we are super big on personal power and the importance of believing and encouraging others as well as yourself. We invite you to embrace the transformative magic of stress reduction techniques and unleash your inner Wellness Warrior. By taking small steps each day, you can conquer inflammation, improve your gut health, and create a happier, healthier, more vibrant life.
Cheers to a healthier you!
TRANSCRIPT
hey there welcome welcome welcome are
you tired of dealing with chronic
inflammation and gut health issues well
today we're going to dive deep into this
incredible world of stress production
techniques and how they can transform
your health and well-being trust me this
might be just the solution you've been
searching for
never know did you know that stress and
inflammation they go hand in hand it's
true
chronic stress can wreck havoc on our
bodies especially when it comes to our
gut health so what is stress it's a
response within our body that triggers
our fight or flight response it can
trigger inflammation which is not just
swelling and redness inflammation can
manifest itself as an emotional response
dramatic mood shifts depression
exhaustion excitement overly
enthusiastic or exhausted and feeling
extremely weak all the time your gut is
usually a good barometer of how stressed
your body is the more craving
sluggishness and crampiness you feel
more likely it is that your chronic
stress is off the chain so what do you
do there are a variety of stress
reduction techniques you can easily
incorporate into your life from deep
breathing meditation to yoga and other
mindfulness practices today we're going
to focus on my top five recommendations
starting first
with meditation and breathing now this
doesn't mean you have to sit for hours
at a time
five minutes of deep breathing in a
quiet space could be just the reason you
need in the middle of your day and can
trigger more energy than a cup of coffee
or candy bar you might grab to help you
through that mid-afternoon slump
you could use something relatively
simple such as sniffing the flour
blowing out a candle it's something that
the boys came home from school learning
it's a fabulous tool
easy no one knows you're doing it
and it can help you with just five
breaths you could use a guided
meditation recording to listen to and
breathe along with the prompts
meditation and breathing really they
just they reset your system by hitting
pause in your day shut off the world for
a minute and choose something easy to do
don't overthink this keep it short make
it long whatever works for you is going
to be perfect my second recommendation
is to move physical movement triggers
the release of various substances in our
body like dopamine and endorphins your
muscle movement also sends a signal to
your brain that your body needs
nutrients now which helps your brain
operate effectively an efficient brain
equals an efficient healthy reduction of
stress responses and ultimately our
reduction of inflammation
my third recommendation listen to music
or healing sounds throughout your day
our body responds to certain sounds in
certain ways there's a song actually
that the boys listen to all the time
it was created for colicky babies using
science when you listen to the lyrics
they make very little sense they really
don't make any sense at all but the
sounds literally trigger Giggles in my
back seat adults we're no different we
can benefit from songs and sounds too
sound bath for instance uses in certain
tones and sounds to stimulate relaxation
and breathing methodically it's like
meditation using sounds
for some of you this might mean some
heavy metal songs some of you a
meditation or the same sound might mean
a Samba
music is personal choose what works well
for you it's especially helpful when you
feel like you have zero time to do
anything else at any other exercises
into your routine so let's say you're
using a sound bath or something that's
meditative or calming
don't do when driving people please
don't and don't do it when you're
cooking either trust me it doesn't work
out well
for me when I use music to help me with
my stress it's usually when I'm falling
asleep I plug in a calming meditation
I'm out in like 15 minutes it totally
works now my last two recommendations
they kind of go hand in hand eat a
healthy balanced diet Pack full of
plants and micronutrients and include
herbal to Sands and infused water into
your diet micronutrients healthy fats
plant-based proteins all give your body
the tools to operate efficiently and
remember efficient body efficient brain
equals reduced stress and inflammation I
don't recommend plant-based proteins to
degrade animal proteins though
it's more that plant-based proteins
contain a bulk of micronutrients our
body uses to produce dopamine endorphins
adrenaline and to support a healthy
stress response
infusing water using things like
cucumber mint berries fruits they all
contain all those micronutrients and
help you stay hydrated herbal to Sands
do the same thing it's a win-win and I
guess that life can be super busy so I
hope that these tips help you in your
daily routine because let's face it a
little me time
sometimes it's not as easy to do as
How to Reduce Stress and Improve Gut Health
possible so let's go over the five again
so that we can get them easily
incorporated number one meditation and
breathing exercises at least once daily
move your body listen to music or
healing sounds eat a plant-based healthy
diet and drink your herbal tea or
infused water
now
you ready to take control of your health
and well-being
I thought so did you know that I once
discovered I had a dairy allergy I know
many of you have heard this story but to
basically summarize it
I gained over 30 pounds in a lot in a
month I woke up with cystic acne all
over my face it was an extreme wake-up
call it let me hear and it led me
through a lot of the holistic health and
alternative medicine tactics around here
including these five stress reductions
because stress equals inflammation now
it's your turn
take these tips
start incorporating them into your daily
life
no you can do it and if you're not
feeling so secure in doing this all on
your own grab a cozy spot and let's talk
let's let's go out on this journey
together hop into my free community we
have a free gut health assessment start
naturally healing your body to reduce
stress our seven day program is free
talking to us is free we actually create
a healing blueprint for you gives you a
step-by-step guide of how to improve
your health reduce your stress so you
can reduce inflammation and start
feeling so much better
remember my friend
you have the power to reduce stress you
have the power to improve your gut
health and to conquer inflammation
you might need a little help and that's
okay it's why Wild free health was
created it's why I do what I do
Five Stress Reduction Techniques for Your Life
now it's time to unleash that inner
Wellness Warrior and embrace the
transformative magic of stress reducion
reduction techniques so
why wait let's go let's get it started
today links are in the show notes have
an absolutely wonderful week if you have
any questions whatsoever about our five
techniques today let me know and I will
chat with you all soon
cheers
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