Good morning,

I hope you are all okay? How are you all feeling with regard to the news Greater Manchester is now in tier 3? The good news for us is classes are still running and I am so pleased as it is such a stressful time for everyone not being able to do the things we were once able to do. 

I wanted to touch again on the subject of mental health as it will affect us all in lots of different ways. 

Everyone is having to adapt to a new lifestyle. Aaron, my youngest is having lessons online as his year are isolating and yesterday before I left for work he was set up on my laptop for his lessons. I received a call from Aaron saying he could not hear the teacher as there was no sound. He is quite savvy on the computer but could not get it to work. Fortunately, with me being at the Torkington Centre once the first class had finished I whizzed home to sort him out. It was a technical issue to do with the drivers and I managed to sort. I then rushed back to Torkington to teach my second class. Thank you to my ladies who were very supportive and although the class was late it went ahead. I am telling this story as these little daily stresses can build up into big stresses so I want to give some tips re relieving stress. 
 

LET IT GO! Give yourself permission. We put enormous pressure on ourselves to meet the demands of others, to do well in all that we do, to make everyone happy….yada, yada, yada! What about you? That self-neglect will manifest itself in weight gain or things that impede our health. Sometimes we need help learning how to live in a calmer state. The first step is to address your adrenals. Give yourself enough time to heal, be patient, and allow your own healing process to fill you with renewed energy, weight loss and most importantly get back to feeling like you.

Electrical appliances – electrical interference – adrenal glands take notice. Adrenal glands are a type of endocrine gland that is triangle-shaped and located on top of the kidneys. The outer part of the adrenal glands is known as the cortex and releases hormones including testosterone and cortisol.  Spend a day away from electrical devices. You’ll love it!! This is a hard one for me as I am constantly on my phone but I am trying at weekends to not look at it as much.

Sleep - so important and I will touch on this next week. Ideally, be in bed by 10pm and be asleep by 10:30pm and get 8 hours sleep. This is not the same for everybody. 

To reduce stress you need to control the messages that your brain is getting every day eg a person at work or a family member who gets you down or is always negative, it might be the news on the TV, social media. Try and remove yourself away from it.

Exercise is great for adrenal glands. However, we shouldn’t be training if we are already exhausted! I would encourage you to go for a daily stress busting stroll. Not a power walk, just a stroll. Got a dog? Then walk it!! 

BREATH! You may think I’m being daft here. But taking some time to sit and focus on breathing will slow your heart rate down, calm the entire body, name anything else that can do that?! Try and focus on your breath at some point every day, even if it is only for a minute or two. Have you tried meditation? Which leads me onto this..........

As I mentioned last week my stress release is exercising. Have you tried Yoga and meditation? Aileen teaches Yoga and will be running another class for beginners starting Wednesday 4th November. Aileen has over 30 years experience, is very passionate and loves teaching. She will help you on your Yoga journey, getting you familiar with starter poses. You will learn the basics of the postures, healthy alignment, breath awareness, meditation and relaxation. 

I have a to do list as long as my arm but I am downing tools and going for a walk locally this afternoon with my best friend even if it is raining. You can't beat a girly catch up and is a great
stress release. 

Have a lovely weekend. Stay safe and take care.

Take care Paula xx