Well, it’s gotten a little overwhelming again, and your stress may be trying to consume you. Here are five steps from Classical Chinese Medicine and acupuncture to help you keep your emotional health and balance.

Walk-in nature

Why nature? Taoism sees nature as one of the great healers, and spiritual leaders of this time. Everything you need to know can be found in nature. And everything you need to put down, the stress, the anxiety, can be released in nature.

Five Element was finally written down around 100 B.C. The theory was found at the start of the Zhou Dynasty around 1046 B.C. Five Element theory was thought to be part of the beliefs that made up Taoism.

The theory can help increase your interaction with nature to calm your soul. According to Five Element theory, every aspect of nature has unique qualities which will make it more effective at one thing over another. Grieving? Spend time looking up into the sky. Need your own nurturing? Take a walk in the woods. Anxiety has you running in circles? Take a walk through a grass field. 

And why a walk instead of your quad? Because when you visit a friend, you don’t bring your bike and ride around their living room. You bring yourself and sit down with your friend giving them your undivided attention. It’s even more so in nature. You can’t hear your guru when you’re racing your quad.

So, take the time to hear nature echo into your soul.

You can learn more about using nature in my blog, “Discover How to Double the Impact of Your Meditation with Nature.” or in my book “Caregivers Survival Guide, How to overcome stress in 30 minutes or less with Chinese Medicine.”

Exercise

 Stress, uncertainty, confusion all create energy in your body. And even though acupuncture can be great for your emotional health, what do you do when you don’t have acupuncture. Well, if you’re older, you probably didn’t think you would be going back to your youth when your mother would send you outside to get rid of that excess energy, but you are. Without an outlet, the emotional energy builds up and overwhelms you making it impossible to sleep, or turn off your thoughts.

What’s different from your youth…you’re older. And if you’ve been suffering from stress or anxiety, you’re probably exhausted. Take it slow. Check out the episode, “Consciously Helping Your Heart Stay Healthy.” and “Why Walking is a Good Thing.” Exercise is a release valve, and release valves don’t have to be huge like a marathon. They just have to let a little bit escape.

Breathing

Mindfulness practices have brought breathing exercises for stress to mainstream America. Thank-goodness, because when you’re someplace like at work or in a grocery store, talking a walk or exercising may not be an option. 

The most uncomplicated breathing technique is taking a slow, deep breath followed by a slow exhale. Now, suppose you’ve been staying engaged with my Youtube channel or my blog. In that case, you’re already aware that I like bringing back the ancient “why’s” like what is the significance of the trilogy in my episode, “The Power of Yin & Yang, Pt. 1 – the Creation of Life.”

So, if you’re curious about why breath is so universal and the mechanics of breathing in/out, check out my episode, “3 Steps to Improve Your Meditation: Part 1 Breath.”

And if you’re up for more specialized breathing techniques, check out the episode, “Six Healing Breaths, HE for Anxiety.”

How Eating Whole Foods Supports Emotional Health

When I’m stressed, the first thing I want to do is eat ice cream or chips. I think they are quick and easy and address my desire to eat even though I’m not hungry. 

What I found out is these foods have a lot of calories with no nutritional value. I could sit down in front of the t.v. and consume 1,000 calories in a half-hour. An hour later, I would be starving because the food didn’t provide the nutrition I needed. 

Missing the nutrition I needed to keep my body healthy, I became more exhausted, gained more weight, and experienced more stress. And eating foods that had calories, but no nutrition had longer term impacts on the body and aging. If you’re curious about what happened and why you can’t lose weight, check out my episodes, “What is Phlegm in Chinese Medicine” and “Lose the Impossible Weight in 5 Minutes a Day – Breaking up Phlegm.”

The moral of this story? Eat whole foods, especially if you are experiencing stress and anxiety. And if you want a crash course on nutrition, be sure to sign-up for my Nutrition Courses to learn how to use foods to rebuild your health instead of just losing weight. As the University expands, you’ll be able to find a link to the University under the “Merch” menu item. 

Meditate

Sometimes meditation is easier said than done, right? Especially when you’re feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and anxious, trying to quiet your mind feels impossible. 

Well, you’re right managing your emotional health is tough when your under stress and anxiety. If you need some ideas on how you can overcome the noise in your head, check out my episode, “Simple Meditation Techniques to Find the Rhythm of Meditation in 4K.”

And practice makes perfect. But, sometimes you can get in your own way with things like judgement. Need some thoughts on judgment, check out my blog, “Judgment says more the person than the situation.”

It might be hard to remember, but you came into this world with compassion. 

You know how to do compassion. So, when you’re trying to pull your head out of the fire, take a breath and remember it’s o.k. to have self-compassion.

And if you want some thoughts on how to find positivity, check out my blog, “It’s Time to Double Down on Positivity.”

Well, there it is, five steps you can take to help you get back into balance or stay in balance.