tina 00:00:00 Let's face it, the world today is changing so fast and it's really hard to keep up with it and deal with all these changes every single day. One of the ways we can do this is by being more present in the moment and getting grounded in the moment. And so today, I'm going to share with you seven different ways that you can do this so that you could reduce stress and anxiety. Let's get into it. You're listening to the Soul Online Self-care podcast. I'm your host, Tina Stinson, and I had a stroke at the age of 39 from stress and burnout that shook my world. Now I'm laying it all out. The deep level self-care practices and mindset shifts that I needed that kept me healthy, balanced, and thriving. Join me in this intimate space as we explore healing, resilience, and the soul's journey to alignment. This is where real conversations about deep level self-care happen. Let's get into it. Hey guys. Welcome back to the Soul Aligned Self-care podcast. I'm your host, Tina Stinson.
tina 00:01:14 And if you're new here, welcome. And if you've been coming back every week to hang out with me, I want to thank you and tell you how much I appreciate you every single day. Today, we're talking about how we can navigate stress and anxiety during a time of change because let's face it, we're experiencing so much change nowadays, it seems never ending. I feel like since 2020 it's been nothing but change and, you know, historic events. And so this is a lot of a lot for all of us to manage. And I feel like this is a theme that keeps coming up in my life and the life of my clients and my friends and my family, where it's just overwhelming. It just feels overwhelming and I believe that one of the best ways that we could deal with this change is by becoming more present in the moment, and also by grounding ourselves on a regular basis. And so today, I'm going to share with you seven ways that you can do this. And I don't expect people to do all seven of these.
tina 00:02:17 So don't come into this and listen to this and say, like, this would take me half my day to do all this stuff. No, it's about really kind of taking what resonates with you and then leaving the rest behind or creating like a toolbox for yourself where you're like, I have all these tools that can help me navigate the stress, navigate this change and calm my anxiety and just get more present in the moment. And that's, you know, just look at it, that look at it as a toolbox, something that you can go to when you need it. And that's how I use it. So I use all of these practices, but at different times in my life, different days, you know, most days I'm using maybe 1 or 2 of these and they don't take a lot of time or money or any of that stuff. So it's, you know, it's really basic, easy stuff that could really help you so much. So why do we why do I think being present is the answer? there's a saying that has always stuck with me, and I don't know who said it.
tina 00:03:17 So if anyone knows, you could let me know, because I would love to learn more from this person because I think it's spot on. And they said depression stems from focusing too much on the past, while anxiety arises from worrying about the future. So all we truly have is the present moment, and that's where our attention should be. So if our thoughts and our beliefs and our actions create our reality, it makes sense then to focus on the here and now with contentment, gratitude and fulfillment. And this can be really challenging. And that's why I'm offering you these tools and I really hope you like them. I enjoy using all of these So. staying present, what do I mean by that? Well, it's exactly what if you go back to that saying, that's why that's saying helps me so much. Because it really kind of like labels. What, what I mean by that. So when we focus, like when we look back at the past and we're having like regrets or feelings, you know, looking back at the past, at good things, I don't think that's a bad thing to do.
tina 00:04:21 I don't think you should stay there all the time, but I think it's really good to remember positive, happy things. But if you're looking back on the past and you're feeling bad about it or you're having regrets, I don't think that's a positive place to be. And I don't think it helps us in this ever changing world where we have to deal with so much change, right? And it also doesn't help us by in creating a future for ourselves that's different from our past. Because if we're focusing on the past and that's where our our thoughts, our beliefs and our actions are coming from, then we're going to create more of that or of that past. And it's the same thing is when you're going and you're worrying about the future and you're coming up with all these like, disastrous scenarios in your head. And I know people do this because I do this like everybody does this. It's about like, really like stopping yourself at the in that moment and being like, you know, we don't we don't know what the future holds.
tina 00:05:18 We can create beautiful things in the future. But if we're focusing on like bad scenarios or negative scenarios, then that's not going to be helpful in our creation process. Right? So being present in the moment where we're at and being grateful for what we have and being content for what we have, even if we don't have a lot really, really helps us get grounded and be positive and create a future from a better place. So let's get into it. I have seven different practices that you could use. Most of these you're probably going to be like, yeah, I know this. So I'm just going to give you a little bit of insight on how I use these practices. And the first practice is a gratitude practice. Everybody knows that gratitude is good. It's very, transformational. And it's just one of my favorite ways to stay grounded in gratitude and also focusing on the positive. And so one of my most favorite ways to do this, which is something new that I've been doing, and I've been talking about this in some of my programs, definitely talked about it in the solo aligned Self-care circle membership.
tina 00:06:28 I've definitely talked about this in the intensive, the solo line, Self-care intensive, and also with my private clients. I think I've shared this with everyone at this point and even the insiders on my Patreon. I believe I shared it in there, but it's about creating a gratitude jar, and I think this is so much fun. And I think what's cool about it too, is you could do it with your family or your partner or whoever, right? So you just have a jar and you put it somewhere in your home where you're going to see it. Quite often it's going to, you know, you're going to walk past it a million times a day, and at least once during the day, write down on a piece of paper something that you're grateful for and like. Feel into it. Be in that moment. Fold a piece of paper up and throw it in the jar. Then, at the end of the month, take some time to read out everything that's in the jar. And what's cool about this is not only do you get really present and grounded in that moment, but you're really focusing on the positive and you can really make a thing out of it.
tina 00:07:26 So, you know, if you're doing this by yourself, you could like light a candle, have a glass of wine or a cup of tea or whatever's going to make you feel comfortable and relaxed. Have a little ritual to do this at the end of each month. Do it on a full moon, or do it on a new moon, whatever you want. It could be like part of your ritual where you're just putting your appreciation out into the universe and really ending the month, or beginning the month or whatever. On a positive note I love this practice to for families and for kids. It really starts to help, train your brain to focus on the positive. It's a really good way to show appreciation for your partner or other members of the family. I think it's just such a cool practice and it's very, very simple and easy to do. It doesn't take a lot of time, so that's a cool one. Now second, it's also a pretty another pretty obvious practice that a lot of people do and some people don't do but want to do.
tina 00:08:25 Or some people think they can't do it. Okay, so it's mindfulness and meditation. And so it's about it really helps you stay grounded in the moment. And it really does reduce stress and anxiety, but I do I'm quite aware as a meditation teacher and creator that there's a lot of people out there who feel like they can't meditate, and I was one of those people at at years ago. I was definitely one of those people. My mind is very busy and one of the things that someone said to me that really helped me was that you can't shut your mind off. Trying to shut your mind off and have no thoughts is almost impossible. I think it is impossible. It's like asking your heart to stop beating because it's somewhat involuntary. Like we don't have much control over this. Now we could train ourselves to focus on something. We could train ourselves to focus on the breath. Right. And every time your mind starts to wander into a different place, just go back to the breath. Maybe counting, maybe tapping your foot.
tina 00:09:28 Sometimes I tap my fingers together. You could tap on some of those, you know, the the, tapping points, if you're familiar with that. If you're not, I've definitely done some podcasts on EFT tapping, emotional freedom technique tapping. I've definitely I've had some experts on talk about tapping one very recently. And so you could tap on those points. That's something that helps me focus. Counting helps me focus. Counting my breaths. And that's all it takes to meditate. I also want to acknowledge that meditation is different for everybody, and there's certain you can have like an act of meditation. So like you could be out in your garden and get to the point of where you're in, like this meditative flow, kind of, you know, time doesn't feel like it exists, right? Time is either passing really slow or really fast, and you're not paying attention to anything. You're just like in that moment. That is a form of meditation. And I'm sure some of you have experienced that. I definitely experience this when I'm gardening or when I'm running sometimes, or even when I'm walking.
tina 00:10:37 So think about those times where you feel like you're in that state of flow and, oh, a lot of people experience that when they're doing artwork. Even if you're not an artist, even if you're not, if you don't consider yourself to be a good artist, you can experience that flow and relaxation doing artwork. And if you don't know what that looks like, just Google it, because there's definitely people that do this for a living. They do, art that helps you relax and release stress and anxiety. So mindfulness and meditation, that's number two. Number three. And I know at some point I'm going to lose count. So just be patient with me. So speaking your thoughts out loud. So when you do this it's it's very grounding when you're using your voice and you're making sound with your voice. It's very, very grounding and can be very relaxing too. When we when we use our voice, we also naturally just become more present in acknowledging our feelings. It helps us release stress and anxiety.
tina 00:11:36 So it's about maybe even talking through something with yourself or making statements out loud, something that you're feeling. So really, you could be releasing anger, you could be releasing stress. You could just be like having a heart to heart conversation with yourself I know it sounds a little crazy, but it's so healing and it's a great way to process emotions and bring more calm back into your life. All right. I think we're on number four. All right. Number four is a body scan. So checking in with your body. I talk about this quite a lot, but this specifically I want you to do is do like, almost like, a scan of your whole body. Just checking in with all of it. Start at the top of your head. Just see how everything feels. Do you have any pressure behind your eyes? Do you have a headache? How does your neck feel? You're feeling tension in your back. some people hold it in their chest. Some people hold it in their upper or lower back.
tina 00:12:34 Some people hold it. They'll hold it in their jaw, their hands. They'll grip their hands tight. Some people actually hold their stomach and their core tight when they're stressed. So there's so many different places where we could be feeling that. And it's about acknowledging that. And going through the different parts of your body, head to toe and then, you know, doing something to help release that stress, whether it's a good stretch, a yoga class, or even like setting up a massage for yourself, whatever that might be, but helping your body, helping that feeling of stress and anxiety move through your body. next number five, I think, is is it number five for I don't know. See, I told you I would lose track. Well, this is one of my favorites though, one of my absolute favorites. And, which is breathwork. And some of you may know, I've talked about it a little bit. I'm doing a certification for breathwork right now so I could facilitate, breathwork sessions individually and in groups.
tina 00:13:38 And I'm doing this because I have the dream of doing a retreat for my clients one day. And if you're interested in that, let me know, because I'm kind of keeping track of how many of my clients, How many people in my world are interested in doing a retreat where we would? It would be more. It would be mostly about relaxation and fun. That's what I'm. That's what I'm looking for. So breathwork is one of those things that have really, really helped me in my life that's helped lower my blood pressure. It's helped, tame stress. It helped tamed anxiety for me. There's just so many different ways it's helped me. And that's why I've decided to move forward with getting this a certification. I already have a certification, but I wanted to go a little bit deeper so that I could help people release trauma from their body. It's something that I feel like a lot of people need, and so I want to be able to give that to my clients. And, also do that in a group setting also.
tina 00:14:40 So this is very quick way that you can calm your nervous system. breathwork can be used to reduce stress. Reduce anxiety. It could be used to energize yourself. You could use it to create heat in the body. There's so many different things that you could do by controlling your breath. But today we're just talking about kind of bringing yourself from fight or flight back into rest and relaxation. So focus on taking. We're going to focus on slowing down the breath. So focusing on taking a breath in through the nose, being very intentional about slowing down the breath you could even hold at the top and then release you could release through the nose or the mouth. Sometimes it helps to release with a sigh. So just letting a lot of air come out of your mouth like a. That really can really help release some of the stress from your body. And doing this at least four times, if not more, but doing it slow. You're taking slow breaths, breathing in through the nose. Now, if you're like me and suffer from a lot of allergies, especially this time of year, then breathing through your mouth but breathe your breathing slow, I don't want you to hyperventilate.
tina 00:16:00 So this will help shift your body, like I said, from fight or flight back into rest and relaxation. And I think it's one of the quickest ways to calm down and just be more present with yourselves. I love breathwork. Another one of my favorites is connecting with nature. Nature has a really incredible ability to calm and ground us. It said that just stepping into a forest can help lower your blood pressure. Just stepping into it. A short walk outside can lower your stress levels and just bring peace into your into that present moment. Like I feel like connecting with nature also has a very instantaneous effect. Now, I know there's some people out there who joke around and say they're allergic to nature. if that's you, I know there's. You know, use some of the other practices here, but I know there's also a lot of people out there who really, really benefit from nature. And I want you to know. You could you could get these kind of effects just by taking a 5 or 10 minute walk outside.
tina 00:17:07 You don't need to spend the whole day outside. Oh, that would be wonderful. But you could just take a ten minute walk, take your dog for a walk, take yourself for a walk. meet with a friend every morning and go for a walk. That's even more beneficial because you're including community in that you're connecting with another person. If it's a sunny day, let the warmth of the sun touch your skin. if you're feeling it, sit down on the ground and actually ground yourself into the earth. Touch the ground. Listen to the sounds of nature or the birds, the wind, the trees making noise. It's just so healing. And even in the colder seasons, being around nature or near water has very calming effects. It might not be as pleasant, although I know there's some people out there that love going out into the snow. But if you're feeling overwhelmed, just try stepping outside for a few minutes and removing yourself from whatever you're overwhelmed from. It really gets you present and grounded really quickly.
tina 00:18:08 Okay, this is the last one. and I think this one can be very powerful also. And it's about unplugging from screen time from anything that's adding extra stimulus to, you know, our lives. Now, I don't remember the exact facts on this. So what I'm saying to you is probably going to be, statistically incorrect. But it's something along the lines, as somebody that lived 50 or 100 years ago, the amount of like information and stimulus that they took in in a lifetime is what we experience now in a day And our brains actually haven't evolved quick enough to deal with all the stimulation. And that's why sometimes it could feel overwhelming. Like I said, I don't know if those those actual statistics are correct, but it's something like that, something along those lines. And so when you're feeling overwhelmed, it makes sense to tune out any extra stimulation. So turning off your phone, your computer, your TV, any, any notifications, stop checking emails, turn down any background noise. Sometimes even having music on can be stressful when stressful, like music can be so healing sometimes.
tina 00:19:23 But if you're at a point where you're completely overwhelmed, sometimes any type of noise, if you need a moment of like total silence and total peace, close your eyes. Cover your eyes. If you have like an eye mask, you could even put like headphones on with no sound. Just put the headphones on to dull out the noise. What you're doing is you're stopping all of the stimulation that's coming in, and it really helps you become more present. And you can combine something like this with some breathwork or meditation, right? You don't need a guided meditation to do meditation. You could just sit and be quiet and focus on your breath and tune out all of any, any technology and sounds and sights and really just like shut down, you're turning down the volume on your life. Think of it as you're like taking your hand and you're going into your brain and you're taking all that noise and there's like a dial, and you could take that dial and just turn it down, like visualize yourself turning it all the way down so that you're not getting any of that outside stimulus.
tina 00:20:31 Okay. Stimulation stimulus. I think that was I think I said that right. I don't know. So I hope that I think that can be that's very helpful. As a matter of fact, doing like a technology Detox for a whole day can be so wonderful and definitely possible, or even just for part of the day, like, you know, 9 to 5 or something like that. Very, very helpful. So I want you to consider this your stress relief toolbox, right. Seven powerful ways to ground Yourself. Stay more present in your life and help reduce that stress and anxiety during these times of change. Because I don't believe that the world is going to slow down. It might. I might be wrong. I feel like this might be our new normal, though. and like I said, you can try one of these or you can combine several of them for a more powerful effect. Just remember that these are your tools that you can keep in your self-care toolbox, and you don't have to use them every single day, but just keep them on hand for when you need them.
tina 00:21:41 So in this ever changing world. I know learning to stay present can really greatly improve your mental wellbeing. So if you're looking for accountability in your self-care and you want to take it to the next level, you can come hang out with me in the soul aligned self-care circle. This month we're focusing on reset a reset. I love doing resets in September. I've talked about this a little bit already, so we're focusing on, I think last week we focused on deciding like what our goals, how we want our future to look, making that decision. And now we're focusing on resetting our minds and tackling tackling limiting beliefs that come up when we start setting these goals for ourself. And so I'm really looking forward to this week on The Circle. And you can join us. And you could try it out with a ten day free trial. So there's no obligation to stay in there. If you want to join, there'll be a link in the show notes for you to join us this week. Okay, guys, I love you and I I will see you next week.
