5 Things You Can Do RIGHT NOW to Manage Stress

1. Do something else – You know when you are stressing. If not, pay attention to the signs: irritable? Clenched jaws/fist? Depressed mood? Tears? Learn to recognize the onset of a stressful event and quickly DO SOMETHING ELSE. Recognizing your stress and ACTIVELY seeking to DE-stress is the MOST IMPORTANT concept in stress management.

2. Take a deep breath – Learn "belly-breathing" Practice this style of breathing, driving, while at work starring at the monitor and use this technique IMMEDIATELY after a stressful event. MAKE THIS A HABIT .

3. Turn the music up and dance – Stuck in traffic and running late? Frustrated? Guess what? There is nothing you can do about it. Now you have some time to yourself. Turn up the music, dance, sing, and enjoy yourself. The traffic is going nowhere so you might as well make the best out of it. But whatever you do, DON’T get on your cell phone to COMPLAIN. That’s not managing stress… that is making it worse.

4. Take a mini-vacation – Hawaii WOULD be nice, but sometimes we just don’t have it like that. But instead of doing nothing, go out and become a tourist in your own city. Go to a restaurant that you have never been to, treat yourself to a massage, or just enjoy an ice cream cone (ONE ice cream cone, not the whole gallon. If food and stress impacts you negatively, skip the ice cream.). Doing the little things in life can be just as good as a week away on an island, plus you don’t have to deal with rude security and insane baggage claim rules.

5. Be Quiet – Take some time out for YOURSELF. Turn the TV and Ipod OFF and be free from all your stressful thoughts. Take up yoga or tai chi . Take sometime out of your day to totally free yourself from stressful self talk . Take up activities that force you to focus your mind AWAY of your To-Do lists.


To begin, practice these steps at least 3 times daily for just 3 –5 minutes a pop. In just 21 days you’ll notice a significant improvement in your ability to manage stressful events.

Leave a comment below, let me know if these techniques work or let me know of some techniques that work for you.

The Deadlift – The KING of all Lifts

The deadlift is a weight training exercise where one lifts a heavy object off the ground from a stabilized bent-over position. The deadlift works all of the major muscles of the body. Training this movement using a mix of high rep and low-rep training is a tremendous way to add strength to your back, shoulders, legs, forearms and biceps. Furthermore, the deadlift is the most effective exercise for building core strength. The deadlift is a very functional lift. We often squat down to pickobjects up: groceries, a laundry basket, furniture, or a child. It’s a lift you WILL use in the real world.

Why do they want to drug our children? (A Late Night RANT)

I watched 2 very interesting stories on the news tonight. The first story, they want to put KID’s on cholesterol drugs as young as 8 and want to start testing as young as 2. The other story , the HPV vaccine that they are giving young girls, the side effects are starting to be reported. You know the side effects, the ones they say really fast at the end of the commercial, they ARE really real.

We are quick to run to a drug to help correct our “problems,” but let’s look at the CAUSE of the problem. 8 year olds with high cholesterol, so high in fact that they need drugsto control it? BABIES tested from 2 years of age and will be, most likely, medicated for the rest of their lives? Or are drug companies expanding their product life-cycle? Do you know what will really help combat the obesity problem (which will solve our juvenile diabetes "problem", heart disease "problem", etc.)? Giving our children healthy food, healthy lifestyles, healthy attitudes and healthy doses of physical activity.

What are we doing to our young women? We are voluntarily giving them a dose of a virus that: 1. They may already have. 2. They may not have and we are afraid they might get (so we GIVE it to them anyway). We are aware of the immediate side effects, but what about down the road?

We preach and beg our children to avoid the illegal street drugs. But what about the drugs or Doctor's prescribe? Are perscription drugs just as dangerous as illegal, if not more? Whose side are the Doc's really on?

Choose the people you trust wisely. Question your health professionals. Make sure they are looking out for what’s best for YOU and your family.

Send YOUR questions to Rahsaan@NLPF.NET.