Reduce your stress: three handy hints

If your just having one of those weeks where you seem to be dragging your left foot behind you wherever you go, or if your system is on overdrive, or if stress has a death hold on you, just stop. Yup even stop reading this post and just sit in your chair for a few minutes and take a few deep breathes. Sometimes, more often than I should, I have these weeks but I've found that doing simple little things, the tiniest minuscule things help you get through the week a little less scathed.

Tip 1: Rather that opting for your daily egg and bread combination, or your bowl of cereal or oats, try something different at least once and start of your day with a fruit salad! Eating fruit in the morning is the perfect way to debloat and detoxify your body because it's so easy on the digestive system. Fruit, unlike carbohydrates, digests a whole lot faster, leaving you lighter, and more energetic than ever. Most people really need that extra boost of energy, but the nutrients in the fruit salad will sustain you until about mid morning. waddya know? I suggest slicing up a variety of fruits and placing them in a bowl and sprinkling them with cinnamon, lemon and coconut flakes. Those of you out there who are enjoying the blessed summer, exotic fruits have bucket loads of nutrients and are better absorbed by your body in the morning especially in an empty stomach. Maybe a mono meal of cantaloupe? Maybe watermelon? Bananas? So quick, so easy!

Tip 2: Meditate for a few minutes a day. Even 5 minutes is enough to do the trick. Sit yourself down somewhere quiet. Place your hand on your stomach and feel yourself breathe as your stomach moves up and down. Just focus on your breathing, the sounds around you and your head space. If your mind wanders, don't worry because it's perfectly normal. Simply use your steady breathing as an anchor to bring you back to the present. Here is a great site that I use to aid my meditation for a Smiling Mind

Tip 3: This week I created a great face mask for glowing skin. I've only tried it on my skin colour which is medium brown. I used avocados because they are filled with vitamin A, good for purifying the skin of dead cells, turmeric, (also a great anti-inflammatory for those who are prone to acne or the occasional break out) and oats or buckwheat to leave your skin soft and supple and to relieve irritation and redness. The turmeric will tint your skin, however if your dark, it adds a glowing tint. For lighter skin, I suggest using it at night time and possibly a little less of it or add more oats to balance out the colour.

ingredients
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tbs of oats
half an avocado
salt


Method
1. add warm water until it just covers the 2 tbs of oats in a bowl and wait until it's soft.
2. In a blender add all the ingredients and blend until smooth
3. apply to face and wait for 15 minutes before washing of with water or a hot wet towel.

I really hope that was useful :)
Enjoy your week everyone