Believe it or not, I recently returned from my second trip to Japan this year. WOW. Epic travels. I told someone that trips like that are a universe all to themselves. Quite different in almost every way than the last one, though equally as beautiful, challenging, surprising and fascinating. I always learn so much through my travels about my own health and also how I can be of greater service to others.
ONE of the ways I find I can be of greater service to myself and my community has to do with managing sleep routine. I've certainly noticed the things that don't feel great when I am out of sync with getting good sleep. It's no wonder, even just one sleep-deprived night can impact your stress hormones (like cortisol) levels for days.
This sometimes means I feel hungrier, gain weight, feel more anxious and am left with increased inflammation. I can sometimes fall into emotional eating to boost my energy and mood. These are not great cycles to get caught in for any of us.
To help with my sleep routine I put together breath work exercises to unwind at the end of the day. As a bonus, it ALSO has an impact on my skin! Last month I shared with you all about a group I was a part of to help others learn ways to "feel good in the skin you're living in" and breath work is a piece of that. All this to say that breath work is one tool that has many benefits. (I love things like that!)
I wanted to share these benefits with others, SO I made a video of some simple yet impactful breathing exercises that I highly recommend trying out for yourself. These exercises can also be really helpful in managing any pain you might be experiencing (both emotionally and/or physically-- I have used them a lot for both and especially now as I am nursing an injury that is really putting me to the test.) I hope the video is a helpful for you. Let me know! And cheers to better sleep and all else!
