Yoga is a powerful tool for stress relief. As the holiday season rapidly approaches, stress often follows.

If your stomach is already in knots thinking of facing family members at Thanksgiving, or if your heart is racing imagining all the Christmas gifts you “have” to buy, take a pause.

Ongoing research continues to study the links between physical and mental health, as we know they are deeply interconnected. For example, chronic stress and anxiety can lead to disruptive physical symptoms such as insomnia, fatigue, IBS and body pains.

I first learned what Mindfulness was when I decided to attend a Mindfulness Meditation group in college for extra credit. Looking back, I can’t believe I made it that far without knowing what it means to be emotionally and physically present! I spent a lot of time in my head worrying about what happened or what would happen next. When really, I needed to slow down and exist in that moment.

Since the start of the pandemic, my anxiety has gone way up. I’ve noticed it in my racing thoughts, my tense muscles, and my difficulty slowing down. As a therapist who speaks with the outside world, I know this is something a LOT of us have been experiencing!

It’s so easy for us to get wrapped up in our negative thoughts and negative self talk. That little voice telling us over and over that you can’t do something, that you’re not good enough, that you don’t deserve something – the more we think it, the more true it can seem. These negative thoughts paired with a bad day that puts you in a bad mood can make you believe that the thoughts must be true. But I’m here to tell you today that this isn’t the case!