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If you are interested in Herbs and Oils for stress or any other healthy living, and recipes for healthy dishes, please visit How To Use Herbs And Oils. I will be putting recipes up as often as possible.

Why Write About Stress?

In today's society people are so busy with their jobs, children, finances, ect.... that stress is a fact of everyday  life. I lived in Columbus my whole life, until I got married in 04 and moved to the city of Honaker in 07 to take over the family homestead. My stress level in the city was overwhelming, I couldn't eat or eat right, couldn't sleep, my weight and health were getting out of control, and my temper was making life hard for my loved ones. So when I moved to the country I needed to do things differently so that my life would have a positive effect on my health. I started reading about stress, exercise, and diet. If I had to keep up the way I was living in the city I would have nearly killed myself slowly with heart problems, eating disorders, high blood pressure, constant fatigue, and a lot of muscle aches. Even though since we have been here things are not going the way we planed, for example we can't find jobs where we live, our car is 25 years old and proving it, the land is so overgrown that every time we cut it back it seems to grow back at a alarming rate, outside structures need to be torn down, paint is needed every where, restorations need to be done and trying to get my candle business off the ground, it is really hard not to get stressed, but I just keep reminding myself what's more important, and that would be my health and my family's health not things that I will get done eventually. So anytime I feel any stress, I will sit in my room with music for the mind, body, spirit and just relax and meditate, clearing my mind so the I can think more clearly and positive or I will do aroma therapy bath with the same kind of music. I also will take a long walk at the beginning of every day so that my day will start on a positive note, then come in the house for a high protein meal, do my work for the day, and after all that sit down with my husband and son so we can watch movies or play games. Learning to control my life and health has made me happier than I have ever been, so if I can write something that can help others it makes me even happier, and thats why I write about stress. Now everyday is a stress-free day for me and my family.

Try Meditation To Relieve Stress

Meditation has many benefits, setting aside a few minutes a day can help relieve tension, anxiety, and most of all stress, it can also give you inner harmony and connect with your spiritual nature, so instead of coming home from a hard days work and siting down to turn on the television or going to the kitchen to cook dinner, go to your room, shut the door and prepare yourself for a calming evening, you don't want to take your stress out on your family or inanimate objects. Now I will let you know how to prepare for your meditation:
                     

1. Wear loose clothing
2. Dim the lights
3. Background music- no words- instrumental or sounds of nature
4. Use candles
5. Room fragrance- scented candles,  incense, or oil burner scent

   Remember to focus on your breathing and flow with your breathing, find a word to focus on also like harmony, peace, love, or gentleness, repeat word when breathing in and out. When you are done sit for a couple of minutes before going back to your daily routine.
 
 If you would like to know what scents will help you relax and have a calming affect, go to my links and go to How To Use Herbs And Oils, there are also herbs that have the same affects if interested order a few herbs and oils for a chance to kill your stress daily. Mountainroseherbs.com I love their products.                                                                 

Plan A Stress-Free Day

The best way to ensure you enjoy of a stress-free day is to plan your time carefully. Don't rush things, and make sure you leave yourself time to relax.
1) Have A Stress-Free Start
2) Keep Your Tasks In Perspective
3) Be Honest About Your Capabilities
4) Make Sure You Take Breaks
5) Admit To Your Mistakes
6) Tidy Your Work Area
7) Take Credit When It's Due
8) Do A Stress Away 10 min Exercise only if things start to get stressing.
A tonic tea can help to lessen anxiety levels in the workplace, sweetened with honey and lemon.

Benifits Of Stress Relief

Stress hormones constrict blood vessels, inhibit the production of endorphins (natural painkillers) and lower immunity. With the lowering of your stress levels, you will see changes so your body can go to its normal and health state. Your heart rate will slow down, your blood pressure will fall and your circulation will improve. Tension in your muscles will ease and you will sleep better without the nagging of aches and pains. You will breathe more easily and will be less susceptible to illness, like colds and flu. concentration will improve, and you
will have more patience and in today's world you need a lot of patience. Here is the guide to stress relief.
1) Plan A Stress-Free Life
2) Learn To Relax And Unwind
3) Build Confidence
4) Laughing Out-Loud
5) Feeling Great
By learning how to control the stress in your life and finding ways to relax, you will notice a lot of positive changes in your physical and mental health. Be sure to include the Daily Stress Away 10 min  Exercise I have on this blog site.

Eating For Your Lifestyle

Depending on you lifestyle nutritional requirement vary example, an office worker requires fewer calories than a landscape gardener, whose job is more physically active.

Babies: Babies require a higher proportion of dietary fat than adults to feed the fatty tissues of the brain.
Growth: During  childhood to adolescence we require plenty of carbohydrates for energy and support a higher metabolism, and extra protein to support accelerated growth.
Pregnancy: Extra calories for energy and protein are needed to support the babies growth.
In Old Age: Older people tend to be less physically active, and thus need fewer calories.
High-Pressure Jobs: People in a stressful jobs benefit from foods rich in calming B vitamins.

Healthy Circulation

Have you ever come in the house from a hard day of work and felt like your legs and arms feel numb and when you have more to do you feel a little light headed, if so that is poor Circulation. We do a lot of indoor and outdoor work and I have had this problem in the past, until I found out to keep it from happening again. Now before I do any kind of work I eat the right foods, which are: foods high in Fiber- like cereals, brown rice with chicken, pieces of fruits. Magnesium-salads with broccoli, cauliflower, nuts pecan, walnuts and sunflower, dried fruits, cabbage and even cocoa. Calcium- cheese, milk, fish and vegetables. These three ensure healthy circulation and steadying the heart muscle for your well-being. Magnesium, is the most important nutrient for warding off heart disease. Calcium, regulates the heart beat. Fiber, reduces cholesterol levels that can strain the heart, so now before your day begins try eating the right way for your heart, and continue through out the day, and you heart will thank you.

Healthy Metabolism

One of the most important facts about stress and health is eating right. What we have found out by research is that eating the right way can increase your Metabolism so your body will function in high energy levels. The foods we eat to keep our bodies going all day. Certain foods fuel the metabolism with sustainable energy. Complex carbohydrates such as fruits, cereal, and whole grain breads, release fuel from food gradually. Just remember Processed sugary foods provide a short energy level and wears off quickly. We can say in definite terms is to eat a healthy meal of complex carbohydrates if you plan to do a great amount of work at home or a 9-5 job, keeping your energy level at a constant high for a day is a great way of taking your health in a positive direction.  Foods that can relieve stress: banana, eggs, tomatoes, broccoli, potatoes, sweet potatoes, lettuce, nuts, shrimp, salmon, chicken, strawberries, cherries, mushrooms, kiwi, red peppers, cauliflower, garden peas, grapes, sunflower seeds, raspberries, radishes, pumpkin, and zucchini so after a hard day of work, come home make a chicken salad w/ a nice fruit salad on the side also drink natural juices without processed sugars or water. We recommend eating like this for at least 5 days and have at least 2 cheat days to eat what you like as well as doing exercise also try the 10 minute exercise as well.    

Daily Stress Away 10 Minute Exercise

 1) Maintain a healthy and well-balanced diet. 2) Cut down on caffeine and sugar levels. 3) Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. 4) Do some stretches or gentle exercise. 5) Make a list of your priorities for the day. 6) Always keep things in perspective. 7) Avoid stressful situations. 8) Learn to say "no"and be assertive about your needs. 9) If you need help don't be afraid to ask. 10) Do take away stress exercise regularly.


                                 TAKE AWAY STRESS EXERCISE IN 10 MINUTES. 

1) Gentle Breathing(1 min)- no slouching, sit up straight both feet on the ground, clear your mind and breathe deeply.
2) Tense and Relax(4 min)-ball up your fist and tense all the muscles in your forearm for 5 sec, then relax muscles for 10 sec, repeat for each part o the body.
3) Visualize(3 min)- go to a place in your mind like the beach, a favorite vacation spot, mountains ect.. and immerse yourself.
4) Let Go(1 min)-once your mind and body is relaxed let your stress go, visualize that all the stress is a stream leaving your body and being washed away.
5) Stretching(1min)-close your eyes, breathe in and out deeply enjoying the relaxation and rest then start wiggling your toes and fingers stretching your arms over your head, legs out in front of you, now open your eyes.

                   The more you do this plan the better you will feel in your daily challenges and life will no longer
                    be daunting and stressful.

Happy And Healthy Lifestyle

The greatest thing about living here is all the exercise and eating. We live a great distance from any fast food restaurants which means no fast food in our everyday life style unless we want to travel 30 min to one, its not worth it, so we eat right. In our diets are a lot of vegetables and red meat, fish and carbs. Our exercise is walking to the mail box daily. It is a 15 min walk round trip and lots of yard work, as you can see from the photos there is a lot of yard, plus we are also restoring most of the house from years of wear and tear, we still have work to do and as we do it all we try to make time to relax and enjoy nature. The other thing I really love is no noise factor unless we are making the noise, other than that its all nature and maybe a hunter every now and then. Also I'm not nervous when I hear a gun go off, because here people respect guns and use them the right way, not like in the city where anger is the big issue. Well this is my idea of living a happy and healthy life, but I will share more every chance I get, till later.
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Relaxing With My Candle

I have now been living here in the mountains for 3 yrs in the family homestead. I had so much time I decided to do what the ancestors before me did and use the land as a place to make a living, so I now make and sell candles of all types, colors and scents. Please check them out: Homestead Candles on Facebook. I have enjoyed candles of all types most of my life. I can use my candle indoor and outdoor just relaxing, reading, evening outside drinking wine and listening to the sounds of nature or relaxing music without words. It is like my own piece of heaven. I want to share my relaxing ideas with everyone no matter where you live, there is nothing like having 30 minutes to 1 hour for yourself, indoors and outdoors, even if you have children and a job it's always good to take a time out for yourself rest your mind as well as your body, be a new person everyday.