Okay so today we are going to be talking about stress and cortisol, and they go hand in hand.
I want you ladies to understand what cortisol is and why that hormone matters in the whole scheme of things.
Here's the thing every hormone matters in some way and they all communicate and intertwine with each other. If one hormone is off it throws everything else off.
So it's not just “oh well I have high estrogen or I have low progesterone” -- it's a domino effect and stress and cortisol play a huge role in our hormones, our weight, our energy, our everything, and it took me way too many years to realize this.
I would honestly say within the last two to three years I started understanding the HUGE role that stress played within my body.
Beforehand I knew my cortisol was lopsided and completely out of whack but I didn't get that the daily choices I made affected and played a role in my cortisol levels and then everything else.
For me, weight issues have been a huge battle since my hormones decided to do their own thing 14 years ago due to 3 months of using Birth Control.
Cortisol matters.
When your body is already in a stressed state, and your body is not having that time to recharge and to heal you then go into that fight or flight mode.
So our body is either going to be in the parasympathetic mode which is the rest and digest or it's going to be in the fight-or-flight mode. Which it is just that, your body thinks it is going to be chased by a bear or it is going into famine and so why would we want to digest food when we don't know when we're going to be fed again?
I will say my body has come so far and so I am very passionate for women to understand that these small things you can do and tweak matter and add up with your hormone health
All right so we mentioned the parasympathetic mode, when your body is in the parasympathetic mode it is in the rest and digest mode. It is saying I am at rest, I am safe and I can digest this food because we are not going into “I don't know when my person is gonna feed me again” mode.
For me, the biggest thing that perpetuated my hormone/cortisol issues over the last 14 years is that I have overworked myself in the gym and then I withheld food with the latest diet.
The whole calories in calories out the whole mentality of is NOT true or good for overall health and sustainability.
I was determined to get this weight off that was desperately holding on to because of all the hormone imbalance that was going on inside my body.
I was fighting myself for years. I’m only two years into this new mindset of “it's okay to rest” and that sometimes can be more helpful than a workout.
I am a person that loves a good workout, I love a good sweat, I love lifting weights, and used to be the biggest gym rat.
I was in school to be a personal trainer, I wanted that life, I loved being in shape.
I still love muscle, feeling strong and capable. I have had to teach myself that it is okay to take a couple of days off and let my body heal and DO IT'S THING.
My body was like “okay I don't know what you're doing but this isn't working for us” and it
shut down on me completely.
All right so cortisol, what the heck is cortisol?
Cortisol is your like get up and go hormone.
When you wake up in the morning you should have your cortisol at the highest and then throughout the day, it should slowly decrease.
Then your melatonin hormone overtakes and that is what makes you sleepy and tired at night.
Cortisol plays a huge role and so overworking your body for a long period of time spikes your cortisol for way too long. A HITT workout can be helpful to move your body because it's a very short amount of time that you are pumping out cortisol and then it can re-regulate your cortisol.
I did the opposite for years and had no clue why I couldn’t lose weight.
If any of this resonates with you, I just ask that you heed what I say even a little bit because
I wish I had someone to say “hey maybe you should think about this”.
There are small simple things that you can do throughout your day.
Small tweaks in your day guys that you can do to start regulating your stress hormones and your cortisol and literally teaching it that it is safe.
In my signature hope and hormone course, we cover all of this and so much more!
This course EASILY TEACHES YOU THE DETAILS OF YOUR ENDOCRINE SYSTEM IN A SIMPLE, EASY TO LEARN WAY.
Then, we dig deeper + learn HOW to implement what you have learned.
I share my complete hormone toolbox with you.
TRUST ME, IT WILL BE WORTH IT.
If you're ready to dig in do it because it's everything packaged up that I wish I could tell the world, so I am.
YOU ALREADY KNOW the benefits of seasonal, monthly, even weekly cleanses…but what about ways to detox daily? The small, consistent changes are always what make the most impact in the long run, whether it’s a workout schedule or a skincare routine. And it’s the same with detoxification.
What we do in the morning sets the tone for the whole day. And if you’ve ever overslept, you know exactly how true this statement is. Mornings can be rough; it’s easy to rely on sugar and caffeine to energize you, which only wreaks havoc on your digestive system and exacerbates fluctuating energy levels and moods. If you’ve ever wanted a do-over before 9 a.m., start your day right – and keep it on the right track – with these 6 simple ways to detox your body naturally each and every day.
-GET UP ON TIME-
Are those nine extra minutes the snooze button gives you ever really worth it? Get out of bed when you first wake up and start your day already—especially since the two hours after we awake are potentially the most productive of our entire day. Running late or feeling rushed in the morning only adds to anxiety and fatigue, and can cause us to turn to coffee and sugary snacks to get through the rest of the day. Side note: I’m a big fan of showering at night in order to avoid dawdling in the morning (at which I am a pro).
-DRINK CLEANSING LEMON WATER-
Lemon Digestive Aid Water or Lemon Cleanse Water is a great way to stimulate digestion, release toxins from the liver, jumpstarts your digestive enzymes and give your body a vitamin C boost. Try adding a pinch of sea salt or raw, organic apple cider vinegar for even more detoxing effects.
NOTE: If you feel nauseous or experience tightness in the chest after drinking the morning lemon elixir, omit the raw apple cider vinegar. This reaction can occur from the body’s releasing of bacteria and toxins during detox. Continue to drink the lemon elixir, omitting the Bragg’s (or use only ½ teaspoon) for at least three days, and then reintroduce it. If the reactions continue upon reintroduction, continue to drink only the lemon water
-SCRAPE YOUR TONGUE-
By tongue scraping every morning, you remove bacteria that can lead to poor digestion and liver stagnation. Brush your teeth before you tongue-scrape. Then use a tongue scraper or a spoon to reach as far back as possible and pull forward, scraping off the white film, which is candida and streptococcus mutans.
DRY-BRUSH YOUR SKIN
Dry skin brushing improves lymphatic drainage, reduces cellulite, promotes digestion and supports detoxification. You can purchase a skin brush on Amazon, or simply use a dry towel. Gently brush in a circular motion, always moving from the extremities towards the heart, thereby improving blood flow to the heart. Use counter-clockwise strokes on your belly to improve detoxification.
-OIL PULLING-
Oil pulling has been a common detoxification practice for centuries and can be done with coconut, sesame or olive oil. Oil pulling should be done on an empty stomach to ensure maximum benefit. The best times are upon rising and before bed.
-TAKE A PROBIOTIC-
Probiotics (healthy bacteria) regulate and restore your intestines’ natural balance, and studies have shown they can help rid the body of heavy metals, free radicals and dangerous bacteria.
- ANTHRO VOLCANO CANDLE DIFFUSER BLEND -
Your favorite candle scent – minus the synthetic fragrances and paraffin wax! This essential oil diffuser blend is scented with sugared citrus, light florals, and a hint of woodsy greens. OBSESSED!
READY FOR YOUR HOME TO SMELL LIKE ANTHROPOLOGIE?
There’s two ways to make this blend – a shortcut way with 3 gorgeous oils and a luxe version that uses 5 oils. I’m sharing both diffuser recipes here. So whether you’re brand new to EOs or already have a growing collection – you can make this blend!
This is such an easy swap if you love how Anthropologie smells but aren’t down with paraffin wax + synthetic fragrances in your home. Which btw. I checked with both Anthro + the candle manufacturer (Capri Blue) and was bummed to see this well-loved candle had BOTH in it.
It’s totally possible to make your home smell amazing, the natural way. My advice? Skip all the legwork involved in contacting candle companies about what’s in their wax blends, what their wicks are made of, and if their scents are naturally derived (or not). And just go straight for the simplest switch. Diffusers with essential oils. If you’re using pure, quality oils then you can rest easy knowing you’re using just 2 ingredients – water and oils.
The best part of using EO’s instead of candles is having control over the scent! You can make it sweeter, more or less woodsy, floral, earthy, simple, complex, strong scented or more subtle.
WAYS TO CUSTOMIZE YOUR BLEND
Both of these blends have that sugared citrus, lightly floral, hint of woodsy greens vibe that we all know & love in those candles. With slight differences. The 3-oil blend is sweeter, more sugared citrus. The 5-oil blend is more floral and nuanced.
Fully obsessed + you’ll find us diffusing this blend a LOT in our house. Here’s some ideas for EO swaps you can make and how to customize this blend into your dream candle scent:
- Swap Tangerine for Orange if you want a sweeter citrus note
- Use Idaho Blue Spruce in place of Northern Lights Black Spruce – I alternate depending on what’s in stock, or try adding Pine for more classically woodsy scent
- Add more Valor to play up the “sugared” citrus note
- Add more Grapefruit if you like a brighter, crisp, clean citrus vibe
- Add Lime if you want it to be more tropical
- Add a few drops of Stress Away to add a vanilla note
- Add Lemon if you want a fuller citrus scent
- https://www.freeyourfork.com/anthro-volcano-candle-diffuser-blend/
WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR PURE ESSENTIAL OILS + BIOAVAILABLE SUPPLEMENTS?
If THE WELLNESS WELL tribe had a motto it would be “quality matters”.
So I like to source products and ingredients – food, beauty, home cleaning, personal care, etc – from companies that are in line with that same belief.
I source all my essential oils from one trusted place – Young Living. They never use fillers or add synthetic chemicals in their oils. So what you’re getting is only the good stuff – pure, potent, essential oils.
I really dig their:
- Seed to Seal promise
- Commitment to consumer safety (in-house and third party testing)
- Radical ingredient transparency (ethical sourcing, trusted farms, full ingredient lists)
You can order your starter kit here & I’ll send you even more recipes and resources like these so you feel comfortable using all your oils!
Sign up as a Member – for 24% off retail prices (recommended) this does not mean you will ever have to sell anything, it just means you are getting a starter kit & will therefore get 24% off retail prices (just like Costco!) AND joining my deeper wellness education tribe!
The psoas is a deep hip flexor responsible for granting us the ability to bring the knee into the body and bend at the hips. It also stabilizes the pelvis and helps us to stand upright. It is the only muscle that crosses the body from back to front, beginning in the lumbar vertebrae and crossing the front of the body to insert high in the inner thigh at the lesser trochanter. This muscle also crosses through the lumber plexus of the spine, a highly nervy center - this explains why this muscle is regarded so highly as an emotional muscle. It is a major player for everything involving physical movement...even sitting down!
Being an emotional muscle implies that when this muscle is manually treated, an emotional response will likely occur. These types of responses include crying, coughing, having a tickle response, or having an aversion to being touched in that area. Therefore, we must approach with caution, reverence and care.
The Psoas Muscle Explained
There is so much more to the psoas that the anatomical explanation of why it can be perceived as the most emotional place within our body. In regards to emotion, the other part of this muscle is one that we often do not discuss. If a person has experienced trauma as a result of someone placing their hands on them without consent, this is the muscle memory area that will hold on for dear life. This is also why the illnesses that include the sexual reproductive organs will likely (but not always) be coupled with a trauma that has occurred in the person’s life in or around that particular area. Every single trauma that occurs in one’s life is locked and loaded into the cellular memory, the mental/cognitive memory, and the muscle memory. Too many people have stories to tell of a time that someone tried to exert power over their bodies and walked away guiltless. Almost every single woman I know has a story to tell, and nowadays, a lot of men do as well. This is not OK.
Our bodies are the ones that try to hide the evidence, as if we talk about it too much, it might actually take us down a path that we fear we might not ever come back from. The pain, anguish, shame, and guilt, along with the wish that we had handled it more loudly, more effectively, sooner, better…it all lives in our muscles (especially the psoas muscle) as much as it lives in our (mental) memories. And if something is too traumatic and the mind chooses to file it away in a cabinet that is to never be opened again, it is only by way of the physical body and energy body that we can make it into that vault for release. It is either through cognitive therapy or through touch therapy that the body will be able to release the experience.
The Body Tells A Story
Someone who does not like to be touched will not respond well to touch therapy of any kind. They will need to find their healing through the cognitive route. Treatment like EMDR (eye movement desensitization reprocessing) are highly beneficial. At the moment of impact from a trauma, the experience freezes in time. Even as you grow and mature, this particular point of impact does not. Think of it as a memory groove; the groove never changes once it has been carved into the body. Learning how to approach the body and the mind to help them process is how healing can occur. Someone who cannot handle discussion or is unwilling to open that mental vault can heal in enormous ways by having someone help their body tell the story and release the pain. This would likely include treatments, such as reiki or therapeutic touch, as well as muscle work to treat the physical and energy patterns that have locked in the trauma.
Each person has a specific pathway for healing, and all we can do is help them to find it and support their process. In this day and age when the older, white male political population is having its last hurrah over women’s bodies, we are screaming for understanding, comfort, and the opportunity for someone to meet us exactly where we are and see us for who we truly are. Whenever possible, try to take the yoga path into healing...even if that person doesn’t practice. Meet them where they are. Not where you want them to be, but simply where they are. And if it’s you who needs someone to meet you where you are, honor your body and your process. Simply be aware of it without placing demands on yourself.
We must be willing to address all of these aspects in order to form the whole. Feel the pain, and don’t put a time limit on your grieving process. No one has the right to tell you how to grieve or for how long. No one has the right to tell you how to go about your healing process, either. Healing can be messy. But…messy can also be really, really beautiful.
