Back to School Stress Management Tips - Mind Body and Flow Chandler, Arizona

Whether or not you or someone in your family actually goes back to school this time of year, the end of summer can be stressful because of renewed efforts at work, changes in the weather and other goings on. Here are some things you can do to manage the stress:

• Make lists – Get all the things that are bouncing around in your head out on paper. It’ll free up your mind for more productive tasks, and give you the confidence to feel like you’re on your game.
• Get by with a little help from your friends – Maybe you need someone to actually help you finish some project you intended to get done earlier, but never got around to; maybe you just need someone to listen to you for a few minutes. Whatever it is, don’t expect your friends to read your mind. Ask for a few minutes of their time, it’s OK.
• Eat well – Don’t start a fad diet because you’re stressed. Just eat sensible portions, and make sure to mix in plenty of fruits and veggies into your routine.
• Get some sleep – It’s OK to trade late night TV for sleep. Plenty of us are used to functioning on 4-6 hours of sleep regularly, but 8 hours is the target, and occasionally indulging in 10 can be very renewing.
• Organize your space – Whether or not cleanliness is next to godliness we can’t say, but have a cluttered work space makes plenty of people feel uneasy and perform less effectively throughout their day.
• Give yourself a treat – We prefer a healthy lifestyle and healthy relationships over retail therapy, but there’s a time and a place for everything. If there’s something you’ve been thinking about getting for yourself, do it! (Just don’t create more stress for yourself by getting something you can’t afford, or something that involves a major commitment of time or energy.)

If you do some or all of these things, there’s a good chance your stress level will go down significantly. But if do-it-yourself solutions aren’t cutting it, consider getting a series of Zen Shiatsu massages. In addition to the standard massage benefit of reducing muscle tension, Zen Shiatsu uses the same proven system of pressure points as acupuncture to find and treat imbalances in your body. Our massages are $80-95 each, depending on the package you buy. That’s half what you’d pay at a resort, and we do it better!