THE BIG PICTURE: CORTISOL
As you know, each hormone swimming around your mombody is intimately involved in how you look, how you think, and how you feel. You really ARE only as happy as your hormones.
When it comes to menopause, there are three key hormones that can disrupt the entire system. THE BIG THREE hormones are: cortisol, insulin, and oxytocin.
If you feel OFF during this stage of your life, it is likely you have an imbalance of the big three hormones. However, when these three are in balance, all the other hormones (like estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA) will fall into place. Tweaking your lifestyle can have a tremendous impact on your health. Let’s start to rebalance those mombody hormones!
This week, we will learn strategies to balance cortisol (the stress hormone) naturally.
Cortisol gets a bad rap but it is truly a life-saving hormone, especially during times of danger. However, problems occur when cortisol levels are too high. Chronic high levels lead to weight gain, inflammation, aging, depression, leaky gut, poor immunity. And as we get older, there is less regulation of cortisol, increasing our risk for dementia, cancer, heart disease, and more.
Yes, cortisol is so powerful, it can throw your entire hormonal system out of whack.
Correcting diet and lifestyle through the MBODY8 process can help you balance cortisol levels naturally. Throughout the week, we will cover exactly how to help support your mombody through the 4 pillars of health: EAT, MOVE, REST, DETOX. These strategies will teach you to MBODY8 your mombody for happy hormones.
Best ways to naturally balance cortisol levels this week:
1) Learn to breathe properly. When you engage your inner core muscles, you are training your body to be strong. But you are also lowering your cortisol levels when you breathe deeply - a bonus!
2) Be alkaline.
3) Eat foods that support liver detox.
A SMALL DETAIL FOR CARVING YOUR MOMBODY - BREATHING
How you breathe is how you live.
When you are stressed out you take short, shallow breaths. In contrast, when you are calm and relaxed, you take deep, long, nourishing breaths that fill your blood with healing oxygen. So guess which way of breathing your body prefers? Yes, relaxation is your body’s favorite place to be because of the nutrient dense breathing pattern that comes along with it. This type of breathing is something you should carve out time for during your day, even if you thrive on being a go-getter and living off of adrenaline to power through your days. Why?
Because breathing experts agree that deep, meaningful, nutrient-transporting breathing is your body’s fountain of youth. Let that soak in for a second. How you breathe either helps facilitate aging, OR, when you learn to teach your body to breathe correctly most of the time, it will actually help slow down the body’s natural aging process. Take years off your face by learning to breathe deeply - that’s cheaper than botox. Here’s how it works…
When you are relaxed, your nervous system turns on a “rest and digest” or “tend and befriend” process that goes to work cleaning up inflammation, removing toxins, and pumping fresh oxygen to your cells - this is wonderful for your mombody wellness. But, in the opposite direction, your “flight or fight” response is turned on when you are stressed out. You know this feeling well because you feel anxious, you are sweaty, your heart rate is beating out of your chest, and you are on high alert because cortisol and adrenaline are pumping through your veins. This all-important stress response is imperative for survival when there is REAL danger in your way (like a car about to hit you or a predatory tiger about to eat you) but this response is no way to live your entire life.
Remember, how you breathe is how you live - now you know that your mombody prefers to be in a relaxed state, instead of worrying about what you perceive to be real danger in your modern momlife (Yes, taxes are stressful but not life-threatening. Yes, the holidays are coming and bills are piling up, but again, this is not a life-threatening situation). Be mindful of what your body is doing when you are breathing.
So, long story short, telling your mombody (through breathwork) that “everything is ok” is a crucial first step in achieving maximum wellness.
And the best part is, breathing not only helps you stay young but it also helps you get back that slim, beautiful waistline. The first video will teach you to turn “on” your inner core muscles that have been weakened throughout your time as a mom. We are going to CARVE your mombody and it starts here.
BAB BALLOON BREATH
The second video explains what happens when you try to exercise without coordinating your breathing properly. For instance, if you try to do a crunch while inhaling there is too much pressure in your mombody core and can cause damage to the already vulnerable areas of your pelvic floor and mombody core. Exhale to “Lift and Cinch” and Inhale to soften. Exhale to engage. Inhale to soften. Every. single. time.