We all know that living under stressful conditions has serious emotional, even physical, consequences. So why do we have so much trouble taking action to reduce our stress levels and improve our lives?

Researchers at Yale University finally have the answer. They found that stress reduces the volume of grey matter in the areas of the brain responsible for self-control.

So experiencing stress actually makes it more difficult to deal with future stress because it diminishes your ability to take control of the situation, manage your stress and keep things from getting out of control.

A vicious cycle if there ever was one.

But don’t be disheartened. It’s not impossible to reduce your stress levels; you just need to make managing stress a higher priority if you want to reverse this effect. The sooner you start managing your stress effectively, the easier it will be to keep unexpected stress from causing damage in the future.

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” –William James

Luckily, the plasticity of the brain allows it to mold, change, and rebuild damaged areas as you practice new behaviors. So implementing healthy stress-relieving techniques can train your brain to handle stress more effectively and decrease the likelihood of ill effects from stress in the future.

Here are seven strategies to help you fix your brain and keep your stress under control:

1. Say No

Research conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, shows that the more difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression. Saying no is indeed a major challenge for many people. “No” is a powerful word that you should not be afraid to wield. When it’s time to say no, avoid phrases such as “I don’t think I can” or “I’m not certain.” Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them.

2. Disconnect

Technology enables constant communication and the expectation that you should be available 24/7. It is extremely difficult to enjoy a stress-free moment outside of work when an email that will change your train of thought and get you thinking (read: stressing) about work can drop onto your phone at any moment.

Taking regular time off the grid helps you to keep your stress under control and to live in the moment. When you make yourself available to your work 24/7, you expose yourself to a constant barrage of stressors. Forcing yourself offline and even—gulp!—turning off your phone gives your body and mind a break. Studies have shown that something as simple as a weekend email break can lower stress levels.

If detaching yourself from work-related communication on weekday evenings is too big a challenge, then how about the weekend? Choose blocks of time where you will cut the cord and go offline. You’ll be amazed by how refreshing these breaks are and how they reduce stress by putting a mental recharge into your weekly schedule.

If you are worried about the negative repercussions of taking this step, try first doing it at times you are unlikely to be contacted—maybe Sunday morning. As you grow more comfortable with this, and as your coworkers begin to accept the time you spend offline, gradually expand the amount of time you spend away from technology.

3. Neutralize Toxic People

Dealing with difficult people is frustrating, exhausting, and highly stressful for most. You can control your interactions with toxic people by keeping your feelings in check. When you need to confront a toxic person, approach the situation rationally. Identify your own emotions and don’t allow anger or frustration to fuel the chaos. Also, consider the difficult person’s standpoint and perspective so that you can find solutions and common ground. Even when things completely derail, you can take the toxic person with a grain of salt to avoid letting him or her bring you down.

4. Don’t Hold Grudges

The negative emotions that come with holding onto a grudge are actually a stress response. Just thinking about the event sends your body into fight-or-flight mode, a survival mechanism that forces you to stand up and fight or run for the hills when faced with a threat. When the threat is imminent, this reaction is essential to your survival, but when the threat is ancient history, holding onto that stress wreaks havoc on your body and can have devastating health consequences over time. In fact, researchers at Emory University have shown that holding onto stress contributes to high blood pressure and heart disease. Holding onto a grudge means you’re holding onto stress, and emotionally intelligent people know to avoid this at all costs. Letting go of a grudge not only makes you feel better now but can also improve your health.

5. Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a simple, research-supported form of meditation that is an effective way to gain control of unruly thoughts and behaviors. People who practice mindfulness regularly are more focused, even when they are not meditating. It is an excellent technique to help reduce stress because it allows you to reduce the feeling of being out of control. Essentially, mindfulness helps you stop jumping from one thought to the next, which keeps you from ruminating on negative thoughts. Overall, it’s a great way to make it through your busy day in a calm and productive manner.

 6. Put Things In Perspective

Our worries often come from our own skewed perception of events. So before you spend too much time dwelling on what your boss said during the last staff meeting, take a minute to put the situation in perspective. If you aren’t sure when you need to do this, try looking for clues that your anxiety may not be proportional to the stressor. If you are thinking in broad sweeping statements like “Everything is going wrong” or “Nothing will work out” then you need to reframe the situation. A great way to correct this unproductive thought pattern is to list the specific things that actually are going wrong or not working out. Most likely you will come up with just one or two things—not everything. The key to keeping your cool is to remember that your feelings are exaggerating the situation and the scope of the stressor is much more limited than it might appear.

7. Use Your Support System

It’s tempting, yet entirely ineffective, to attempt tackling everything by yourself. To be calm and productive you need to recognize your weaknesses and ask for help when you need it. This means tapping into your support system when a situation is challenging enough for you to feel overwhelmed.

IT’S TIME TO U-TURN YOUR WORKOUT with this 15-min density circuit to tone every inch of your body.

What’s a “density circuit?” It means that you include just a few moves in your circuit, so you can pack a lot of movement into your 15 minutes!

Doing this lets your body train longer with less fatigue and more movement quality. And you know what that means…the more moves you can fit in during a 15-minute pre-shower workout, the better your metabolism-boosting results.

What makes the workout a U-Turn?

You start the workout off by doing 5 moves in sequential order. For the next round, you reverse the order, or in other words, you U-Turn.

Here’s how it works..

1. Complete 15 reps of each move
2. Do two rounds. Here’s where the U-Turn comes in…For the 1st round, complete moves #1-5. For the second round, do the sequence backwards and complete moves #5-1
3. Repeat for 15 minutes!

1. Start in plank position, but this time, rest on your elbows instead of your hands. Be sure to keep the shoulders depressed back and down and the neck nice and long throughout the movement.
2. Keeping your abs engaged, slowly swivel the hips underneath you to the right. Feel your obliques driving this motion as you swivel to the other side with a slow, controlled motion.

1. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, step your left foot directly behind you, taking a wide stance, and bend your legs, lowering your torso down into a lunge. Be sure and maintain that core stability to prevent injury.
2. While in lunge position, keep your shoulders over your hips, back knee slightly bent, front knee in alignment with your front toes, shoulders back and down.
3. Feel your weight in your right (front) heel as you push yourself to standing.
4. As you return to standing, do a tricep kickback: Reach your arms back behind you and extend, feeling a squeeze in the tricep.

1. Stand with dumbbells in each hand in hammerhead position, with palms facing each other.
2. Step out to the right side, with a wide stance. Bend the right leg and lower your hips down as you keep the left leg straight out to the side, feeling a slight stretch in the left inner thigh.
3. Pressing off the right foot, keeping your core engaged, push yourself back up to standing.
4. As you return to standing, curl the weights up toward your shoulders, squeezing the muscles on the front of the arms for a bicep curl.

1. Rest dumbbells on your hips as you place your left foot behind you. Instead of stepping directly back, the left foot should move diagonally back, with the back knee bending down directly outside the right foot
2. Fire up the core muscles as you squat down with the right leg, feeling the emphasis on your right glute (weight placed firmly in the right heel) as the left foot lightly supports you.
3. As you return to standing, bring the left foot forward, landing with a wide stance.
4. Punch the right hand across your body, toward the left wall, allowing your right foot to rotate as your torso twists to the left, engaging your right glute.

1. Squat down to rest both hands on the floor, similar to the Mountain Climber move. But instead of lunging one leg back behind you, jump both legs at the same time into a plank position.
2. Return to standing, and reach up to the sky.

Sometimes, it’s easy to allow habits to control the day. There’s no doubt about it….Habits are powerful.

There’s a degree of internal discipline that’s needed in order to break out of the shell of habits in order to discover the wonderment and peace that surrounds you.

But that discipline can be as simple as a 3-breath practice.

So next time you’re feeling stuck or chaotic, there’s a simple but transformational practice that only takes 10 seconds, but will put you in-tune with the magic of the stillness of the present moment.

Here’s what to do…

1. Close your eyes, and relax your mind.

2. Let go of the chaotic story you’re telling yourself

3. Pause, and take three breaths. Take enough time in-between each breath to reconnect with where you are.

The beauty of this practice is that it creates a sacred space in your mind where you find yourself.

You drop the struggle.

You find a calm energy.

Before you begin the day, and you’re still curled up in bed, look through the window and begin your morning with this 3-breath practice. Drop the anxiety of the day ahead, and lay there…being exactly where you are.

And, whenever you find yourself making a gap in your mind and feel the stress seeping in, try the 3-breath practice.

Let fear, stress, and anxiety be like blowing a bubble….in an instant, you can pop it, and make room for serenity.

QUESTION: Every once in a while I get bloating and gas. It’s uncomfortable and embarrassing. What can I do to get rid of it?

Here’s what Anne Fabiny, MD and Editor in Chief of Harvard Women’s Health Watch says…

“Gas and bloating are tough to talk about, but we’ve all have had to deal with these afflictions at one time or another. Although they’re not pleasant, there are things you can do to prevent and treat them.”

“Most gas and bloating stem from your diet. When you eat, bacteria living in your gut feast on the carbohydrates your body can’t digest. They release hydrogen, methane, and other gases, which swell up your belly. Eventually your body expels the gas in the form of flatulence.”

“Gas also can be caused by air you swallow. Try eating smaller meals and chewing slowly, so you don’t inhale extra air. Avoid carbonated drinks, which can increase belching. Most of the time gas is more of an annoyance than a health issue.”

If you want to maintain a flat tummy, it’s IMPORTANT to keep your gut in a healthy zone.

Here are 4 foods that are easy to digest and will keep your gut lining on track.

1 – Liquid Gold (aka Bone Broth) – When made from scratch, bone broth is almost deceptively simple….water and animal bones simmered for hours into an immune-boosting, protein-rich stock. The benefits of the brew seem to be endless…from strengthening the gastrointestinal tract, while giving your body amino acids and important minerals such as potassium, proline and glycine.

2 – Good Fats – Don’t be afraid of fat! Eating avocado each day keeps the doctor away! Okay, maybe I made that saying up, but in moderation, healthy fats promote gut healing. My favorites are avocado, coconut oil, and salmon. 

3 – Fermented Foods – Foods that are fermented (such as sauerkraut, kimichi and kombucha) contain probiotics that help destroy bad bacteria (like candida), which helps your gut health. Probiotics are actually the “good” bacteria — or live cultures — just like those naturally found in your gut. These active cultures help change or repopulate intestinal bacteria to balance gut flora. This functional component may boost immunity and overall health, especially GI health. They also help balance the pH of your small intestines and stomach.

4 – Steamed Veggies– You already know by now that eating a hearty amount of vegetables is forefront in getting fit and staying healthy. But, steaming non-starchy veggies such as asparagus and kale is also an essential part of having a healthy gut lining. Try steaming a few pieces of asparagus and wrapping it with a lean slice of turkey. This will help curb your hunger throughout the day and keep you satisfied.

Eliminate These 4 Inflammation-Boosting Foods:

1 – GMO – Research from the Journal of Environmental Sciences shows that GMO foods cause organ inflammation and  destroy the probiotics in your gut.

2- Gluten – It’s tough to digest, unless it’s gone through a sprouting or sourdough process.

3 – Dairy from Cows  – Go for unsweeteened almond milk instead!

4 – Sugar – “Sugar, not fat, is the real villain that steals our health and sabotages our waistlines!” – Mark Hyman

More Tummy Trimming Exercises Here!

Here’s How To Do The Hollow Body Roll:

1. Lay on the ground with your hands above your head and your legs straight out. S
2. Slowly lift your legs and your arms, keeping your abs contracted. This is called “hollow body” position… a challenging position, because it requires your entire core to activate at once.
3. With a controlled motion, slowly lift your back while bringing your knees to your chest and your hands to your knees.
4. Hold this position for 2 seconds.
5. Lower your back and your legs to hollow body position (step 2) and repeat 10 times.

With celebrities such as Natalie Portman and Madonna joining the barre craze, it’s no wonder why barre studios are sweeping the nation. But this ballet-style workout is more than just a Hollywood hype. Barre workouts are the perfect way to improve balance and range-of-motion while developing lean muscle mass…especially in those hard-to-reach areas.

The best part is, you can reshape your glutes and get that beautiful curve without any weights. All you need is a chair, and you’re ready to work your rear! Remember, the key is to maintain proper form…keep your core activated, your abs pulled in, and your posture lifted.

Follow these 5 techniques to make the most of this lower body barre-tightening routine:

1. Tap into your inner ballerina as you practice the exercises, and it will reflect in your movement patterns.
2. Check your posture – if you catch yourself hunching over or leaning to one side, re-align your positioning. You shouldn’t feel tension in areas that you’re not targeting.
3. Think and focus, and the body will follow. Imagine trying to pinch a coin or a dollar bill in-between your cheeks. In other works, squeeze your buns toward the midline as you move through the routine. With each pulse, contract just a little harder.
4. When you’re all done, remember to stretch to help counteract the intensity of the workout!

The New York Times referred to a study about why high-impact exercises (such as jumping rope) are good for your bones, and important as you age, saying, “Bones should be jarred, for their own good. Past experiments have definitively established that subjecting bones to abrupt stress prompts them to add mass or at least reduces their loss of mass as people age.”

Today’s 4-min jump rope video from my Cardio Knockout DVD isn’t complicated…in fact, you don’t even need a jump rope…just use your imagination!

But, be prepared…this routine will take your calves, cardio and coordination to the next level. And, it will amp up your metabolism.

Plus, it’s fun.
Here’s what some women on Facebook shared with me about this workout…

Studies show walking is one of the best ways to banish the belly bulge. It’s simple. Only 2 1/2 hours of brisk walking a week (about 20 minutes a day) can shrink your belly by about 1 inch in 4 weeks.

But in order to get the most out of your walk and turn it into a tummy-toning workout, it is imperative to focus on activating the muscles in your core during your walk.

Here’s a trick to core activation which translates into a slim, trim belly…

Once you’re in your steady-state, activate your abdominals every other step. This will help keep your spine in a neutral position. And believe it or not, it will allow you to walk faster, which means burning more calories.

If you activate your muscles before your walk, it will increase your training effect dramatically.