Today I’m going to share with you how to leave anxiety behind and become more calm and centered. As you know, I’ve interviewed over 600 guests on Mindfulness Mode and it’s not surprising that some patterns are emerging. One of those patterns has to do with anxiety and stress and what you can do to decrease that undesirable feeling that we’re all familiar with. First, remember that stress is an emotion. I know you’re likely saying, well that’s obvious, but I want to remind you that our motions are there for a reason. Emotions exist to tell us that something is going on with our body or something needs to be adjusted. Human emotions are like the warning lights on your car’s dashboard that let you know that something on your car needs attention. Maybe the fuel is low, the oil needs to be topped up, or your coolant is running low. There are warning lights on your dash to let you know of a bunch of different things that might need attention on your car. Listen & Subscribe on: iTunes / Stitcher / Podbean / Overcast / Spotify What Are Emotions For? Emotions serve a similar purpose. Loneliness means that you need more human interaction in your life. Anger could mean you need to pay attention and possibly make a change regarding something that’s happening. There’s no doubt about it, emotions can be a complex system of letting you know something needs adjusted. For one thing, in our society, a lot of us have learned to push our emotions away, pretend they aren’t real, or sometimes we might not identify our emotions accurately. Maybe we think we’re feeling stress, but it’s actually boredom, or loneliness. Feel-Good Chemicals Our body’s have an amazing system of secreting hormones and chemicals in response to various emotions. Most people realize that when we experience fight or flight, our body creates chemicals as a result.Although we don’t always realize this fact, when we work up a sweat, there are some feel-good chemicals that help us feel better and can even make you feel like you’re experiencing a high. You’ve probably heard of runner’s high. The chemicals we’re talking about are endorphins. The Games In order to experience this feeling, you have to make movement a way of life. You have to create a habit that includes some kind of activity. Brisk walking or running can do this for you, but of course there are lots of other choices too. The 2020 Olympics are on right now, and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to talk about physical activity and sport. This year's Tokyo games are officially called the Games of the XXXII Olympiad Tokyo 2020. Take some time to tune in to some events and allow yourself to enjoy and be inspired by the athletes. I usually find that once I tune in, I get so interested that I want to watch even more. Like I said, allow yourself to be inspired. After all, all these athletes started somewhere, and you can be sure there were times when they needed some inspiration and encouragement from others. We can all encourage each other, no matter what challenges we’re up against at any given time. Beat Your Stress Let’s talk about running. Running helps to improve your mood because it makes you feel better about yourself and gives you a sense of accomplishment. It also can be addicting, as once you get in a routine and start feeling the positive effects, you’ll likely want to stick with it. Running is also inexpensive and convenient. You don’t need a gym membership or expensive equipment. Running is a great exercise and a perfect way to beat stress and anxiety, and also get connected to nature. That’s true of course, as long as you have somewhere to run when you can enjoy the trees, the birds, or whatever aspect of nature you enjoy. The reason running helps beat stress, is because the body releases endorphins which are often called “feel-good” chemicals. They can act as a pain reliever and happiness booster. Endorphins are primarily made in the part of the brain called the hypothalamus and also in the p