Classes at Studio NiaMoves

Photo courtesy of Studio NiaMoves

Early last week, I received an e-mail forward from a friend about a stress management class being held at Studio NiaMoves on the upcoming Sunday. I thought, "Yes! That's exactly what I need." I was happy with the $25 cost of admission, as well as the convenient location on Pecore Street.

The class was officially called the "Tao of Stress Management with The Axelrad Wellness Clinic." I didn't know what to expect, but I was hoping for some concrete strategies to help me reduce stress in my life.

The facility on 508 Pecore Street is simply lovely. The class was held in a beautiful home-like environment with wood floors and built-in bookshelves. There was even organic, Kiss-My-Face Soap in the restrooms and hand towels (it doesn't take much to excite me!).

There were a dozen or so of us there, and we represented a diverse age range. Some were already patients of the clinic, and others of us were completely new.

Although the presenter had technical difficulty and wasn't able to show his PowerPoint, he gave us a handout with all the slides. He first talked about the importance of eating fewer processed foods because of the internal stress they can cause to cells. He specifically railed against things like refined sugar and flour.

Then he talked about how each of us needs to accept personal responsibility for our own stress levels. He emphasized that we cannot control what happens to us, but we can control our reactions to it. He identified a few primary sources of stress, such as being hard on yourself, wanting to control things you can't, escalating stress instead of managing it, blaming things on other people, and ignoring your intuition.

He addressed the serious medical ramifications for subjecting your body to a lot of stress. Then he moved into a discussion of how to curb stress in your life, with techniques such as breathing all the way into your abdomen (it feels great!), drinking more water, getting enough sleep, exercising, eating better foods, and getting enough vitamins and minerals. He briefly touched on acupuncture as a way to "turn up your body's healing response."

He concluded with the idea that, in short, we should "breathe more deeply, eat more simply, and move more frequently."

I definitely learned some good stuff and feel so fortunate to have such opportunities right in our neighborhood. I love that our neighborhood has a little something for everyone. I will definitely take classes at Studio NiaMoves in the future.