Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone had a fantastic day with their mothers! I am very lucky to have a wonderful mother who has supported me through 22 (soon-to-be 23) years of life, through thick and thin.

As I am currently in New York, I will be celebrating with my family next weekend when I finally get to visit home in Los Angeles again.

Until then, I'm focusing on stress relief. Going home has always been a huge stress reliever for me, but to tide me over, there are a few things I'm going to try.

For today, I picked one of Martha's excellent suggestions: take just 30 seconds to stretch out and collect yourself when things are getting tense. Mid-a boring read about evolution (which is usually very interesting, but which my textbook makes painful uninteresting), the crick in my neck got unbearable. So I took just a few seconds to stretch it, and the rest of my body. I did some meditative breathing exercises and some child's pose too.

It only took a bit, and I felt instantly better. Taking a few seconds, or minutes, to refocus does wonders for snapping me out of discomfort. Of course, this isn't a perfect remedy, but it's a little thing that made endless reading just a little bit easier.

I am going to have to use this for my final in a few weeks.

More information (from Martha Stewart):

Quick Fixes for Everyday Disasters

Save the Day

The phone is ringing, you've just received an annoying email from a coworker, and there's a big meeting in 10 minutes.
Here in the real world, you've got two choices: Ignore the crick in your neck, wash your panic down with coffee and a pastry, and forge ahead, hoping the sugar crash doesn't come too quickly. Or, take 30 seconds to stretch tight muscles, try a stress-busting breathing exercise, or quiet your thoughts with a quick meditation technique.
Based on yoga, traditional Chinese medicine, and herbalism, the following strategies -- adapted from "The Anywhere, Anytime Chill Guide" by Kate Hanley -- can empower you to get calmer, more resilient, and happier in the midst of even the most chaotic day.

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Step 3: Learn to Cope

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3...

I have a test tomorrow. On many biology things with names like "membrane attack complex" and "adrenocorticotropic stimulating hormone." And this is just the beginning. If/when I finally get to medical school, memorization and the stress of keeping a ridiculous number of minutiae in my tiny brain will undoubtedly take over my life.

All in all, I'm really going to have to learn how to deal with stress. Although I'm not totally freaking out right now, it's always good to practice some techniques for those bigger, more stressful moments that are soon to come.

Martha, correctly I think, suggests stretching as a way to ease the stress away. I was willing to give it a try. She has a list of some great stress-reducing exercises on her Whole Living site: from the Chest Opener to the basic Standing Body Hang. The best part is that all of these are ridiculously easy - perfect for a quick study break near bedtime.

Now, it's back to studying. The immune system is not going to memorize itself...