By Karim Hajee

You walk into your office, there are a thousand things to do,
your boss screams at you and you feel like you just can’t go
on. You get home and there are another thousand things that
need to get done. Maybe you brought some work home so
you can catch up. After tackling all those things that have to
get done you finally get to bed at 2-am and you’re up at 6-am
to start the grind all over again.

Sure you feel stressed. You’re pushing yourself to the limit,

you don’t think you’ve got anymore left to give but you have
to find a way to get things done.

You’re tired, you don’t have the energy, you can’t focus, you
can’t sleep, you’re putting on weight from eating junk food
because you don’t have the time to make a decent meal and
you feel like screaming!

Go ahead and scream; it’s okay. In fact it might even help.

Let’s face it life is full of stresses. It could be your job, your
business, your spouse, your family and all kinds of things that
make you feel stressed.

I know I’ve been there.

Years ago I had to make some important decisions and the

choices I made created a tremendous amount of stress and I
felt like there would never be a light at the end of the tunnel.
My wife and I lived in a small 2 bedroom bungalow… with 4
kids. Needless to say it was a little crammed. So we decided
to renovate and turn this small bungalow into a 5 bedroom
home. And that was the beginning of what would be 3 long,
stress filled years.
Yup, that’s me with our bungalow in the background.

Why the long face you ask?

That was taken by a newspaper photographer after the

Contractor we hired walked out on our job with a large sum of
our money. Turns out, he did the same to about 20-other
families. In total he defrauded all of us for a total of over 2-
million dollars.

On top of that, my mother, my long time best friend and

business partner was dying and I was her caregiver. She
passed away shortly after and to add even more stress, one
of my businesses was collapsing and I couldn’t find a way to
save it. With 4 kids to manage, there was a lot of stress for
me, my wife, our relationship and our family.
Yeah, there were plenty of nights when I tossed and turned in
bed. There were plenty of nights when I woke up in the
middle of the night trying to find solutions to our situation.
I became short tempered, I was tired, I had little or no energy,
I wanted to sleep but couldn’t. I drank more and more
caffeine, ate more junk food and to add to all of it, I
developed a stress related foot condition and could no longer
walk for long periods and couldn’t run, which I loved to do
and was an avid soccer player.

The stress had taken its toll and there was still no end in
sight. I just felt like I was in a dark room and couldn’t find a
way out.

Well, I did find a way out and I managed to get rid of the
stress and all the anxiety, fear and self-doubt that was keep
me up and slowly ruining my life.

Here are the 10 proven techniques my wife and I used to

drastically reduce our stress levels and feel much more
happy again! They worked for us and we are confident that
they will work for you.

You don’t have to follow all 10 every day. Work with one or a
few or all 10 if you like. Try different steps and then continue
using those that you feel are most effective. The more you
do; the better but don’t overwhelm yourself.

So let’s get started!

Stress is a result of demands in our lives that exceed the
resources we have to cope or deal with the stressors.

Picture yourself as a bridge with passing cars (the cars

are the stressors/demands in your life. As demands arise,
you deal with them and the car passes over the bridge.
But what happens when the cars (demands) are not dealt
with, they accumulate and eventually the bridge would
collapse... which would be your physical or emotional
breakdown.

Meditation is a proven way to help reduce your stress levels.

How exactly does meditation help?

Meditation gives us the space to sort out and prioritize the

demands we need to address first and which can be dealt
with later.
With the busy lives that we live between earning a
living, taking care of our families, staying healthy,
cooking, cleaning, appointments (the list is long), our
mind gets cluttered and we don't have the space in our
mind to sort out the demands. Meditation gives us this
space and clarity.

In addition, Scientific research has shown that the brain

has the ability to change throughout life (known as brain
plasticity) - so by simply training our minds through
meditation techniques we can increase our mental
resources and become more capable at dealing with our
day to day demands.

Meditation has a lot of benefits besides reducing stress

it helps lower your heart rate, helps you be more
focused, can increase blood flow and opens your mind
up so you can see more opportunities.
When we’re stressed it’s easy to get caught up and focus
on the negatives that we have to deal with and we lose
sight of some the pleasant events that happen all around
us. When you stop, observe and appreciate these simple
pleasures you take your mind off the stress, you give your
mind a break and you allow it to experience something
pleasant – even if it’s just for a few moments.

Recent studies in Positive Psychology show that when we

take a moment to appreciate the simple joys of life we
experience more happiness, become more resilient and
reduce our stress levels. So take a moment to appreciate
the little things and when you do: tell your mind that you
want more like this.

For example: you could observe a beautiful sunset, or

appreciate a pleasant conversation with a friend or family
member, or appreciate a warm coffee on a cold day or
just enjoy the laughter of kids playing.

Simply enjoy any small pleasure for a few moments and

as you experience the joy in that moment tell yourself:
This is nice, I want more like this. I want more of these
good feelings.
You’ll begin to reduce your stress and you’ll also begin to
experience more pleasant situations which will further
reduce your stress
You've heard the saying, Laughter is the Best Medicine.
Well, research has shown that this saying holds true. it's
also free which is a bonus!

Laughter has both short and long term benefits. When you
start to laugh you lighten your load mentally and trigger
physical changes in your body!

Laughter increases your intake of oxygen, stimulates your

heart, lungs and muscles and increases endorphins
released by your brain.

We've all experienced that 'feel good' relaxed feeling at the

end of a good laugh. That feeling is our stress response
cooling down.

Laughter also stimulates circulation and aids muscle

relaxation which both help reduce some of the physical
symptoms of stress such as neck tension and back pain.

Laughter has been shown to help

improve your mood. People who
experience depression find that
laughter can help with their aniety
and depression and often makes
them feel happier.
However, if you feel stressed or down, you likely don't feel
like laughing? How can you make youself laugh?

Here are some ideas:

Watch your favorite comedy (check out some of the old

your favorite old comedies on Youtube)

Go to a comedy club and have a good laugh – do it with

some friends and you’ll enjoy it even more.

Know someone who makes you laugh often? Call them

and hang out with them more.

Your goal is to increase your dopamine levels which make

you feel better – so laugh often and laugh out loud even if
it means being silly – go ahead and have some fun!
Have you ever listened to Pharell Williams song 'Happy'
and not felt upbeat right away? I remember being in my
car exhausted and feeling irritated and then this magic
song comes on. What do I do? Start bopping to the music
and singing the lyrics out loud. This song is an instant
mood lifter. I'm sure you know of others that have a similar
effect on you. Jazz or classical music has a relaxing effect
on our minds and bodies and has a beneficial effect on our
physiological functions which slow the pulse and heart
rate, lower blood pressure and decrease our levels of
stress hormones.

Music has been used for

hundreds of years to treat
illnesses and restore harmony
between the mind and body.
Scientific studies have found that
music's form and structure can
bring order and security to
distressed children; listening to
music on headphones reduces
stress and anxiety in hospital
patients before and after surgery;
music therapy has shown to
reduce emotional distress and
boost quality of life amongst
cancer patients.
When people are stressed, there is a tendency to avoid
listening to music - we may feel it to be a waste of time.
However, we know that productivity increases when stress
is reduced. It just takes a small effort to begin.

So here is what you need to do:

Compile a playlist of happy, upbeat songs on your phone

and listen to them especially when you’re starting to feel a
little stressed. You should even start your day with upbeat
music and keep it going until you get to work, if you can.

When you’re at work, keep a positive, upbeat song in your

head so it keeps playing even when you’re working.

Play that playlist on your way home and whenever you

can.

Make a note of tasks you need to complete that you find

somewhat stressful (for example, cooking, cleaning or
working on a project). Now try completing these tasks with
some music in the background. If you find it too distracting
then this method may not work, but for some mundane
tasks you'll find yourself completing the work in good
spirits and a lot less stressed... that's our goal!
How often do you grab a chocolate bar or crave junk food
when you feel stressed? Or if you're like me you'll
alternate between the chocolate and the salt and vinegar
chips.

Studies show that you crave junk food when feeling

stressed. If you eat more junk food you'll gain more weight.
Scientists have found that we eat chocolate and ice cream
not just because they taste good but also it's our body's
way to try and stop the chronic stress we may be feeling.

Stress eating also occurs because stress triggers

hormones that can cause hunger. In some cases when
you're stressed you may suppres yourr appetite which
decreases your energy levels. This reduces your ability to
deal with demands in life which require energy!
Here are some suggestions on how to combat the
negative impact of eating unhealthy foods:

Pack some healthy snacks so that when you’re feeling

stressed you can dive into them. Snacks like carrots,
veggies and a dip, healthy – low sugar granola bars
and snacks that don’t have processed carbohydrates
will help.

Pre-cut these vegetables and fruits in large containers

and keep them ready to eat in your fridge. Everytime
you open your fridge you'll see the colorful snacks
ready to eat!

During your meals try to keep the carbs down and

choose grilled options over fried whenever possible.

After a few days of eating healthier (and exercising)

you’ll start to feel a slight difference. After a few weeks
you’ll experience a noticeable difference in your mood
and you won’t feel as stressed.

Remember that stress may be just as unhealthy as

junk food is to your mind and body so make good
choices in the fuel that you feed your body!
There's no debating the fact that exercise has been proven
to help improve physical condition and fight diseases.

Studies show that exercise is key in reducing fatigue,

increasing awareness and concentration and help your
brain work better.

As stress will reduce your energy and focus, exercise will

counteract them and you'll have more energy and better
focus.

Exercise produces endorphins (chemicals in the brain that

act as natural painkillers). Aside from the release or the
feel-good neurotransmitters (endorphins), rigorous
exercise often helps you forget the day's irritations, which
means reduced stress levels!

Exercise also improves mood, self confidence and allows

you to relax. It can also improve your sleep which results
in reduced stress levels. We'll cover more about sleep in
the next section.

Regular aerobic exercise will bring remarkable changes to

your body, your metabolism, your heart and your mood.
Clinical trials have successfully used exercise to treat
anxiety disorders and clinical depression. So if these
patients benefit from exercise, think what it can do for you!
How does it do this?

Exercise reduces levels of the body's stress hormones

such as adrenaline and cortisol and of course produces
endorphins which elevate mood as we mentioned above.

So get those running shoes tied up and get moving to

combat your stress! Make it a habit and choose an
exercise that you enjoy doing which will be easier to
make into a daily habit.
Not only does stress steal precious hours of sleep, it
impacts the quality of your sleep. Approximately 42% of
adults report getting fair to poor sleep when they're
stressed out.

When we're stressed our minds focus on stressors and we

have negative thoughts instead of relaxing in preparation
to sleep. It helps to remember why we sleep in the first
place. Sleep plays a vital role in our physical health. It's
involved in healing and repairing our heart and blood
vessels. Ongoing sleep deficiency is linked to an increase
risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure,
diabetes, and stroke.

We all know how

cranky we can get with
less sleep which of
course raises our
stress levels. When
you don’t have enough
sleep you’re likely to
react to situations and
your reaction can
create more stress.
Let's be real though, sometimes it's hard to fall asleep
when we feel stressed - especially knowing that we need
the sleep to wake up fresh and empowered to face our
daily demands.

So what do you do?

Here are a few things you can do

Get enough exercise during the day.

Smell some lavender (it relaxes the mind and can help you
fall asleep).

Write about your thoughts in a journal or recite some

affirmations (this may help clear your mind).

Practice relaxation techniques (yoga, meditation).

Practice deep breathing (this will activate the body's

naturally-calming parasympathetic system)

Have your room dark and cooler in temperature (if

possible)
Have you ever experienced running around the house
like a headless chicken looking for your car keys and
knowing you will be late for a very important meeting?
I'm sure we've all experienced that!

What happens when this is a daily occurrence?

There’s nothing worse than going through your day

reacting to situations. You’ll feel like you’re being
pulled in all kinds of directions and have no control
over your day or your life.

How do you get organized?

Here are some suggestions that

work well. They may take some
practice but you'll get better at
them the more you do them!

Organize Your Home

A cluttered home can drain your energy. The time

you spend looking for items (especially when you
have a time crunch) can add to your stress levels.
We're not telling you to organize your wardrobe color
coded, but it's important to have everything in it's
place (where it makes sense).
Organize Your Time

Living life can be pretty stressful between keeping

track of appointments, work commitments, kids
scheduled activities, etc. Getting organized with your
time can make a huge impact on your life. You can
stop keeping everything in your head and track things
to get done on a To-Do list. It's important to be aware
of what you need to get done and when so the higher
priority items are tackled first! Be careful - too many
things on that "to do" list and too many priorities can
create more stress. So keep the priorities and tasks
realistic.

Get Ahead of the Game

Be aware of patterns that trigger stress in your life

and try to get ahead of the game.
Are mornings extra stressful with trying to get out of
the house in time? Things come up last minute and
sometimes this can't be helped. But if you feel like
you can tackle those few items the night before then
go for it! You'll feel more in control the next day and
have greater greater focus.
Focus on those items that trigger that stressful feeling
and think about how you can be proactive and get
ahead of the game to reduce the stress.

Stress can't always be eliminated but it often can be

minimized!
Stress often leads to more stress. The more you feel
it, the more you think about and the more stress you
feel - it's a vicious cycle.

We've all had days that start off on the wrong foot -
perhaps an argument with a spouse or partner,
running late for an appointment despite your phone
reminding you a gazillion times about that key
meeting you have to attend or feeling overwhelmed
with the thought of making it to the grocery store after
work and then rushing home to make dinner before
you need to get the kids off to their karate class.

The more you think about your schedule, and all that
has to be done the more the you feel the stress.
Be mindful of your thoughts and take control of them.
Easier said than done right?

The key is to pay attention to what you’re

thinking about and when you find you’re
having negative thoughts change them and
think of something positive or pleasant.

Negative thoughts are the kinds of thoughts

that focus on why you can’t do something or
look at the worst case scenario and create
stress and anxiety.
It’s a good idea to keep a journal and make note of your
thoughts. Then you can highlight the negative thoughts
and create positive thoughts to replace them.

It will take some time to get used to the new, positive

thoughts but once you do you’ll feel more in control and
you’ll be able to reduce your stress.

If you try rewiring your thoughts and that doesn't work

then try to simply let your thoughts go.
Observe them.
Acknowledge them.
And then simply direct your attention to something other
than your thoughts, such as your breath or something
pleasant. This is very much like mindful meditation.

It's all about trying different ways to deflect the stress

related thoughts and finding one that works for you.
When you’re stressed your body naturally creates more
cortisol which helps you cope and deal with the stress.
Cortisol raises your awareness and puts you into that
fight or flight mode.

This can be beneficial when you have to make quick

decisions, especially if they’re life threatening.
However, too much cortisol creates that stressed out
feeling; where you feel like you just can’t manage, your
mind is in overdrive and you feel like you are losing
control of your life.

This can go on throughout the day and into the evening,

leading to poor sleep or a lack of sleep because you’re
tossing and turning.
Deep breathing and rest will help but you also need to
bring down your cortisol levels.

How do you do this? You can speak to your doctor and

you can also try taking supplements.

Try the various techniques you just read about and see
if they help. Everyone is different and how your body
responds to the various techniques to reduce and
manage your stress will vary.

We're excited to share natural way to bring down your

Cortisol levels... if you are interested, read on!
At Nutrasen, we researched and analyzed many different
supplements claiming to reduce stress and promote
calmness, improve focus, help you sleep and have more
energy but couldn't find one that delivered all those
benefits. Instead, we found you would have to take a
number of different supplements, making it expensive and
forcing you to take 4 or 5 different pills.

So we decided to create our own custom formula using

ingredients with clinical trials that delivered results. After
doing tons of research and scouring the planet for the
right ingredients and the right manufacturer we created a
powerful formula that uses ancient Ayurvedic plants and
ingredients.

We wanted to create something that works and really

reduces your stress, provides mental clarity, improves
your mood, helps you sleep and increases your energy.
Our research led us to create Shanti - we then tested it to
make sure it works.

Shanti's primary ingredient is KSM-66 Ashwagandah,

clinically proven to reduce your cortisol levels, improve
your sleep without making you feel groggy, increase your
energy and focus so you no longer have that brain fog
which is a result of high stress and high cortisol levels.
KSM-66 Ashwagandah uses a patented process to
provide the full benefit of the Ashwagandah plant found in
India and used in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries.
Shanti's primary ingredient is KSM-66 Ashwagandah,
clinically proven to reduce your cortisol levels, improve
your sleep without making you feel groggy, increase
your energy and focus so you no longer have that brain
fog which is a result of high stress and high cortisol
levels. KSM-66 Ashwagandah uses a patented process
to provide the full benefit of the Ashwagandah plant
found in India and used in Ayurvedic medicine for
centuries. It’s all natural and clinically proven to help
you reduce your stress and improve your sleep. We
also added 2 more powerful ingredients to provide
additional benefits to help you feel better.

Clinically Proven to:

Reduce Stress
Improve Sleep
Increase Energy
Improve Focus
Improve Memory
Improve Mental Clarity
Improve Your Mood
Helps Reduce Weight

Click Here to Learn More

About Shanti Today