One thing is for sure. Antidepressants abound these days. Seems doctors are prescribing them for everything from hormonal imbalance to headaches. But many people today are looking to herbal solutions as mood boosters and stress reducers.

Adaptogens are herbal compounds taken to modulate stress. Not well known in the U.S. just yet, but adaptogens have long been used in Ayurveda and much research has been done on them in Eastern Europe.

These natural substances are combinations of amino acids, vitamins or herbs that balance the body’s reaction to stressors. These stressors include mental and emotional stress, chemical and environmental stress (like radiation and toxins), and physical stress. Adaptogens are used to treat many health issues, like anxiety, depression, adrenal fatigue, obesity, hormonal imbalance, premature aging, insomnia, and low libido.

One more herbal remedy to try? How different can this be?

If you have your doubts as to the effectiveness of adaptogens, consider this: Adaptogens have the ability to customize themselves to each individual. Unlike, say, Xanax, which has pretty much the same effect on anyone who takes it. Adaptogens increase the body’s resistance to biological, physical, and chemical stress, whatever those may be. Rather than a one size fits all, these plant compounds adapt to each individual. So, the level of stress reduction is relative to how much any one person needs their stress to be reduced. Pretty cool.

Let’s take a look at what, exactly, goes into these concoctions. Siberian ginseng is often used in adaptogens, but there are so many more healing herbs to look for. The following are more herbs for stress on mind and body:

• Ashwagandha – Regularly used in Ayurveda to combat the effects of stress, reduce fatigue and insomnia, and enhance sexual potency
• Licorice root – Used an a natural antidepressant
• Willow Bark extract – A useful anti-inflammatory used to treat skin inflammation, arthritis, and pain
• Rhodiola – Used to fight depression, lessen anxiety, ease muscle pain, and promote well being
• Cordycep Mushrooms – A type of fungus used to ease inflammation and enhance endurance

If you go the adaptogen route, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. Again, unlike pharmaceuticals, herbs can take a little longer to show results. Also, it is important to purchase adaptogens from reputable suppliers. Dr. Deepak Chopra, who predicts a surge of research on adaptogens and uses them himself, recommends Endorphinate. Below is a video featuring Dr. Chopra and his take on using adaptogens.

Of course, stress reduction by way of self awareness techniques, healthy lifestyle, and meditation are great ways to prevent negative effects on mind and body. If you feel adaptogens may be the answer, consult your doctor to see if they are safe for you.

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It’s tempting to want to control every aspect of your life sometimes. And while planning and being thoughtful of the steps you take are certainly tips for success, it also sometimes closes you off to your potential. It’s about taking one focused step forward everyday but at the same time, being aware of what’s going on around you. Not sure how to go with the flow?

Two years ago my best friend from childhood was taking a break from work to finish writing her book. She was headed to Indonesia for inspiration and she invited me to come along. But I had just moved to a new city–money was tight and I wasn’t exactly sure what my schedule would look like. But at the same time, the trip sounded like a great opportunity to travel a long distance with a friend that I knew well. In the end, I decided to hit the road and I’m so glad that I did. I had to let go of controlling timing and go when the opportunity opened up. While I know I would have never regretted going, if I had passed on the trip I would have looked back sadly.

Learning to go with the flow isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it. Here are some tips to get started:

1. Stop comparing.

Don’t worry so much about what in life makes other people happy, rather be focused on what steps in your life will expand your happiness. It’s easy to tighten around societal expectations. Try and maintain your authentic self and be true to your needs.

2. Step outside of your controlled environment.

At those times when you feel stuck in life and have trouble letting go, it can be helpful to step outside of your controlled environment. That’s why every time you get back from longterm travel or a retreat of some kind your perspective has expanded. If you feel like fear and control are keeping you from reaching your full potential, consider completely stepping outside of what you know. You’ll be glad that you did.

3. Become friends with your intuition.

Yoga, meditation, and general mindfulness are all tools that help you to establish a stronger relationship with yourself. It’s this open awareness that allows you to better hear your intuition. It’s the voice deep within you that tells you all you need to know, often right when you need to know it.

4. Breathe.

It’s not what happens to you in life, it’s how you react to it. Learn to soften and take life one long, deep breath at a time. My yoga teacher once called it “surfing the waves of life”. If you try and resist change you’ll constantly be trying to hold back the rapids of a river. Instead, relax, breathe, and let it flow.

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Image of girl at a waterfall from Shuttershock

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Has your mind seemed as cloudy as those winter skies lately? Comes with the territory. Learn how to clear up brain fog and bring back some shiny thinking.

Mental fatigue, brain drain, fuzzy head, cloudy thinking. Sound familiar? You don’t have to live with brain fog. There are simple and effective ways to clear the mind. Let’s take a look at common causes of a muddy mind and what to do about them.

Causes of Brain Fog and How to Clear Up

1 Sleep and Stress // Let’s start with the most obvious. If you are short on sleep or overly stressed, brain fog is an almost guarantee. Sleep bolsters our resilience and sharpens the mind. But even if you are catching proper Zzzs, stress can drain its benefits. Try meditation, journaling, or sharing with someone you trust.

2 Hormones // Yes, we have to go there. Hormones keep our bodies balanced and running smoothly. When in balance we don’t even think about them. Once they go out of balance, we take notice. Pregnancy, PMS, and menopause can all wreak havoc with our bodies and minds. If you suspect hormones are the culprit of your brain fog, talk to your doctor about possible remedies and try our tips to regulating hormones naturally.

3 Diet and Exercise // One of the easiest ways to bring ourselves back into balance, and this includes the mind too, is with diet. Eating fresh, organic, minimally-processed foods keeps body and mind happy and healthy. Keep in mind that low blood sugar rebounds leave the body and mind sapped. Eating healthy protein throughout the day, plus laying off sugar and caffeine, will keep blood sugar levels in check. And you may not feel like working out when you feel sluggish, but it will boost energy and mood. Give yourself a personal pep rally and get moving.

4 Screen Time // If you have kids you’ve likely noticed what too much screen time does to their mood. Grumpiness and irritation are not exclusive to the younger age bracket here. Set specific times to check email and messages, and schedule a time to turn your phone off (or at least put it out of reach) each evening. Research shows that not only does screen usage at bedtime make it more difficult to fall asleep, but affects your energy and awareness the next day.

5 Allergies // Yes, you can experience allergies in the winter too. Mold and dust can cause similar symptoms to spring and fall allergies; headache, stuffiness, eye irritation, and fuzzy head. Try rinsing your nose with a neti bottle and using a humidifier in your home.

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Image of woman with brain fog via Shuttterstock

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A smile is the universal sign for happiness. It makes you feel good and it spreads that joy to everyone around you. Even when you’re in a funk, a smile really can turn the tide. Let the world know that you’re happy with a smile. Here are 7 reasons to say cheese:

1. Smiling makes you feel better.

Smiling can make you feel happy even when you’re not. Smiling actually sends a message to your brain that you’re happy, which pumps you up with endorphins. Endorphins are neurotransmitters that send messages from one neuron to the next, producing a feeling of well being. A 1984 article in the journal Science found that people mimic their emotional expressions and their bodies produce physiological changes that reflect that emotion. And it goes both ways–if you want to feel crappy, frowning will get the job done.

2. Your smile is contagious.

Just like your smile makes you feel better, it makes those around you feel better as well. Smiling is contagious and it spreads an uplifting feeling from one person to the next.

3. It makes you more attractive.

Smiling makes you more attractive because people tend to look their best when they’re happiest. According to the American Academy of Dentistry, 96 percent of adult Americans believe an attractive smile makes people more appealing to the opposite sex.

4. It makes you laugh.

We humans have a bad habit of taking ourselves way too seriously. In those times when you’re forgetting that life should be fun, crack a smile. It will remind you to relax and ride the waves of life with ease.

5. Notice the everyday joys.

Sometimes you just need to smile at life’s everyday joys. Smile at the beauty of the world you’re lucky enough to live in each and everyday. Your smile is a reminder to be mindful and grateful.

6. It boosts immune health.

When you smile you’re more relaxed which contributes to good health and a stronger immune system. Stress in the body reduces the ability of the immune system to fight disease, that’s why we get physically ill. So consider cracking a smile even when you feel stress creeping up in your life.

7. It makes you more confident.

Sometimes it can be harder to be nice than it is to be mean. If you notice the cashier being rude to the customer in front of you, instead of continuing the nastiness, crack a smile and notice the negativity lift from the room. Sometimes we don’t smile because we fear rejection but when we do smile, those around us can feel that inner confidence. Confidence makes you more successful and better able to get what you want out of life.

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Ever wonder why you feel so stressed out all the time? We’ve rounded up the most popular culprits.

A recent survey by NeuroBliss revealed 44 percent of Americans spend over 2,000 hours a year stressed out – and that’s just the stress we’re aware of. Holy. Crap.

Stress is good for us in the short-term – it boosts our immune system, motivates us and energizes our bodies. (Admit it: you feel pretty badass when you accomplish something that scares you a little.) But many of us are doing it all wrong, pushing ourselves to extremes and getting stressed out for all the wrong reasons. We can’t tell the difference between healthy and unhealthy stress anymore, and what’s worse: we’re used to it.

“When you have too many stress ‘inputs,’ whether good or bad, they can pile on top of each other very quickly,” says Shawn M. Talbott, Ph.D., author of The Secret of Vigor: How to Overcome Burnout, Restore Metabolic Balance, and Reclaim Your Natural Energy. “The good stressors don’t cancel out the bad – they all add up at once.”

The key, says Talbott, is to take inventory of all of your sources of stress – the short-term, and the ongoing – and start creating boundaries to prevent getting stressed out. Most of us are well-aware of our limits but push ourselves to go further by justifying our actions (i.e. “I really need the money,” or “I don’t want to let anyone down.”), and don’t take stock of what it’s going to do to our bodies in the long-term. Start listening to your body: figure out which areas or situations cause you to be stressed out and decide exactly what you’re going to do about them.

For example, when it comes to my cell phone, I get a little…cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. Between checking my e-mail every 35 seconds to lunging at it every time I receive a text, I really need to get a grip. (Sometimes I check for texts “in case” I didn’t hear it! Face. Palm.) By creating a few small boundaries: turning off e-mail notifications, only texting when it’s actually convenient, and turning my ringer off before bed, I’ve managed to be less stressed out and, you know, have a life again.

By being mindful of how you feel throughout the day, you’ll also be able to suss out autopilot behaviors that are causing you stress behind-the-scenes, such as:

1. Ignoring bodily reactions.
It’s estimated that 70 percent of people suffer from food intolerances that cause symptoms – from mild to severe – in any system of the body.

2. Criticizing yourself.
Self-criticism is linked to stress-induced changes in our biochemistry, making us more susceptible to engage in unhealthy behaviors (like overeating or drinking).

3. Watching television.
Sure, it takes our mind off painful emotions and stress – but it doesn’t decrease them. It also contributes to a sedentary lifestyle that actually causes our bodies to be more stressed out in the end.

4. Shallow breathing.
When we’re stressed out our breathing becomes shallow, which brings on fatigue and even more stress because of a lack of oxygen in our cells.

5. Slouching.
Poor posture creates muscle imbalances that can alter your body’s motor patterns.

6. Avoiding emotions.
It takes energy to suppress emotions once they’re triggered. A recent study by the University of Canterbury showed a link between avoidance coping and higher levels of anxiety.

7. Saying yes… to everything.
When we let our sense of obligation call the shots, we overextend and exhaust ourselves.

8. Sweating the small stuff.
A recent study in Psychological Science revealed that people who let everyday stress get to them have a higher risk of psychological distress ten years from now. (Let the hyperventilating begin!)

9. Multitasking.
Women are especially prone to multitasking, says Talbott, which leads to weakened focus, increased errors and lowers our ability to block irrelevant information (which we already suck at in the first place).

10. Hoarding mail.
Letting your mail pile is a stressor on its own, never mind how it contributes to other stressors like lost bills, late payments, finance charges, bad credit… sigh.

Even though stress is no longer considered a badge of honor, tell that to society! Am I right, ladies?

On a scale of one to 10, how stressed out are you?

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By Monday morning, most of us are already longing for the weekend. Could shrinking the work week help us to be more relaxed, and thus more productive?

As a culture, America is obsessed with work. We go on fewer vacations than almost any other nationality, with millions of hourly workers without any paid time off at all. Even when we’re not physically at work, we’re scanning emails or practicing presentations. We’d like to think that a 60-hour work week brings us that much closer to success, but some research suggests being on-call 24/7 is doing just the opposite.

British architect Irena Bauman recently told BD Online that she’s closing her offices on Friday and shifting the firm to a four-day work week. “We are working a “five days in four” week because how we live as individuals has consequences for everyone else,” Bauman said. “We are not waiting for anyone else to resolve our problems. We are looking instead for how we can make our own small changes, which, if made by others too, could have a significant socially and economically beneficial impact. One of these small changes is to alter the balance between work and private life.”

Lots of companies talk about wanting employees to have a good balance between professional and personal activities, but few of them actually go the extra step by giving you more time to yourself. But forcing workers to juggle too many responsibilities within the tight parameters of a 40-hour work week almost always means a decrease in productivity, not the other way around. While counter-intuitive, businesses looking to get the best from their employees all eight hours of the day might want to consider shrinking the work week.

A new and growing body of multidisciplinary research shows that strategic renewal — including more time away from the office and longer, more frequent vacations — boosts productivity, job performance and, of course, health, according to the New York Times. “Spending more hours at work often leads to less time for sleep and insufficient sleep takes a substantial toll on performance, writes Tony Schwartz. “In a study of nearly 400 employees, published last year, researchers found that sleeping too little — defined as less than six hours each night — was one of the best predictors of on-the-job burn-out. A recent Harvard study estimated that sleep deprivation costs American companies $63.2 billion a year in lost productivity.”

Adventurous bosses like Bauman hope downsizing from a five day work week will push employees into using office time more efficiently. If you have a deadline looming, but don’t want to sacrifice any of your “Friday free time” you’re more likely to find a way to get it done by Thursday. Likewise, the dangling carrot of a three-day weekend every week is more in tune with the way humans are programmed to operate. As Schwartz explains, “Human beings aren’t designed to expend energy continuously. Rather, we’re meant to pulse between spending and recovering energy.” More time to recover means the ability to give full effort when it’s time to perform, rather than constantly operating at half-steam.

Have you ever worked for a company that utilized a shorter work week? Tell us about it in the comments!

Image: Glen_Wright

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Has your cubicle got you comatose? Here are some warning signs that it’s time to launch your conscious career.

Most of us spend more time with our colleagues and bosses than our partners, kids and friends. If that’s not motivation to make sure your job is a good fit, what is? The job you choose can determine how physically and mentally healthy you are, your standard of living, your future prospects and whether you look back at your life at the brink of death and feel like you did your best. Consider these 10 signs that it’s time to quit, and you might just set yourself onto a much more fulfilling path.

Just about any task is better than doing your job.

When you’re at work, you’ll do just about anything to avoid performing the tasks that are assigned to you. You play around on Facebook, browse the internet and organize your vacation photos. In fact, you’re happy to perform menial tasks like taking out the trash and running errands for the boss – anything that will keep you away from your job for another five minutes. In other words, your work is utterly joyless for you.

You’ve got unsolvable issues with management.

There’s almost always going to be a certain amount of friction between workers and management; that’s just the way of the world. But sometimes, no matter how hard you try to diffuse it, conflicts with your higher-ups can jeopardize your career well into the future. First, make sure that it isn’t all your Facebooking, those lunchtime cocktails or any other performance or behavior issues that are causing the problem. Then, talk to your boss’ boss. If that doesn’t work, think about moving on. Sometimes, it’s just not a good fit.

Your company is on a downward spiral.

There have been layoffs left and right, and the company has been reorganized and consolidated so many times it’s hardly recognizable. Things are so tight, they’ve asked white-collar workers to start delivering packages and vacuuming their own cubicles. This ship is probably going down, and even if the company manages to hang on, your position could be eliminated at any time. Don’t be caught by surprise. Start researching new jobs right now.

Your skills aren’t valued.

You feel like you’ve got a lot to offer, and your company just isn’t using you to your full potential. Not only are you rarely challenged, but you’re marginalized. Maybe you’re not being included in important meetings, or you’ve been passed over for a promotion. If your job doesn’t let you flex, you won’t be able to build more skills and grow professionally.

You’re stuck in a dead end.

You haven’t gotten very far in your company, but the growth has stopped, and it doesn’t look like things will be getting better any time soon. There are no opportunities to move up, and no opportunities for higher pay. Unless you can come to grips with the fact that you might remain stagnant for the rest of your career, you should explore options that can take you higher.

You dread going to work.

It’s Sunday night and your stomach is a ball of lead. The absolute last thing you want to do tomorrow morning is get up and go to work. Maybe your anxiety is so bad, you have a hard time enjoying your weekends because you just can’t stop thinking about Monday morning. When you hate your job this much, you’re not doing yourself or your employers any favors by staying on.

You’re simply bored.

Maybe work is not so bad, but you can’t muster much enthusiasm about it. You definitely don’t feel passionate about what you do – it’s just work. This is reality for a lot of people, and in a poor economy, it’s probably not enough reason on its own to quit your job. But take this opportunity to imagine what kind of job would make you truly happy. What would you rather be doing right at this moment? Running a food truck, starting a dog grooming business or growing exotic orchids could certainly be a viable business. Your dream might be more achievable than you think.

You can’t pay your bills.

On the other hand, some people quit well-paying jobs with the hopes of following their dreams only to find that surviving on their new pay is practically impossible. If you truly love what you’re doing, make it work. That might mean downsizing your lifestyle so that you don’t require as much money to pay the bills. But if you’re working to exhaustion every day and still stressing about your paltry paychecks, it’s probably not worth it.

It’s affecting your health.

Speaking of stress, it can really do some cruel and horrifying things to your body and your mind, putting you at increased risk for heart attacks, respiratory disorders and hormonal imbalances. It can cause tension headaches, nerve pain, irritability, joint pain, ulcers and depression. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice your well-being for your job. If you lie in bed every morning wishing you could call in sick yet again, perhaps this gig is not for you.

It’s affecting your personal life.

You’d love to go out for drinks with friends, catch up with that cute guy that always flirts with you at the gym or attend your daughter’s dance recital, but you can’t. You’ve got to go to work. Some people aren’t bothered by 80-hour work weeks, and everybody has to decide for themselves what level of personal sacrifice they find acceptable. But being miserable because your job is keeping you from enjoying your life? Not okay.

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How the crockpot resurgence contributes to the American slow down.

My crockpot – the SUV space hog of the kitchen counter – is my new enabler in the quest to take time to smell the roses, not to mention the aromatic free-range bird melding with organic onions and homegrown herbs in a lethargic, six-hour simmer. Toss them in the pot, come back for the gold six hours later. A meal that drove itself home. It’s what’s for dinner.

The process of slow-cooking tasty comfort food without constantly stirring the pot helps me and countless others to heed Michael Pollan’s directive to focus on “real food” and connect with life – especially during a time when spare minutes to hover is chronically elusive.

“It opens up a space to do other things and this is huge when it comes to reducing stress,” observes Thea Singer, Ph.D. – author of Stress Less: The New Science That Shows Women How to Rejuvenate The Body and The Mind. “We know the benefits of mindful eating, and you could say that another synonym of the slow food movement is mindful cooking.”

Yes, time is what fuels the resurgence, at least on the ceramic surface. Like a lover who gives generously without demanding constant hugs and feedback, the plug-in grub tub frees us up to do our thing – only to come together in the evening and share what we bring to the table as a unit.

Unless you’re a Top Chef contender or former professional stuck at home with too much time on your hands,  neediness in food prep can be a major turn off, especially during hectic week days when a lofty goal might be schlepping to the taco stand to get burritos on the table before seven.

“Braising is what I would usually do on a Saturday or Sunday if it’s raining and I can walk over to the stove and stir every half hour, and the slow cooker lets you do that on a week day before you go to work,” says Jill Santopietro (above), the senior food editor of Chow.com, who vlogs recipes.  “But you have to choose the right recipes that need eight hours of cooking. A lot f them, like a veggie stew I made in our test kitchen, cooks in three hours. You still have to be there, so it’s not full proof.”

Still, it’s a step in the right direction, agrees Santopietro. But the consummate foodie adds that true mindful cooking results from mindful planning, something our society greatly lacks.

“As a kid, my grandmother would plan in the morning for dinner, and that is what is missing from our culture,” says the chef and writer. “People  in this country don’t think about what they are going to cook for dinner.  If you don’t think and go to the store and plan, you will end up going to a fast food joint to get dinner when you are starving.”

Despite the clever advertising, the fast food we reach for when starving contributes to obesity, diabetes, breakouts and other undesirable side effects, while slow cooked turkey chili, veggie stew and lentil soup sans the corn syrup and trans fats is typically the antithesis to all of that. Of course, you have to eat it slow, too, to reverse the national epidemics rushing us to early deaths.

Researchers on the cutting edge of linking cooler jets to happier cells find listening to our bodies is the key to thriving, according to UCSF Dept. of  Psychiatry professor, Elissa Epel, who specializes in identifying mind-body behavior that promotes stress resilience.

Five steps Epel cites in achieving well being: Breathing and awareness, staying present and minimizing time traveling, expressing gratitude and savoring, carving out a time allowance and daily exercise (the big E). Add the antioxidants and vitamins, handfuls of pistachio nuts, blueberries and purified Omega -3, and you might add years to your life. Of course, eliminating the stinking thinking goes a long way, too.

“Our brains are set up to focus on the negative,” says Epel, “But we can choose to reinterpret any negative experience and restore cells that deteriorate when we age or experience stress.” Take the example of not getting an ideal parking space at the store. When you tell yourself you are doing something great for cell regeneration by walking further, you create a positive spin that boosts your health.

Health science has witnessed a greater emphasis on cellular aging and the telomere maintenance system, an area led by Epel and several colleagues who form the Psychoneuroendocrinology Laboratory Group – which runs studies on issues such as stress – induced cortisol and overeating.

“Cortisol kicks off dopamine, and the reward system stimulates wanting to get what we need,” Epel explains. “We go in search of fatty and sweet food because we think we are exerting ourselves and this leads to a cycle similar to addiction,” she has found.

Which leads me back to the crockpot, and the question, could this help break that cycle of addiction and other bad behavior which shortens our lives?

Santopietro, who doesn’t own a crockpot, says it can help you relax, but isn’t a cure-all.

“A slow cooker won’t cure people of not going for that quick fat option,” she finds. “A better method is thinking more about food in advance. I’m an anomaly because I think of food more than the average person – I’m obsessed with it. There are great recipes you can make in 30 minutes without a cooker.”

Guess it boils down to the old adage: failing to plan is planning to fail. Can thinking ahead help us carve out that time to hover on a rainy Sunday or even sunny Monday the way foodies do to feed their souls along with those they love?

Maybe so. Until then, I’m sticking to my crockpot. As I said, it’s my enabler.

Images: Christine Leiser, Busbeytheelder, Chow, Amazon

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Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? was the haunting battle cry of the last great depression. These days, many of us are begging for something even more elusive: time. Please, mister,  just give me an extra hour to squeeze in a run or a massage, a free weekend to go camping rather than paying bills and scrubbing the bathroom tiles.

Increasing research proves we are struggling in this time warp and are decidedly more stressed over time losses than wage losses or the exorbitant price of things. If it is a given that we value minutes over moolah, than what can we do to conquer the clock?

For one thing, it is clear many workers don’t bother taking the vacation days they have earned at work, according to a somewhat self-serving Westin Hotel survey. It found that while nearly 70 percent of those questioned feel revived after a break, a whopping 75 percent of us are too busy keeping up the pace to actually de-stress on a vacation. It was clear that a bulk of those who keep working rather than beaching or camping are fearful about job security (ah yes, the American way!) and at least 30 percent of those who do manage to take off check in with work every day.

One reason for working through earned time is that we have the least paid vacation days of any nation, which makes taking off even harder in a recession. Americans are afforded just 13 paid days on the average, compared with 42 days in Italy, 37 in France and 35 in Germany. Even if you take those paid golf days (as our president did), they usually don’t amount to many hours goofing off and having fun or just feeling your life. We all know how necessary this is for recuperating from the stress and strain of working and managing our lives.

Professional women often face a double whammy of keeping things up both at work and at home, believing they have no time to escape from either job. Studies continually show these demands are not imagined but rather expected of them. Working women who work from home become exhausted from the multi-tasking while commuters who don’t opt for public transit are often running on empty.

Shelling out $15 an hour for a house cleaner or babysitter could eat up too much of the income needed for the mortgage, medical insurance (it keeps going up, Mr. President), school-related expenses and other money-sucking priorities. Meanwhile, these women are prone to play housemaid on  Saturdays, catching up on laundry and paperwork that falls behind during the busy workweek.

As the most overworked country in the world, it is hard to strike a balance. Even during a recession when have been tossed to the unemployment lines, we are forced to spend free time still caring for children or searching for work. The ego often prevents professional men from lazing on hammocks. Some even continue to dress the part as they search for new work online a home or coffee shops. Despite the fact that taking a breather is often the most beneficial way to gain new momentum, it can be humiliating to appear as if you have nothing to do.

While many Americans say a good income can improve their lives, few find it can buy happiness. People keep busy 24/7 – so busy they often forget to laugh and have fun, or waiting for that free moment when chores are done to reward themselves. Many of us also stress about using time to catch up on our connections, email or Facebook, and the time we needed to restore ourselves gets eaten quickly, according to Zenhabits, which compiled useful list of 20 ways to reclaim your time. One is to make a short list of four to five things you love to do and to actually make room for them. Another is to learn to say “NO”.

An important thing to remember is not to be so stressed over your time management that you lose sleep over it, since sleep is also vital for the body to rest and for the brain to repair cellular damage and absorb nutrients. If you get a free moment, you are better off with a nap than a coffee break. Sleep deprivation resulting from stress, or relaxing in front of the tube rather than socializing or enjoying music, just aggravates the sense of loss, experts say. And then you go around not only being time strapped, but as a cranky time strapped zombie.

Perhaps the goal is not to save up on time, like we try but fail to save up on money, but to spend it the right way. The bathroom tiles can wait. Your health and happiness cannot.

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Work stressing you out? Or maybe you just want to chill out and wind down after a long day? Yoga can alleviate stress and help you chill out and wind down. If you’ve never practiced yoga don’t be shy! Here are some great yoga poses for beginners from Michael Taylor to help get you started. You can even practice these beginner poses in the comfort of your own home.

1. Butterfly Pose

How-to: Sit with your knees close to your chest. Relax your knees out to either side, and gently press the bottoms of your feet together. Hold your feet or your ankles.

Tips: Lean forward slightly, so you can feel your “sit bones” on the ground. You can round over your feet to open up your back and relax your neck, or stay more upright and breathe your chest.

Benefits: Opens the hips. Calming. Deep breath in, stress out.

2. Child’s Pose

How-to: From hands and knees, untuck your toes and lower your hips back to your heels. With knees apart or together, lie your body on your thighs and rest your forehead on the ground. Arms can be straight forward on the ground, or reaching behind you for an extra shoulder release.

Tips: Before relaxing completely, press your palms into the ground with arms straight and elbows lifted, pushing your hips firmly back toward your heels. For an extra back release, breathe deeply into your whole back. Use this pose to rest between challenging poses.

Benefits: Opens hips and back. Calming.

3. Pigeon Pose

How-to: From a low lunge, lift or walk your front foot over so the ankle is behind your opposite wrist. Lower your back knee to the ground, and using your hands for support at the front of your mat, lower your front knee behind your wrist. Front shin can be parallel to the front of your mat, or angled slightly back. Walk your hands forward and come on to your forearms, or extend your arms and body out on the floor in front of you.

Tips: Before coming forward, walk your hands back so your body is vertical over your hips, breathe and press into your hands to take some weight out of your hips and roll them square to the front of your mat. Take your time coming forward, and keep the front of your body long and open.

Benefits: Opens the hips and the fronts of your upper thighs. Increases flexibility.

4. Reclining Goddess Pose

How-to: Lie down flat on your back. Lift both knees up, bringing your feet right behind your hips. Let your knees fall open to either side, bringing the bottoms of your feet together.

Tips: To get a great hip opening, it’s good to stay in this position and breathe for several minutes. If you feel some pain in your hip joints, slide blocks (or rolled up blankets) under your thighs toward your hips, picking a spot on each side where your thigh is supported and able to relax without pain.

Benefits: Opens the hips. Calming.

5. Happy Baby

How-to: Lie down on your back, and bring knees into chest. Keeping knees deeply bent, bring bottoms of feet to face upward, and hold the outsides of feet with your hands. Use the weight of your arms to release knees toward the ground.

Tips: For a deeper hip release, bring your elbows to press on the backs of your thighs just behind the knees, wrap your forearms behind your calves, and hold the outsides of your feet with your hands. Don’t use a lot of force here, just breathe and relax.

Benefits: Opens hips.

6. Corpse Pose

How-to: Lie down flat on your back. Feet can be about mat width apart, arms straight, palms up.

Tips: Relax. Follow your breath without trying to control it. Notice what’s going on in your body. Catch your thoughts as they come along and let them go.

Benefits: Good for body awareness and relaxing. Also good for noticing how persistent thinking can be.

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from MindBodyGreen.

Image: lululemon athletica

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