This time of year is stressful for many reasons. Two major holidays in one month is a lot to handle, especially when family get-togethers, food, baking, and presents are involved. In addition, a new year is starting and with that comes the pressure to make resolutions and get healthy. Plus, the kids are home from school and cold weather can make a lot of people stir-crazy. Add all of those things together and most of us have stress levels that are at least slightly elevated.

So, how about some tips to help us relieve some of that stress?

Honestly…it’s 5:30 p.m. and you just want to be home. But the jerk in front of you doesn’t seem to know how to drive today (or maybe ever). You feel your blood pressure rising and falling as this person jabbers away on their phone. And then you start screaming in your car, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING……DRIVE YOUR CAR….” Then you realize that it’s finally time to ‘get away from it all.’ Try one of these relaxing West Coast locations that never disappoint.

We all get invested in relationships, projects, and behaviors that seem to resemble what we want in the future. But when we step back and shine the flashlight on what the heck we’re doing (or, not doing) we realize that our current in-flight path isn’t bringing us anywhere good. When our comfort zone becomes our routine, the rosy picture we have in our head called “the future” is based on illusions, fantasy, and wishful thinking.

Every bride wants to look amazing in her wedding dress. And the last few weeks before your wedding are not the time to focus on massive weight loss. Maximize what you’ve already got and enhance a few key zones. Carving out time for regular exercise in the last month before your wedding can help you look your best and it will also help you manage your wedding stress.

We’ve all been there—those busy times of year. You’ve got holidays, birthdays, planned vacations, kids’ sports games and tournaments, overtime at the office, fewer hours of sleep, which means that working out and healthy meals are usually the last thing on your mind. Guilt ensues and it overwhelms you. So, what can you do?

The snap kick, or front kick is a basic foot strike movement that is a part of the repertoire of most every stand up martial arts, though it may have a different name, depending on the style.

We all feel stress, sometimes real and sometimes perceived. Either way stress takes a toll on our bodies and increases our risk for cardiovascular diseases and many cancers. Try these simple exercises to reduce stress in your life:

Have you ever come home after a day at the office and just want to scream or cry? You are not alone in that feeling. Currently, we each take about three mental health days per year in this country. We work hard, play hard, and live hard—but sometimes as American’s we live too hard.