The Official Blog of The GEM.

SHINE BRIGHTER. Our goal is to live better and be better.

Tag Archives: stress relief


SHINE Smarter with Original G·E·M·S Life! (Smarty Pants Series Part IV)

Posted on August 18, 2021 by diamondsonyourinside and currently has Comments Off on SHINE Smarter with Original G·E·M·S Life! (Smarty Pants Series Part IV)

Take time for a little self-care so you can operate at your brightest this school year and keep stress levels low! Try out these SHINE Original G·E·M·S Life practices with your family for a Smarty Pants Semester.

START. COMMIT. GROW. JUMP INTO ORIGINAL G·E·M·S LIFE!

Starting Your Day with Original G·E·M·S Life

Our health is impacted by so much more than what we eat or whether or not we exercise. Mental health plays just as big a role as these practices in our overall wellness. Because of this, our daily habits have a HUGE impact on brain health—an important fact to remember as we begin this new school year! 

Do right by your body and brain this semester by embarking on your own Original G·E·M·S Life — a playbook formed from our founding nutritional and lifestyle practices. Get started by checking out our tips on practicing GRATITUDE for a new school year, ways to EAT CLEAN to boost brain power, and our MOVE practices for a Smarty Pants Semester. 

To round up our back-to-school series, here are our top practices to help you Shine smarter this school year!

6 Back To School #SelfCare Tips to Help You SHINE Smarter!

  • Get a full 8 hours of SLEEP! Deep, quality sleep helps with memory consolidation, where the brain processes events of the day, making memories and links. A good night’s rest helps you remember and process things better—crucial for smarty pants GEMs. Shine smarter by prioritizing your shut-eye time nightly! 
  • Start a morning WATER therapy regimen. Here’s your new morning ritual: drink 32 oz of water upon waking. That’s it. SUPER beneficial to your overall long-term health, and an easy way to detoxify your system. We GEMs do it every day. Staying hydrated makes us more focused and keeps us energized throughout the day. Try it and see for yourself!
  • Cut down on screen time. Excessive time in front of our screens can cause parts of our brain to shrink—crucial parts that help us with empathy, planning, prioritising, organization and impulse control. Too much screen time can also make us feel disconnected from others, which is detrimental to our mental well being. Take a 10-minute break every hour spent in front of your device to keep you Shining Brighter all day long. 
  • De-stress & detox with bath salts. Our GEM At Home Detox Bath Salts relax tense muscles, replenish magnesium, and reduce inflammation. Plus, their healing properties can help moisturize your skin, decrease stress, and help you sleep better. Give yourself a little R&R bathtime to soak away school stresses. Order now! 
  • Relax & drink Natural Calm Tea nightly to help quell anxiety and promote a more restful sleep. It works by balancing your magnesium levels and calcium intake, helping you to feel less stressed and more relaxed. We recommend starting with just a little at first (half a teaspoon daily), and gradually increase to two teaspoons per day from there. 
  • Stock up on supplements. Want optimal brain function? A stronger immune system? Better overall health? Look no further than our top GEM-approved daily supplements. Good news! We now carry the incredible Thorne brand. Give your body the turbo boost it needs to stay healthy and strong by supplementing your way to SHINE. Stop by and stock up today!

Make these daily SHINE practices part of your back-to-school routine, and you’ll set off a chain reaction of mental and physical well-being that will lead to a bright, shining, Smarty Pants Semester!

But don’t stop there; commit to one practice in each Original G·E·M·S Life category (Gratitude, Eat Clean, Move, and Shine) and reap the benefits of a healthier, happier mind, body and soul. Add in more practices as you go, and watch the transformation begin! Jump in today!


Yoga for Stress Relief

Posted on September 8, 2014 by diamondsonyourinside and currently has 5 Comments on Yoga for Stress Relief

Have to preach this…yoga is a critical component for stress relief.

Don’t turn off the screen just yet. Yoga doesn’t have to be:

  • Difficult to practice. Simple postures can be done anywhere, anytime.
  • Intimidating. If you don’t already practice yoga, don’t be scared. You gotta start somewhere. Most folks can’t twist into a pretzel and stand on one finger.
  • Practiced on a mountaintop in white robes. It’s not weird. I ran from the idea of yoga just a few years back, and now can’t live without it! Plus, it is one of the oldest defined practice of self development.

Yoga may be more familiar than you think. Many popular techniques found to reduce stress derive from yoga:

  • Controlled breathing. This stuff works.
  • Meditation. Be grateful for your life and the big and small things in it.
  • Physical movement (exercise)
  • Mental imagery. See it, think it, be it.
  • Stretching. It’s crazy what a difference a few stretching poses can make.

Yoga can provide the combined benefits of these activities in one technique. It brings together the mind, body and spirit. Whether you use yoga for spiritual transformation or for stress management and physical well-being, the benefits are numerous and undeniable. Those with physical limitations can and actually SHOULD practice yoga, just make sure you have a good instructor.

There are several different styles of yoga, some moving through the poses more quickly and other styles relaxing deeply into each pose. Some have a more spiritual angle, while others are used purely as a form of exercise. Certain poses can be done just about anywhere and a yoga program can go for hours or minutes, depending on your schedule.

This is what yoga can do for you:

  • Reduce stress, anxiety and muscle tension
  • Increase strength and flexibility
  • Reduce cortisol levels–which make you hold on to fat, among a million other things.
  • Lower blood pressure and heart rate
  • Spiritual growth. It can happen, regardless of your religion.
  • Sense of well being. Well, sign me up!

Yoga’s benefits are HUGE—it gives a crazy high payoff for the small amount of effort you have to exert.

There are so many studios that offer beginning yoga, often with incredible guidance from the instructor. You really want to have that extra attention at the beginning to learn proper form and be more engaged. Places like Sunstone offer classes that are heated, slower, and more methodical. Start with Spark and work up to Fire Class. Water class (a true spiritual experience, in my opinion) is my personal favorite. Exhale & We Yogis have lots of different varieties of classes.  We Yogis even has classes for kids and teens. Dallas Yoga Center has classes for beginners and even some that focus on meditation. Try a few online videos and images (simple beginner poses), though the energy of a live class is so much more therapeutic.

Select a place that you feel comfortable with and try it out. Give it several tries with different types of yoga until you find what is right for you. Private yoga sessions including guided meditation are an incredibly rewarding option!

Bottom line: Make the connection between knowing your stress levels and changing your behaviors. Managing stress in a positive way will make a life-changing impact your body and your life.

Do you have a favorite yoga studio? Share it with us!!

Peace. Happy. Yoga.