Are you stressed out? Maybe a nice soft rain can help!

Oh boy, I don’t know about you, but I sure have been stressed out lately, and it seems that everyone I talk to also feels the same way!

It is good to know that I am not alone in my stressful feelings, but it does make me wonder why are so many of us feeling stressed out right now?

All of us certainly have had a crazy ride this last year, so maybe it has something to do with that. Perhaps we are all feeling the change of slowly getting back into our pre-pandemic lifestyle.

Either way, I have found myself needing to dig deep into my “toolbox” of stress management skills to help chill out.

I asked farmer Jonas this week if he had any tips from a farmer on how to deal with stress.

His advice was to “take the time to enjoy a nice soft rain.”

We giggled a bit at this advice, however, I think the sentiment is important. It is all about taking time to ssslllllooooowwww ddddooowwwnn.

So I thought I would share with you some stress relievers that I have found to be helpful to get me through those hard days.

Tip #1: Turn off your phone for a few days.

I know, I know it sounds radical but I promise you once you hit the off switch a wave of relief will wash over you. Sometimes all we need to destress is just to unplug, disconnect, and soak in the silence.

I understand not all of us are able to turn off our phone for a few days at a time, but you can feel the benefits by turning it off regularly even if only for a few hours.

Tip#2: Enjoy a nice warm cup of tea.

This is likely something you have tried before, and we all know the comforting feeling of a nice cup of tea warming our bodies. However, there is actual science behind this!

Drinking a warm drink when you are feeling stressed out helps to stimulate the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is the director of the parasympathetic nervous system known as the rest and digest system. When we drink a soothing cup of warm tea it helps to put us into a relaxing parasympathetic state.

I really like a nice uplifting cup of Beiler Family Farm Mint Tea when I am looking to take a break.

However, any of the farm's homegrown loose leaf teas are wonderful to have around when you are feeling stressed.

Tip #3: Move your body!

When we are feeling stress and anxiety it causes a lot of adrenalin to build up in our system….and all that energy needs to get let out!

Whether you like to hit the gym, hit the pavement for a run, or dance it all out, any kind of body movement will help to shake out that stress!

These three tips are things that happen naturally on Beiler Family Farm. 

Granted farmer Jonas doesn't have a cell phone, he certainly is still connected in many ways and he is conscious to take time regularly to disconnect.

The Beiler’s nourish their bodies with their home grown foods and teas, and movement simply happens as a necessity of all the work that it takes to run the farm.

Even with all the built in stress management, farm life can still get stressful from time to time. 

But for the most part taking the time to slow down, disconnect, and enjoy the simplicity of a soft rain keeps farmer Jonas cool as a cucumber even in the stressful moments.

Enjoy the food,

-Sara

And the Beiler Farm Team