 Spring is the perfect time to reset your habits and reconnect with your body's natural rhythms. As we emerge from winter and hormonal fluctuations continue to influence our energy levels, establishing simple daily practices can make a huge difference to how we feel. So I thought I would share these Reset, Recharge, Reclaim practices – three simple daily rituals designed to help you harness your body's natural energy cycles and support hormonal balance this spring. Why These Practices Matter for Women's Health Each practice is designed to work with your body's hormonal patterns throughout the day, supporting balanced energy and optimal wellbeing. The Three Daily Practices RESET: Morning Physiological Sigh Breathing The Benefits:
 RECHARGE: Midday Strength Practice The Benefits:
 RECLAIM: Evening Reflection
The Benefits:
Integrating These Practices Into Your Life These three simple practices integrate seamlessly into your existing routine while delivering powerful benefits for your hormonal health, energy levels, and overall vitality. The beauty of this approach is its simplicity:
I encourage you to try these practices daily and notice how they affect your energy, mood, and overall sense of wellbeing. As with any new habit, consistency is key – the benefits increase over time as your body learns to respond to these positive inputs. Are you ready to Reset, Recharge, and Reclaim your energy this spring? Start with just one practice today, and gradually incorporate all three into your daily routine.
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 April marks Stress Awareness Month, and as a women's health and performance coach, I believe this is the perfect opportunity to explore how stress impacts women's bodies differently. Most importantly, let's look at how we can harness certain types of stress while minimising others for optimal health and performance. Not All Stress Is Created Equal When we hear the word "stress," most of us immediately think of the negative: racing thoughts, tight shoulders, disrupted sleep. But I want to reframe our understanding of stress. Some stress is actually beneficial - even necessary - for our growth and development. This "eustress" or good stress is what helps build stronger bones and muscles when we lift weights. It's what triggers our bodies to adapt and become more resilient after cold water immersion. It's the temporary challenge that makes us stronger. The problem arises when we experience chronic stress without adequate recovery periods, particularly as our hormonal landscapes shift throughout our lives. Understanding Female Physiology and Stress Our hormonal fluctuations throughout the month and across different life stages significantly impact how our bodies respond to stress. During perimenopause and menopause, declining oestrogen levels affect everything from bone density to muscle mass maintenance, making certain types of physical stress even more important. However, these same hormonal shifts can make us more vulnerable to the negative impacts of chronic stress. Cortisol: The Double-Edged Sword Cortisol, often called the "stress hormone," plays a vital role in our daily functioning. It helps regulate metabolism, reduce inflammation, and control sleep-wake cycles. The natural peak of cortisol in the morning helps us get out of bed and start our day with energy. However, when stress becomes chronic, cortisol levels can remain elevated, creating a cascade of effects particularly problematic for women:
Let's have a look at how we can distinguish between beneficial stress that builds resilience and chronic stress that depletes you. Here's how we can harness good stress for strength and vitality....  Bone-strengthening stress: Progressive resistance training creates the mechanical stress needed to stimulate bone growth and prevent age-related bone loss. This becomes increasingly important during perimenopause and beyond, when declining oestrogen accelerates bone density loss.
Muscle-building stress: Strategic strength training creates the microtears in muscle tissue that, when properly recovered from, lead to stronger, more metabolically active muscles. This is crucial for maintaining metabolism and functional strength as we age. Metabolic stress: Brief intervals of high-intensity exercise can create beneficial metabolic stress that improves insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular health without overwhelming your system. Hormetic stress: Practices like cold water therapy create temporary stress that triggers adaptation and resilience when done appropriately. This can strengthen your nervous system's response to all forms of stress. Managing Detrimental Stress While embracing beneficial forms of physical stress, we must simultaneously develop strategies to minimise chronic, harmful stress: Periodisation and recovery: Understanding your menstrual cycle (if applicable) or your unique response patterns allows us to structure training intensity appropriately, emphasising recovery during higher-sensitivity phases. Stress-hormone harmonising: Specific nutrition strategies, timed appropriately around exercise and throughout your hormonal cycles, can help mitigate stress responses and support recovery. Mindful movement practices: Incorporating restorative movement like yoga or tai chi can activate the parasympathetic "rest and digest" system, countering the effects of chronic stress. Sleep optimisation: Creating personalised sleep rituals that work with your hormonal stage helps address one of the most powerful anti-stress tools available to women. Timing: The timing of our training and recovery are very important - have a look at a separate blog post I wrote here for some interesting insights on this. Your Personalised Approach to Stress I don't believe in one-size-fits-all approaches. The optimal balance of beneficial stress and recovery depends on your:
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AuthorDenise Yeats is a coach, personal trainer, endurance athlete and avid adventurer. She is passionate about supporting women to achieve their goals, working with, not against their changing physiology. Archives
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