Happy Tuesday, beautiful readers!

We’ve survived Thanksgiving, but with Christmas just a week away and New Year’s just a week after that, it’s safe to say we’re still in the thick of the holiday season.

Which means, for some of us, there are still a lot of stress and anxiety triggers coming our way.

As such, the good people over at the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) are hosting a Twitter chat on using complementary health practices like yoga, meditation, and tai chi to manage stress and anxiety – specifically, the safety and efficacy of these mind and body practices.

During the chat, you’ll get to meet John Glowa, Ph.D., the NCCAM expert who oversees the organization’s behavioral health research portfolio, and Daniel Pine, M.D. from the NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Note that:

• The chat is today (Tuesday, December 18, 2012) at 3:30 p.m. EST. (Got a free minute between now and then? Check out highlights from a previous NIH NCCAM Twitter chat: 5 Resources for Depression and Complementary Health Practices)
• You should go ahead and follow the NIH NCCAM on Twitter at @NCCAM.
• The hashtag for the chat is #nccamchat.

Hope to see you there!

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Do I have any American readers today, or is everyone still lolling about in a tryptophan haze?

Actually, I’m sort of hoping that’s the case; the holidays can be so stressful, so if you’re relaxing today (and not out fighting the Black Friday crowds – *shudder*), good for you.

If you’re not…well, I have a few quotes that I think might help you de-stress and relax as you wind down from the Thanksgiving festivities – however successful or stressful they might have been.

If you missed the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) Twitter chat last Friday, don’t worry: You don’t have to scroll through all the #nccamchat hashtags on Twitter to catch up!

The NCCAM has archived the chat so you can browse through the tweets at your leisure.

Happy World Mental Health Day, readers! A day for celebrating mental health, advocating for safe and effective treatments, and banishing the stigma of mental illness!

I’m so honored you’ve chosen to add Your Body, Your Mind on your roster of reading today.

Given the nature of Your Body, Your Mind, I wanted to use today to highlight some tips to help you combine diet and exercise with balanced mental health.

After all, so many of us already know how important diet and exercise is to our mental health, but, combining it all can be pretty intimidating.

I subscribe to Dictionary.com’s “Word of the Day,” and a few weeks ago the word of the day was “ataraxia.”

English degree aside, I’d never heard the word (at least, that I can remember), but I instantly fell in love with it. It was around the time I started working out outside again (see Your Treadmill SUCKS! 7 Reasons You Should Get Outside), so I knew exactly what ataraxia meant…

…I’d been experiencing it firsthand every morning on the track.

Happy Tuesday, readers!

Last week I told you about the mental health day I took (and the unsurprising surprise some folks felt when they found out).

Now, I’d like to share some pointers I learned during the day – some mental health day tips, if you will.

You might think taking a mental health day is a sort of no-brainer. You just call off school or work and chill out, right?

Well, sort of.

For a truly successful mental health day, though, there are a few tips you can follow.

Since last Friday, my area has been hit pretty hard with extreme heat waves and severe winds and thunderstorms. Naturally, Mother Nature’s cranky mood led to ongoing power outages, which led to little relief from the humidity and high temperatures, a lot of spoiled food, heat-related health problems, and…

…our own cranky moods.

This isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with a long-term power outage – not by a long shot. However, it might be the first time I’ve dealt with one while simultaneously dealing with unrelenting temperatures and hostile weather conditions.

Needless to say, I learned a lot about staying healthy when the heat is on (and the power is off), and I thought – now that my power’s back! – I’d share them with you.

Are you a recovering alcoholic or drug addict? Have you thought about incorporating yoga in your recovery?

Maybe you should give it a try.

That, for many people, yoga is an effective way to manage mental health issues like anxiety and depression is no secret; however, according to Jennifer Garam’s Sun Salutations in Sobriety, people also use yoga to break through the “spiritual wall” many recovering addicts hit and continue on their sobriety path.

Apparently, this isn’t a new or secret idea, either. Sarah, the nine-year sober New Yorker quoted in the article, started using yoga during her seventh year, and folks like Rolf Gates, Nikki Myers, and Tommy Rosen write about and teach yoga programs designed for people in recovery.

(Of course, you can Google just about any combination of “yoga and sobriety,” “yoga and recovery,” and “yoga and addiction” and you’ll find tons of related blogs, forums, and programs.)

So, why is yoga working so well for people in recovery?

Happy Mental Health Month, readers!

In case you’re not familiar, Mental Health America first celebrated Mental Health Month in May 1949 to “raise awareness of mental health conditions and mental wellness for all.” Since then, a strong focus on mental health advocacy, awareness, and education in May is tradition.

Mental Health America is focusing on two areas for Mental Health 2012: Do More for 1 in 4 and Healing Trauma’s Invisible Wounds. Please feel free to check those out!

Here at Your Body, Your Mind, we’re going to do things a little differently.

For each week during May 2012, you’ll receive a “challenge” of sorts – something to try during the week to improve your physical and mental health.

This week’s challenge? Laughter!

The past couple of weeks have been incredibly busy (and life-altering) for me. I’ve both taken on a new job and moved to a new city. I’m closer to some family and friends, and I’m meeting new people and learning new things.

These are exciting times!

…they’re also stressful times.

I’m juggling everything from the big things like work and setting up a new place to the small things like switching banks and synching up my schedule with the Internet installation guy’s schedule. I’ve spent “free time” unpacking boxes and “me time” sleeping.

So where’s that leave diet and exercise?