Don’t Stress Out, RELAX!

Here’s a little exercise to feel the difference between being tense and stressed out, and being relaxed. Start by making tight fists, clench your jaw, bring your shoulders up to your ears, and squeeze every muscle in your body tight,thight,tight. Now take a deep breath and on the exhale just let go and completely relax. Let every muscle release every bit of tension. Feel the circulation coming back to your whole body and the relief washing over you.

So next time you feel yourself tensing up, take a deep breath and let go. How does that feel?

SQUEEZE ME

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Clear away the cobwebs in your mind!!

Sometimes mid-day we can get a bit foggy; when this happens try doing a simple inversion.  This is an easy way to get some extra oxygen to your brain. Sit in you chair feet flat on the floor, and simply lean forward letting your head hang down between your legs for a few seconds. Be sure to come back up slowly so you don’t get dizzy.



Picture from: yogaforhealthyaging.blogspot.com

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Need a little extra energy in the afternoon? Try getting up and moving around for a few minutes, get your blood flowing, get some more oxygen to your brain, and push past the 3:00 crash!

Change your Movement Change your Mood

 
I'm currently reading Awaken the Giant within by Anthony Robbins, and it's really inspiring. I have come up with at least 4 topics for the blog and am only about 1/4 of the way through. The first thing I want to share is how your motion creates your emotion, the way you move  your posture your facial expressions  create you emotional state, I read that and thought , fascinating!

Something as simple as smiling or even sitting up straight will change how you feel. So we have the ability to change how we feel by changing what we do with our bodies. How we stand how we breathe facial expressions. Once you know what feelings are connected to certain movements and postures u can change them. We all have our normal patterns that we seem to stick with out of habit and we limit ourselves to these postures and emotions without even noticing. Robbins says that in his Date with Destiny seminars he asks people to write down what emotions they feel in an average week and most of us less than a dozen. These were the top 12 he listed.
1 Stressed out
2 Frustrated
3 Angry
4 Insecure
5 Lonely
6 Board
7 Miserable
8 Happy
9 Relieved
10 Loved
11 Excited
12 Joyous
So now how many different ways can you change how you feel by changing how you use your body? Give it a try. I did and I had a lot of fun with it. You can try things like making funny faces, to feel silly, posing like a body builder, to feel strong, or put your hands on your hips bend one knee, and throw your head back. How does that make you feel?  Open your eyes wide with wonder, bow your head drop your gaze and pout, or stretch your arms above your head open your palms wide and take a deep breath, they all feel different, don’t they?

This is the kind of information I want to take and run with, experiment with different postures and movement to change how I feel when I want or need to. Getting myself energized when I’m tired bringing my mood up when I’m down, finding a conscious way to prepare for what’s coming next.

Why not try to see how many expressions and feelings you can add to the list above? Give it a try, I had fun with it and you can to. Take what you learn and use it to help enhance your experiences each day.

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Don’t let your mind go to many places at once. Tying to keep up with a wondering mind can be exhausting. Too avoid extra stress and strain; keep your mind on one task at a time.

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Leave all your baggage at the door: When it is time for you to work out, leave everything behind you, Drop it at the door and let it wait till you are done. Come back with a clear calm mind, and a new perspective.

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Keep yourself connected: Get your mind and body working together on one task, maintain focus, and let everything else go.

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5 Minute Coffee Break

Stop whatever you are doing, and get up to make some coffee or get yourself a drink. Keep focused on your task and don’t think about anything else. Sit down close your eyes and take a deep breath inhaling the aroma. Now take a sip, taste it enjoy it a keep your focus on it. If you start to think of something else let the thought go and return to your coffee. Avoid any distractions if possible, co workers, and telephone, whatever. Do this until you finish your coffee. When you have finished take just another minute and notice how you are feeling. Enjoy all your breaks this way!

Healthy body Healthy Mind

We are all connected, body and mind. Keeping ourselves happy, healthy, and well, requires us to take care of both. We need to keep our bodies in shape, fed properly, and find time to rest and relax. Our minds need the exact same things. The good news is what we do for one can positively affect the other.

EXAMPLE; you are overworked, mentally stressed from your job, that mental stress can cause physical illness. Even though there is nothing outside, physically affecting your health, your overworked mind is causing stress to take its toll on your body. The good news is regular physical exercise cam calm your overworked mind reduces stress and keeps you well.

Now we flip it around. You are physically exhausted, you have been running all day heavy lifting, you name it your body is ready for rest but your mind is racing. If you want sleep for your tired body you will have to relax your mind. Meditation, relaxation exercises, visualization, or guided imagery can help calm your mind and allow the body to relax.

We need a healthy balance in our lives to keep us well. Regular practices to relax and energize our bodies and minds can help you to create that balance. Find physical activities and exercises that allow you to let go of everything else while engaging in them. Keeping you mind on what you are physically doing keeps you connected in the present moment, allowing all the stress and strain to dissolve away for the time being. Making time to be quiet and still, turning your focus inward creates time, space and calm feelings.

Whatever you decide to do, pay attention stay focused and get the full experience, make the most of your time by tuning in, to all you do. 

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No matter where you are or what you have to do, there is always TIME to be HAPPY !

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Don’t compromise when it comes to your time.

There is always a way to make any situation work.

So keep making changes untill it works for you!!!

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Make working out work for you!

Need to work out but just can’t get excited about it or motivated to do it? Don’t make it harder than it needs to be.Find something active you like to do and let that help you get started. Walking, running, swimming, rock climbing, tennis, martial arts, when you find something you like to do ,working out is no longer work.

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Relax your body and calm your mind with this simple mantra meditation.

1.       Find a quiet place to sit comfortably with good back support.

2.        Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths, and let you body relax.

3.       Our mantra for this exercise will be the word, RELAX. You can choose any word or phrase that has meaning for you.

4.       Breaths through your nose if you are able, and repeat the word relax quietly, to yourself.( Don’t worry if you get distracted and your mind starts to wander, when this happens simply refocus and begin repeating relax to yourself again)

5.       Keep going for 5 minutes or more if you can, slowly start to move your hands and feet then slowly open your eyes. Take a few deep breaths then go about your day feeling relaxed and refreshed, repeat daily.

5 ways to focus on you in the New Year

 

1: Meditation, meditation is the practice of focusing your attention on one thing, an object a word or phrase, shapes colors, or your own breathing. With practice you can relax you mind, by pulling your focus to the one thing you choose, instead of trying to process and deal with all that is going on around you as well as random thoughts of past and present problems and situations. Like most other things in life the more you practice the easier it gets and the more you benefit.

Check out Tip of the Day for a simple Mantra Meditation

2:  Eat healthy; eating healthy doesn’t have to mean depriving yourself, or never eating your favorite foods again. The best advice I can give you is…

1: Don’t make any drastic changes without out consulting your doctor.

 2: Start by adding healthy foods into your regular diet, instead of cutting things you enjoy out. For example, add fresh fruit to breakfast and green leafy salads at lunch and dinner. Eat the fruit and veggies first then move on to the rest of the meal. The idea is to fill up on the healthy stuff and have less of the food you are trying to avoid without feeling deprived. It’s worth a try.

3: Exercise; make some time to exercise, you don’t have to run out and join a gym or start an extreme workout plan you’re not ready for, start simple. Get out and go for a walk when the weather is nice, or try taking a class. Go by yourself if you need some alone time or with a friend if you feel you need to get out and socialize more. My husband and I have been taking martial arts classes together, two to three times a week for the past three years. We have met some wonderful people and look forward to going to class each week.

4: Manage your time; always remember it’s your life, your schedule needs to work for you. If things are crazy and difficult to keep up with make necessary changes. Cut back on extras or fine someone to help you with things you are not keeping up with.

5: Be happy; being happy is a choice, your choice. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are, what matters is you and your outlook on life. Choose to be happy and good things will find you. Even on your worst days when everything seems to go wrong, just fake it! Put a smile on your face and sell the good mood until even you believe it.

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It’s time to ask the questions:

What do I want? and

What will I do to get it?

Then get to it!

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Worrying, will never serve you well, so don’t bother. It’s just something to waste your time on and stress your body and mind. Take all your worries and set them aside, your load will be much lighter.

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If you could give yourself anything in the world ,what would it be ?

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