“Humming creates a wonderful circuit of energy in your body re-vitalizing its cells and charging its chakra’s” Deva Premal

Humming is medicine for your whole body.  Its therapeutic – and one of the easiest ways to refresh your thinking and clear your head, especially if you haven’t got time to go for a long walk.

It can be done anywhere, anytime and is incredibly soothing for your whole being. 

Whilst humming may seem a little weird at first, trust me, you can’t help but notice the therapeutic effects it will be having, almost instantly, on your body.

As you begin to hum you’ll notice your shoulders start to drop, your muscles start to un-clench and relax particularly around your cheeks, eyes, jaw, nose, throat and neck.

Humming invites your body to release and let go. It really is a little explosion of magic that starts in your mouth.

Feel more peaceful humming meditation:

Place one hand gently on top of your head, and the other hand resting gently on your stomach.

Close your eyes if that feels more comfortable.

Now inhale, and hum gently on the exhale.  No racing or rushing. Simply hum at a pace and rhythm that is right for you today.

Feel the vibration of the hum move to your hand on top of your head.

Feel the vibration of the hum move to your hand resting on stomach.

Notice, how effortlessly your body starts to respond by releasing, letting go and relaxing.

Optional extra:

Direct the vibration of the hum to any area of your body where you feel the energy is stuck, blocked or super tight.

Therapuetic benefits:

1. Clears out the cob webs from every corner of your brain.

2. Slows your breathing and thoughts down.

3. Activates the parasympathetic nervous system (triggers the relaxation response in your body)

4. Feel more peaceful on the inside.  Humming helps to clear any restless or agitated energy you may be feeling on the inside.

5. Refreshes your thinking.  Dissolves worry, racing thoughts and anxiousness. When you are humming there is no room for worry or fear.

7. Helps to release stress and worry being held in and around your stomach area.  Your stomach will start to un-clench, release and soften.

Photo by tymesynk

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The DVD I’m loving at the moment:

Last week my latest order from Amazon arrived.  The DVD is called Kundalini Yoga to Detox and Destress with Maya Fiennes. I’m  new to kundalini so still learning.  Its very different to any other kind of yoga. Maya uses lots  of movement, mantra’s and breathing.  There’s sequences to detoxify kidneys, strengthen adrenals and get the energy flowing up and down your spine.  Most of the exercises are done sitting on a mat.   My body certainly feels  more alive and awake.

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Ananga plays the beautiful Udana flute – music for relaxation

Click here to sample the 9 tracks

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Next time you are laying in bed rehashing your day and feeling a little tense or agitated, why not  choose to let go of your day – before falling asleep.   It’s easier to do than you might think.

Simply chose to “let it all go” by blowing it out with a few particularly forceful exhales.   After all who wants to fall asleep with a bucket load of stress, worry or anxiety.

Clinging onto your day (if its been a crappy one) zapps you of energy and fatigues your body even more.

It’s not helpful nor is it healthy to anyone …….. especially you.

Give yourself permission to let go, release the surface tension and relax all your muscles, organs and cells.  Yes, let it all go right down to your cells.

Let go of your day by sinking and spreading:

So, as you snuggle into bed feel yourself sink, spread and relax into your mattress.

*  Sink into your mattress  … say to yourself …  I am sinking into my mattress.

*  Spread into your mattress  …. say to yourself …  I am spreading into my mattress.

*  Relax into your mattress … say to yourself ….  I am sinking, spreading and now relaxing into my mattress.

Stop squinting, lose the frown, un-clench your teeth, drop and relax your shoulders, release your tongue and throat,  let your belly flop (stop sucking it in), let your arms and legs flop.

Now become aware of just how different your body feels with this simple little one minute “un-clenching”  ritual.

Let go of your day with a forceful exhale:

An inhale is stimulating and an exhale is relaxing.  Spend longer on your exhale and your body will automatically begin to unwind.

Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.  Purse your lips, as if you are about to blow out a candle.  Pursed lip breathing helps empty your lungs and release inner tension.

Spend longer on your exhale.   Really empty your lungs.  Make a noise as you exhale.

Notice how your neck, shoulders and jaw release as you sigh and really push the exhale out.

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You might also find the following articles helpful:

An essential question to ask yourself when feeling overwhelmed

12 ways to release muscle tension on the spot

Your breath as medicine

Benefits of journal writing

Thank you to her wings for the photo

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Feeling exhausted, tired, fuzzy thinking or not sleeping?

Click here for my Adrenal Fatigue Recovery essence and some really helpful suggestions, plus a great book recommendation.

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The wonderful art of pausing.  Think before I speak.  Breathe before I react.  Rest before I exhaust myself.

It got me thinking about how often (or little) I take a moment to” pause” throughout my day.  How many breathing breaks I refuel and calm my body with.   Inhale.  Exhale.  And, the overwhelming necessity of adding “yin” (quiet, cool and still) moments into our overly “yang” (busy, movement, fast) days.

So, with all that’s happening in the world at the moment and my own home state of Queensland, Australia being 75% flooded I’d love to share with you a short relaxation exercise from the gorgeous Ananga – who’s meditation and music downloads I recommend heaps on this blog.   Its all about pausing, taking a moment out of our stressful lives without having to leave our front door steps, office, chair or desk.

Research shows it works.

It takes no more than 2 minutes, so why not try it for yourself.

Thank you Ananga.

Take a mini holiday while still at your desk:

By Ananga Sivyer

Stress experts are telling us that by the time we get that holiday it’s almost too late. Many of us are so run down before we get a break that when we finally get away our body takes a nose dive and decides to really let go by succumbing to exhaustion, a bug or illness.

We know that a walk, swim, or yoga class are great ways to diffuse stress but studies found that we can also achieve great results in relaxation without even leaving our desk.

A recent study at the University of Connecticut encouraged participants to try simple stress relief techniques that involved breathing slowly and visualising a peaceful place. Your peaceful place.

They found that:

“Just four ‘mini relaxation’ stress management sessions (1 1/2 to 2 minutes) over the course of the day reduced work-related stress as effectively as 15-minute blocks of progressive muscle relaxation“.

Those who took part said they were happy to stick with the quick and easy relaxation sessions in the future because they only took a minute or two.

Experience your mini holiday now:

Close your eyes and drop your shoulders

Relax your jaw by decorating your face with the hint of a smile

Lean back and let yourself go somewhere beautiful.  Your peaceful place.  Your happy place.

Somewhere peaceful and calm, the perfect location for you –  to just be and relax.  See it in your minds eye, smell the air  around you and listen to the sounds

Take a deep breath and let your tension go with every exhale

Use the exhale to let the stress and tension float up and away into the sky above your head

Stay a minute or two, breathe in the peacefulness and enjoy the scenery

When you feel ready, refreshed and relaxed, you can open your eyes and return to what you are doing

Thank you to  creativekismet for the above photo

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I use and love Ananga’s guided meditations and music and I know you will too.

Click here to listen and sample

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At the moment I’m reading – extra slowly -Light on Life by B.K.S Iyengar.  Rush through this book and you’ll miss wonderful pieces of wisdom from the yoga legend Mr Iyengar (born 1918).  He shares many ways (yoga philosophy based) for us all to strengthen our emotional well-being, physical stability and  mental clarity.  Of course it includes regular yoga and mindful breathing to calm our mind and strengthen the nervous system. All with the aim of encouraging us all to flow through the ups and downs of life with minimal residual stress and upset.

Or as Mr Iyengar so eloquently writes.

“When lifes little upsets happen, we take them in our stride, deal with them – and then them put down.   We are in balance, so changes, disturbances, and events in our daily life do not throw us off balance.   We’re sensitive to them, we’re flexible, we survive without trauma”.

As I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this book thought I would share a few insights that are connected with my passions of breathing, relaxation and being in balance.

The “echo” exhalation was a piece of wisdom that really resonated with me, not only because of the funky name (you’ve got to admit its cool)  but because he’s right.  There always is residual air in the bottom of our lungs – even after we have exhaled.  Enjoy.

6 great quotes and wisdsoms from B.K.S. Iyengar:

One: Try an “echo” exhalation.  Exhale slowly and fully.  Pause.  Then exhale again. There is always a slight residue left in the lungs.  In that residue is to be found the sludge of toxic memory and ego.  Exhale further, let them go and experience and even deeper state of peace.

Two: If your liver is sluggish with toxins your brain will be impaired because the liver is not filtering the blood.  Your nervous system will be slow to react to danger and disproportionate to the degrees of stress you register.

My thoughts:  Detox the liver to think more clearly and feel less stressed.

Three: You have to tame your breath to tame your brain.  Begin with observing the movements of normal breathing and letting them become quiet and soft in such a way there is no load on the cells in the brain.    To accomplish this you have to release the diaphragm.  The diaphragm is the medium between the physiological and mental sheaths and in consequence tightens as it records stress and tensions that occur in daily life.

My thoughts:  Soften your belly to relax your diaphragm – to quieten the brain.

Four: Everyone desires more life energy.  If energy could be packaged and sold in a shop, it would be the most successful business ever.  Merely talking about energy excites and energizes people.  Where can we get it, people want to know.  Well, not in packets and not in shops because it is, first, everywhere and, second, free of charge.  Energy or prana in the form of breath, is the starting point.

My thoughts:   Invite more energy into your body right now – with your next inhale.  Pranayama is also a great place to start with alternate nostril breathing or by paying more attention to the quality of your breath for at least one minute every hour.

Five: Focus on relaxing not clenching.  Learn how to relax your tongue and throat and you know how to relax your brain.   There is a connection between the tongue, throat and brain.

My thoughts -Start by un-clenching your jaw, tongue, teeth, shoulders, neck, stomach and buttocks.

Wisdom six: If we look with tension in our eyes it means our nerves are already exhausted which causes us to lose energy.

My thoughts:  Soften and relax the muscles behind the eyes.  Give your eyes something pleasant to look at other than computer screens, TV and your mobile phone.

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Recent book recommendations:

Restful Yoga for Stressful Times by Judith Lassater

Chakra Foods for Optimum Health by Dr.  Deanna Minich

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I use and love Ananga’s guided meditations and music

Please click here to sample her music:

“I chose to respond by breathing and not stressing”

Stress simply distracts the body from healing itself.  Don’t let stress be the number one focus for your mind and body.

Counteract the effects of stress – as it happens (or whenever you think of it), by checking in with your body and  diffusing its tight, hard, depleting energy from your muscles and other body parts. You only need a momentary shift of focus to give your body some light relief.

Of course I’m writing about muscle tension this week, as I’ve found myself of late to be particularly stressed and tight in certain body parts, particularly around the neck and stomach area.  I’m sure its got nothing to do with being a single mum of 3 boys.

So following are some of the simple little exercises I’ve been doing, as often as I can, to dissolve the surface tension and give my body some more space and energy.   Try them out for yourself and let me know what you think.

12 ways to release muscle tension (on the spot):

1: Part your lips slightly: The simple act of parting your lips ever so slightly can create an amazing release for your jaw, neck and throat area.  When you part your lips its very difficult to grind teeth, clench your jaw or purse your lips.  In fact, if you are anything  like me you won’t realize how much stress you hold in your jaw area until you part your lips slightly and feel the difference.

2:  Relax your shoulders: Tight tense shoulders generally bunch up around your ears, restrict the flow of blood to your brain, round your shoulders and even sink your chest.  Un-hunch your shoulders, spread your collar bones, lift your chest and relax your neck and jaw.  Now, feel the difference.

3:  Draw a figure eight into your palm: Distract yourself from stressing and shift your thinking by tracing a figure -eight onto the palm of your hand.  It’s bliss.   Another lovely place to draw the figure is around your eyes.  Very soothing and relaxing for your whole face.

4:  Grab your ears: Pinch your ear lobes between your thumb and index finger. Holding a firmish grip allow the weight of your arms to pull your ears down.  If you are holding lots of tension in this area you will notice instant relief as pressure is released from your head, your neck legnthens, your shoulders relax and you feel lots more space in this area of your body.

5:  Face yoga – stick out your tongue (pictured above):  Lions pose is great for releasing tension and frustration held in your face and upper body area.  You literally stick out your tongue as far as it will go and then roar like a lion.  Releases oodles of frustration, tension and stress.  If roaring like a lion is not your thing then pretend you are Gene Simmons from Kiss.

6:  Remember to breath: When stressed we often hold our breath which traps tension in our muscles and body.  Remember to breath. When the breath is unsteady, everything is unsteady. Dr Weil says “If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip, it would be simply to learn how to breathe correctly”.

7:  Chew your food longer: Yes, its true.  Chewing your food is a natural relaxant.  As David Wolfe says “A natural de-stressor is to chew your vegetables.  It releases four times more serotonin”.  Serotonin is often known as the molecule of happiness.

8:  Spend longer on your exhale: Your inhale stimulates and your exhale relaxes.   Use your next exhale to release tension and put a healthy distance between you and whatever is stressing you out.

9:  Rest on your  yoga bolster (code for big pillow): If you have the luxury of resting on your yoga bolster for a few moments – then do it.   Laying down and lowering your head triggers relaxation in your body.  If you don’t have a yoga bolster then 2 or 3 blankets rolled together are perfect for you to rest in a restorative yoga pose such as, supported childs pose.

10:  Chant Om: Chanting “Om” creates vibrations inside your mouth that are similar to striking a gong.  It’s great for releasing tension in the face, neck and upper body. Chanting om (aum)  is refreshing and brings a light quality to your being.  I find it a wonderful relaxer.

11:  3 rounds of alternate nostril breathing: This has to be one of my favourites and I have to say works every time for me.   Alternate nostril breathing relaxes your whole body.  It soothes your nervous system, calms an agitated mind, your emotions and relaxes stressed breathing.   Click here for simple instructions on alternate nostril breathing.

12: Belly breathing for instant relief: Do you hold stress in your stomach area like me ?  Then use your breath to dissolve any tightness and tension.   Place your hands on your belly and feel the rise and fall of your tummy with each inhale and exhale.  Continue until you feel it soften, open up and relax.  Ah! now doesn’t that feel better.  It’s impossible for a soft relaxed tummy to hold tension.

More ideas for stress relief:

When I’m super stressed the herb passion flower works wonders for me, you can read more about this herb in a previous article called 3 potent natural herbal sedatives.

Here’s a few more articles from the Rejuvenation Lounge which you might find helpful.

How to breathe better

The simplest way to unknot your body

16 affirmations for stressful times

An awesome shake to soothe your nerves

Just for today do it differently

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What I’m loving at the moment:

Sarah Wilson, health practitioner, writer and TV presenter quit sugar as an experiment to support the health of her auto-immune disease. She noticed such a huge change with her health and mood that she wrote an e-book about it.  I think its a fabulous idea – although not sure I could go 100% no sugar but would certainly be interested in how different I feel without my honey and coconut palm sugar.

Click here to visit Sarah Wilson.

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You can also grab your daily rejuvenation tip by clicking here

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I use and love Ananga’s guided meditations and music

Please click here to sample her music:

“The best yoga posture is the corners of your mouth turning up to the sky.  Smile”.  Sonia Choquette

Feeling grumpy, tired, annoyed,stressed, frustrated or simply flat ?  Then this weeks post may be just the medicine you need.  It’s a 60 second laughter experiment that will hopefully have you feeling lighter, and a little less stressed on the inside.

Research shows that a smile can change your mood, release tension (particularly in your jaw and neck), help you stay positive, boost your immune system, comfort another person, helps you relax and even makes you look younger.

I was inspired to write this post by the lovely Kathy Popplewell after reading one of her newsletters.  Kathy is an awesome Laughter Yoga Teacher right here in Australia (Sydney).  A big thank you to Kathy for allowing  me to share her 60 second Laughter Experiment.  You rock!

Words of advice on laughter from Kathy:

* You don’t need a sense of humour to laugh.
* You don’t need to be happy to laugh.
* You don’t even need a reason to laugh.
* The more you laugh the more you will develop a sense of humour, the happier you will feel,  and the more reasons you will find every day to laugh.
* Laughter can instantly lift your mood, make you feel great and give you more energy.  The more you practice the easier it will become.

60 second laughter experiment:

Step one:

Notice how you feel in this moment, right now.  Notice your mood, your energy levels, how your body feels, if you are frowning or slouching.  Change nothing.  Simply observe.

Step two:

Now simply laugh (fake it if you have too) for the next 60 seconds.

Start by curling the sides of your lips up and then follow with a few giggles.

If that feels really impossible with how you are feeling right now, then use a visual prompt from “you tube” to get your laughter muscles engaged.

• laughter clip – 1 minute
• woman goes back to work after 35 years (4 seconds)
• finding your “poo chi”
• skype laughter chain – 2 minutes

Step three:

After 60 seconds of laughing on your own or watching a laughter clip , reassess how you feel.  Notice your mood, your body, your posture, face muscles and energy levels.

The chances are you will feel a little lighter, have more relaxed  face, neck and shoulder muscles, let go of some inner stress and tension and disconnected from any worrying thoughts.

Think about how many times a day you laugh and whether you need to add more deliberate moments of 60 second laughter exercises into your day.

10 Impressive reasons to laugh more often:

1. Laughter is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to relax your body.
2. There is no right nor wrong way to laugh, anyone can do it. No skill required
3. Laugh to reduce your stress and tension. Laughter really is a release.
4. Laugh to feel young again. Yes, they say laughter is anti-ageing.
5. Laugh to strengthen your immune system. Yep, its been proven.Your immune system is boosted for at least 12 hours after watching a funny movie.
6. Laugh to let it go and move on. Literally laugh it off, you’ll feel better.
7. Laugh to invite play and joy into your life. Kids laugh 300 times a day. How about you?
8. Laugh to reduce depression. When you laugh your body releases endorphins so you actually start to feel better. Fake laughter works equally as well says Dr. Kataria.
9. Laugh because life is too precious to be filled with excess seriousness
10. A good belly laugh is great exercise – go figure. It works both the stomach and face muscles.

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I personally recommend the following for yoga meditation music

Please click here for  details

“You feel connected to something greater than yourself when you are aware of your inner stillness”

I have been blessed, yet again, with an awesome group of women at my very latest Rest and Rejuvenation retreat in Bali. My intention was to create – a space where deep rest and stillness could be experienced by all participants, with minimum effort on their part.

Daily hand selected Balinese body massages and special Ayurvedic treatments (such as chakra dhara, crown massage and kati basti).  Coupled with morning relaxation sessions of restorative yoga (such as legs up the wall), mindful breathing, deep muscle relaxation, chanting and evening sessions of yoga nidra, all melted together to allow participants to let go, unwind, relax and feel peaceful on the inside again.  It was an absolute joy to witness.  We were one bunch of happy chilled out women.

Photo by split yarn:

Finding your inner stillness:

“I feel still.  I feel rested”

The simple act of finding the still spot inside of you (we all have one, no matter how tiny or well hidden it may be) creates the space for a more balanced feeling to fill up inside of you.   The more you become aware, feel and tap into your inner stillness the greater clarity and greater peacefulness you will feel.  Your life will flow with more ease and less agitation.

Of course you don’t need to go on my Rejuvenation Retreats to find your inner stillness.   15 minutes of daily restorative yoga is one of the easiest ways to connect with your inner stillness or perhaps you may be more attracted towards walking meditation. Walk leisurely and peacefully, with soft eyes and gentle belly breaths.  Inhale for 3 steps.  Exhale for 3 steps.  Of course just sitting quietly un-distracted for a few moments may be enough (for you) to become aware of your inner stillness.

So, as my recent Rejuvenation Retreat has now finished  – I felt it timely to share with you my personal realizations that I have experienced when I feel, breathe into, and then rest with my inner stillness.

The many gifts of tuning into your inner stillness:

In case you were wondering my inner stillness has a location.  Its in and around my stomach area.  Some days it may be well hidden but, after a little deep breathing I can soon sense it.  Once I sense or feel it, I simply continue to focus and breath into it, and then any one of the following things may happen.

1: Stillness is the quiet place inside where the mind doesn’t interfere, argue or confuse you.  Decisions are easy.  You have clarity.

2: Stillness brings you back to your true centre.  You are fully present with yourself.

3: Simple solutions often arise easily when you rest with your inner stillness

4: Being with your inner stillness allows you to digest life

5: You can tap into your inner stillness anywhere, anytime and any place

6: Stillness helps you trust in the flow of your life.

7: Feeling your inner stillness helps you “let go” of worry

8: Stillness offers a clear connection to your intuition, your gut feelings. You have a calm knowing.

9: Stillness allows big problems all of a sudden seem small

10: Your inner stillness acts as a buffer between you and the busyness of the world around you

11: Stillness gives your body breathing space to release stress, worry and agitation

12: You feel connected to something greater than yourself when experiencing stillness

13: You learn the valuable skill of letting go by resting in stillness

14: Stillness teaches you that you have the strength for any situation

15: Being with your inner stillness gives you the time and space to digest life

16: Stillness puts a healthy distance between you and the external stimulation of a busy world

17: Your body will quickly start to replenish itself as the immune system and nervous system are nourished by focusing on the feeling of stillness

18: There is a feeling of being totally safe and protected when you feel your inner stillness

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I use and love Ananga’s guided meditations and music

Please click here to download:

“Improper breathing is a common cause of ill health” Dr.  Andrew Weil

Breathing is more than an automatic act of survival, it is the key to your health and sense of well being.   The Chinese say that “Breathing is 100 times more important than medicine”. Why?  Because when you take care of your breath you take care of every cell in your body.

Breathing oxygenates your blood better, supports your brain, and allows you take in more vital energy or chi.   How you take in that chi can make all the difference between feeling truly alive, vibrant and healthy, or just being alive and functioning without any personal sense of vitality.

Photo by woooody’s

Deep breathing oxygenates your cells:

“One of the most overlooked benefits of extra oxygen in the tissues is their ability to detoxify more efficiently”  Dr. Kurt  W. Donsbach D.C N.D.

The more air you take in, the more chi (life force energy) you draw into your body.  Your cells love it when you breath deeply and steadily.  They get a boost of both vital energy and oxygen to help remove toxins and regenerate.

In the 1930′s Nobel Prize winner Dr. Otoo Warburg discovered that cancer cells do not thrive in an environment that is well oxygenated.

Ayurveda (ancient science of life)  teaches that a lack of oxygen at a cellular level could be a significant factor in the cause of cancer.

In China cancer patients are encouraged to practice deep breathing for several hours a day which reportedly resolves their cancer in the majority of cases.

Your breath and stress:

“Stress molecules attach to your cells surface, as a result less space is available on their membrane to take in oxygen and essential nutrients”  Dr. Pokea

Shallow breathing (upper chest breathing) is an automatic response to anxiety.  When you train yourself to breathe deeply in the face of stress or anxiety, you are signaling to your mind that everything is OK.   And as a direct result, you will begin to feel OK.   This may sound like a simple platitude, but it’s a fact, and it can easily be proved by your personal experience.

It may take some practice to get your breathing deep and steady, and it may take further practice to consistently remind yourself to deepen and lengthen your breath at the slightest whiff of worry or stress, but if you do, you will feel the benefits very quickly.

How to practice a healing breath:

The easiest way to boost your resilience to stress and improve your heath is to find a class, book or audio that focuses on mindful deep breathing.  A yoga teacher with experience in yogic breathing (3 chamber breathing) and pranayama (deepening and controlling your breath) would be an excellent place to start or perhaps a Qi Gong (breath, movement, and meditation) class may appeal to you more.  There are many ancients practices out there to choose from.

A guided healing breath meditation:

One popular breathing exercise that I teach is called the Relaxing Breath, (sometimes called the 4-7-8 breath, due to the pattern of counting and holding the breath) it’s great for getting used to breathing deeply, and works well for reducing stress and anxiety. It’s also effective for relaxing into a restful sleep at the end of the day.

You can listen to a sample of my Relaxing Breath, New Beginnings in Breathing, Healing Energy Meditation or 5 Finger Qi Gong  by clicking here:

This is a guest post written by the gorgeous, Ananga Sivyar from Living By Design: Ananga is a practitioner at the Yoga Barn in England (Kent) for mantra meditations, kirtans and peaceful living.  She works from a diverse garden of healing techniques from Ayurveda (India’s Ancient Science of Life) to the latest developments in Energy Psychology.  She is an accomplished musician.  I can personally recommend all her relaxation and guided meditation recordings. You are welcome to click here to listen to Ananga’s recordings:

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I use and love Ananga’s guided meditations and music

Please click here to download:

“In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you”  Deepak Chopra

The aim of  stillness is simple.  To pay more attention to your inside world rather than your outside world.  In effect giving your mind and body a chance to re-group, rest and rejuvenate a little. Of course the longer your stillness practice, the greater the restorative benefits.

Sitting, lying or walking peacefully un-distracted for 15 minutes will activate different aspects of your nervous system and immune function.   Your body will soon start to replenish itself again.  Yeah!

Photo by riot jane:

If you missed part one – “Start a Daily Stillness Practice Today and Succeed” please click here otherwise read on for a collection of 1-20 minute stillness practices.

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Here’s what stillness looks like:

- Seek nothing
- Do not anticipate what to do next
- Just be with yourself, feelings and emotions
- Feel and follow your breathe
- Let your thoughts come and go without getting into a conversation with them.

Stillness practices under 5 minutes:

“You find stillness by not looking” Unknown

There’s lots of different ways you can experience moments of stillness in your day without having to close your eyes and meditate.  In fact, stillness is probably a skill you might want to practice if you are keen to start meditation.

Lying down next to my cat ( for a few minutes ) is one of my favourites.  Cats just have a way of looking at you and saying “What’s all the rush and fuss about, chill out with me for a while” and of course I do.

1:  Morning tea as a stillness practice or as Thich Nhat Hanh says a time for tea meditation.  Don’t read a magazine, check your text messages, write a “to-do” list or multi-task.   Simply sit,  be still whilst sipping and enjoying your tea in a moment of relaxing stillness.   As we are so used to staying, busy, busy, busy whilst eating and drinking you might find this simple stillness practice a little more difficult than you initially thought.

2:  Couch stillness:

Lie on the couch and do nothing – no reading, watching TV or writing.  Simply focus on your breath.  Use your breath to breathe out any restlessness or agitation.  Your breath is a great tool to help you move into being still on the inside.

Physically lying still sends a clear message to the rest of your being to be calmer.

3: Animal stillness:

Sit or lay next to your pet for a few minutes.  You’ll be surprised how calming they can be to the nervous system when you take the time to tune into their energy.

4: Relaxed muscle stillness:

Are you tense and all knotted up?

Direct your energy, breath and attention towards the main muscles/areas in your body.  Start with your head and then move through your body and finish with your feet and toes.

Head soften, my head is now softening.  Jaw soften, my jaw is now softening.  Neck and shoulders soften, my neck and shoulders are now softening.  Arms soften, my arms are now softening and so on.

By the time you have softened your legs and feet just sit back, relax, and enjoy the stiller feeling you are now noticing inside  your body.  Rest for a few moments in the stillness.

4:  Use sound to find stillness:

Humming, chanting, singing or speaking a mantra such as om (aum) is an excellent way to feel stiller on the inside.  It’s  a relaxation tool that I always include in my Womens Rest and Rejuvenation Retreats.

Om (aum) is a Sanskrit word, a symbol and a sound of ancient spiritual significance.  It is the most chanted symbol in India, and said to have a profound effect on your mind, body and soul plus the environment in which it is chanted into.

Take a full deep breathe in, and on your exhale gently sing/chant om down into your body and out into the world. One om will probably last around 10 seconds or longer depending on the size of your inhale. As little as five rounds of om can significantly calm your mind and body.

5.  Alternate nostril breathing:

Simply by practising a few rounds of alternate nostril breathing (pranayama) for a few minutes each day, you can help restore any imbalances in your brain.  You can improve sleep, encourage a calmer emotional state, boost your thinking power and soothe your nervous system.

Click here to learn how to do alternate nostril breathing:

10 – 20 minute stillness practices:

Most days I do my best to practice at least 15 minutes of one restorative yoga pose.  That’s the beauty of restorative yoga, each pose is designed for you to be extra comfortable and completely still for up to 30 minutes at a time.

On days when I’m particularly agitated then journaling or walking meditation are usually helpful towards feeling stiller.  Enjoy and please feel free to share your secrets for connecting with your inner stillness.

1: Legs up the wall:

I’ve written about “legs up the wall” before.  Its literally lying on your back with your legs up in the air resting against the wall.  This restorative yoga pose has many wonderful therapeutic benefits.  Click here for full details.

2: Yoga Nidra:

Known as yogic sleep you lay in Savansana (corpse pose) and deliberately move your awareness through your body for deep relaxation.   They say 20 minutes of yoga nidra is equivalent to 3 – 4 hours good quality sleep.

For full details  click go to – The ultimate guide to yoga nidra. If you have ever been to yoga then its probably something you would remember doing at the very end of the class.

3:  Child pose

Child pose is another restorative yoga posture that physically helps you turn your awareness inwards by resting your forehead on the floor.  You are curled over your knees which arches the back releasing tension and stiffness.

You can practice stillness in childs pose for 2 minutes or 10 minutes.  I encourage you to try it for yourself.  Please read the following article I wrote a while back called:   Calm your mind in 2 minutes it has great diagrams and lists all the benefits.

4:  Morning pages – writing:

Journaling can be the perfect partner when you need to feel stiller on the inside. Its also a wonderful way to empty your head of those annoying repetitive thoughts which is often the block to stillness.

I tend to follow Julia Camerons teachings of writing for 30 minutes first thing in the morning (known as morning pages). You don’t think about what you are writing nor worry about your spelling, you simply move your hand as the words appear on your page.

* Benefits of journaling daily:

5: Stillness meditation

Sit in a comfortable position, relax your shoulders, neck, buttocks and stomach. Gently close your eyes and do nothing but focus on your inhale, the pause between your inhale and exhale and then your exhale.

If you find your mind wandering then repeat on the inhale “Breathing in I am calm” and on the exhale “Breathing out I smile”.   I know I share this mantra often but it works really well for me.

Walking meditation as a stillness practice:

“Walking meditation is meditation while walking” Thich Nhat Hanh

If you are too restless and agitated on the inside ( to feel stillness ) I can highly recommend the very simple practice of walking meditation. As Eckhart Tolle says, you don’t need to be still on the outside to feel and connect with your stillness on the inside.

The following guidelines are taken from a wonderful book I own called Walking Meditation w/DVD & CD by Thict Nhat Hanh.

Walking Meditation w/DVD & CD

1: Gentle Belly Breathing:

Place your hands on your belly to feel it rise and fall as you walk.  Use a gentle belly breath to calm your thoughts, relax your body, hips, elbows, muscles, legs, face, eyes and ears.   Repeat as you walk.  Breathing in “I am resting” Breathing out “I am softening”.

2: Walking – pay attention to your feet:

Walk with soft eyes, slowly and gently. Feel the sensation of each foot as it presses down onto the earth. Follow the movement of every foot step with your mind and breath.

3: Counting your breath:

To keep your mind focused on each step and each breath count the number of steps to each inhale and each exhale.    It helps prevent your mind from getting distracted with other thoughts.   1 inhale for 3 steps, 1 exhale for 3 steps.

4: Smiling:

Thich Nhat Hanh says a smile brings lightness to your feet, invites your body to relax and helps you settle more easily into the walking meditation.

egs up the wall is generally not recommend for those menstruating, with retinal problems, after third month of pregnancy and heart problems.  Check with your yoga teacher first.

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“When you lose touch with inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself.  When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world”  Eckhart Tolle

Stillness offers a precious moment in our day that is very nurturing and deeply healing.  Particularly when practiced regularly.   It provides the time and space for any scattered and restless energies within us to settle, followed by a feeling of calm clarity to rise to the surface.

Stillness can re-teach us the art of listening to our bodies.  It’s all too easy with the demanding distractions of the external world to become ungrounded, lose a connection with who we are and ignore the needs of our body.

Photo by splityarn:

I truely believe that regular moments of stillness is essential (for all of us) to maintain our energy levels and sanity in such a busy, rushed and fast paced world.  There must be balance in our day of “energy out” and “energy in”, between yin (quiet) and yang (busy).   There are consequences to constant busyness and the continuous giving out of energy.

Start small with 60 seconds of stillness:

Sitting still for 60 seconds can be extremely challenging ( at first ) as your body wants to fidget, scratch, wiggle, twitch, complain, crave stimulation or look for distractions.  Being still is a learned skill, so be patient with yourself.

Start small with 60 seconds, and add to that, as you are able to settle your energies more easily and go for longer periods.

There are many ways to enjoy a stillness practice:

A stillness practice is simply you turning your awareness inwards.  It’s you hanging out with you.  Being still ( without being entertained ), calming everything down for a brief moment or longer, and connecting with your whole being.

In part two of my stillness series (next week) I’ll be sharing a variety of ways that you can enjoy stillness.  In the meantime here’s a couple you might like to start with.

* Sit, close your eyes, rest your hands on your belly and simply follow your breath.  You can do this now at your desk, in the car before you drive away, prior to eating a meal or before you get out of bed.  Continue until you feel a little or a lot stiller on the inside.

* Restorative yoga has many wonderful poses that are ideal for more lengthy stillness practices.  Here’s a few of my favourite  “legs up the wall” and “childs pose“.

* Alternate nostril breathing – simply by practising a few rounds of alternate nostril breathing (pranayama) for a few minutes each day, you can help restore any imbalances in your brain.  You can improve sleep, encourage a calmer emotional state, boost your thinking power and soothe your nervous system.

Click here to learn how to do alternate nostril breathing:

Tips to help you succeed at a daily stillness practice:

1:  Decide when you want to do it:

Choose a time of the day you feel would best work for you and then stick to it – even if its only for a few minutes. It might be once a day or every time you get into the car, sit down at your desk or eat a meal.

2: Choose your stillness practice.

Choose the type of stillness practice that you feel would work best for you.  I’ll be sharing more practices next week in part two of my stillness series.

3: Select where you want to do it:

Decide where you want to practice stillness.  Inside or outside. On the couch, against the wall, on your yoga mat, under a tree, in the car, or on the bed.

4:  Add dash of calm to support stillness:

Do whatever triggers relaxation for you.  Spray your aura with a rescue remedy or flower essences (such as calm and clear mist), burn incense,  light a candle, burn essential oils,  or sit  next to an image of budhha or quan yin.

5:  Start with an easy and do-able amount of time:

If 3 minutes of sitting still sends your body crazy with fidgety restless movements then start with an easy 30 seconds.  Master 30 seconds then move one to 1 minute when you are able to settle your energies more easily move onto 2 minutes.

6:  Eliminate distractions:

Of course it goes without saying to turn off the technology.  Phone, mobiles, etc even if you are only being still for 60 seconds.

Drink water beforehand, have a snack if you are hungry.  Eliminate any possible distractions that your body may come up with as an excuse to not sit still.

7:  Do it the same time everyday:

Research has shown you are more likely to succeed at a new habit if you do it first thing in the morning or at the very least the same time every day.  So strengthen your chances of succeeding by practicing stillness the same time/times everyday.

Part two:  The many ways to enjoy a stillness practice:

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I use and love Ananga’s  guided meditations and music

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“Massage your ears daily and your organs and whole body will benefit”

Rubbing your ears sends happy feelings into your body by triggering the release of brain endorphins.  The simple act of touch alone is very healing.  It boosts the immune cells in your body, reduces feelings of stress or anxiety and helps you relax.

When you rub, pull, gently twist, unroll or massage your ears you stimulate lots of energy points that run through the ears and then into your body.  The Chinese have used ear reflexology via acupressure and acupuncture for thousands of years to address all sorts of health issues in the body.  Ayurvedic medicine has also known for centuries that the marma (energy) points in your ears connect to your organs and whole body.

Photo by aramisse’s

You certainly don’t need an understanding of ear reflexology to receive all the soothing, relaxing and well-being benefits.   Simply do what feels right for you (rub, pull, massage, oil, no oil, gentle, firm, all over, along the outside or only the ear lobes) to refresh your thinking, calm yourself down, energize your body or release a healthy dose of endorphins into your blood stream.

Following is a collection of therapeutic ear massages that I have come across over the years.  Hope you find one or more that you can enjoy throughout your days.

8 of the best therapeutic ear massages:

1.  Hand yoga for ears:

Cup your hands and place your left palm on your left ear and right palm on your right ear.  Close your eyes and drop your shoulders.  Gently move your hands in a smooth circular motion, massaging the outer area of your ears with your palms.  Continue for at least a minute and then repeat in the opposite direction.  Helps you disconnect, just for a moment from the busyness of the outside world and relieve any built of anxiety.

2.  Ear lobe massage:

Use your thumb and index fingers to gently massage your ear lobes in small circles.   After a few delicious minutes move your fingers up to the middle of the outside of your ears, and gently rotate your entire ear in circles.  Great for tension in the upper body and over thinking.

Your ear lobes are energetically linked to your brain.  When the right ear lobe is massaged it allows the left brain and pituitary gland to become stimulated.  When the left ear lobe is massaged it allows the right brain and pineal gland to become stimulated, giving you a whole brain experience.

3.  Ayurvedic style with warm sesame oil:

Massage gently the outer area of your area of your ear with your fingers and warmed sesame oil   (organic almond or coconut oil can also be used ).  Next add a few drops of oil to your index fingers and gently massage the entrance to your ear canals with small, soft circular movements.  Its very soothing to your sense of hearing and helps alleviate tension in your jaw and neck.

Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years has recommended a daily self massage (abhyanga) for your whole body first thing in the morning, as it has a very calming, and deeply nourishing effect on your nervous system.

4.  Improve your focus by unrolling your ears:

Improve attention and focus by gently unrolling the outer area of your ears, from the very top down to the bottom.  Repeat three times.

This clever little brain gym exercise is usually taught to children first thing in the morning at school to help them learn more effectively.  Perhaps you might like to try it before you start your next task.

5.  A simple ear meditation:

For the next minute or so, treat your ears to a peaceful dose of silence and healing energy.  Rub both your hands together until some heat builds up.   Cover your ears with the warmed cupped palms of your hands.  Left palm cupped over left ear.  Right palm cupped over right ear.  Hold for about 30 seconds, then repeat.

Feel the warm energy relax and soothe the area in and around your ears.  This simple practice is deeply calming.

6.  Ear aerobics for energy:

If you really need to energize yourself then give your ears the full aerobic workout.  Use your fingers to rub and massage every inch of your outer ears.  Gradually move towards the centre of your ear massaging all the tricky hard to get at places.  Now move to behind your ears pushing the ear flaps slightly forward so you can massage well behind your ears and into the ridge that connects your ear to your skull.    Feel the heat, blood flow and energy increase. You should now feel more energized and alert.

If you notice some areas of your ears are sore or sensitive to touche you may wish to spend a few moments giving this spot a gentle circular massage.

7:  Qi gong ear massage:

Scrub the ears from front to the back with the palms of your hands.  Continue 18 times.  This will energize your entire body.  If you wish to stimulate your organs then spend longer scrubbing the centre area of your ears.

8:  Pull ear lobes 6 times:

The pomodoro method recommends the following exercise to practice in between finishing one task and starting another.

Take your earlobes between your thumb and forefinger and lightly pull downwards. Breathe out gently.  Repeat six times.  If you feel freshness in your eyes and your hearing has gotten clearer, great! The exercise has done its job.

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What I’m enjoying at the moment:

The Path of Practice: A Woman’s Book of  Healing With Food, Breath and Sound. by Maya Tiwari

I absolutely love this book and I certainly think its fast becoming my favourite book for 2011.

I felt such a connection it brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion.  Don’t you love it when a book really resonates with you.

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Why not subscribe via email or rss feed and get free updates
You can also grab your daily rejuvenation tip by clicking here

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I use and love Ananga’s  guided meditations and music



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“A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks” Charles Gordy

I love the idea that smiling is used as a healing and meditation practice by many ancient cultures.    Taoists believe that holding a smile on your face and directing it inwards towards your organs and inner body, is the key to good health and longevity.

Traditional Balinese healers know that a smile washes away bad energy and recommend smiling meditation as a simple way to calm the mind and bring health to the soul.  The inspirational Thich Nhat Hanh has always encouraged us to smile as part of our daily practice for a more peaceful world, and as an essential ingredient in any  walking meditation.

Photo by stuck in customs:

How to smile on the inside:

I was first introduced to the Taoist exercise called the “inner smile” about 15 years ago.   I was studying with an awesome qi gong and Taoist instructor who had spent many years living in China.

Each week we were guided to smile on our face, really feel the smiling energy and then imagine ( in our minds eye )  sending the smiling energy into each of our organs.   Slowly and deliberately breathing the smiling energy fully into each organ.  We spent at least 5 minutes allowing each organ to receive the smiling energy before moving onto the next.  It was calming and an easy way to feel relaxed on the inside.  You’d be surprised how tense and tight organs can get.

Now, this might sound super easy, however  some weeks – to my surprise – some organs simply refused to receive a smiling breath.  The stubborn organ ( with attitude ) generally was tight, hard and tense.  It obviously needed relaxing along with a little bit of attention and love.  To achieve success, I would place my hands on the organ (for a stronger connection) continue to breathe and smile into the stubborn body part; until it finally softened and received the well-being benefits of the smiling energy.

I must say this simple little exercise taught me alot about my organs as I became more and more intimate with them as each week passed.  If the organ being stubborn was the kidney then I made sure I drank more water and used the smiling energy to dissolve any trapped fear in my kidneys.  If the organ being stubborn was the liver  I ate clean simple food – giving the liver a rest and focused on using the smiling energy to dissolve any trapped anger in my liver.

A few extra yoga twists were also useful in giving the organs a gentle detox and bringing fresh blood flow.

Smile into your organs and dissolve negative emotions:

In case you don’t know Chinese medicine believes there is a connection between your organs and emotions.    By simply giving your organs mindful attention and filling them with more healthy energy such as smiling and breathing (more oxygen and blood flow), you are in effect shifting emotional garbage trapped in your organs.  I can honestly say it does work.

Following is a simple explanation as to the emotions linked to your main organs.

1: Smile into your liver and dissolve anger:

Smiling into your liver can not only help dissolve anger and resentment but greatly assist with the decision making process.  Allow yourself to forgive, accept and feel kindness.

2: Smile into your kidneys and dissolve fear:

Allow yourself to feel safe and secure.  Breathe into your kidneys, feel them soften as they release fear and stress.

3:  Smile into your lungs and dissolve sadness or depression:

Fill your lungs on the inhale and totally empty them on the exhale.   Allow fresh new air to fill your lungs as you inhale the smiling energy.  Feel them relax and release any feelings of sadness and depression.

4:  Smile into your stomach and dissolve anxiety:

The stomach can often be a place where we hold lots of worry.  Smiling into your stomach can greatly help bring you into the present moment releasing worry and anxiety about the past and future.  Continue breathing the smiling energy into your stomach until it feels totally relaxed.  A relaxed stomach means improved digestion and a calmer you.

5: Smile into your heart and dissolve hate and impatience:

Smiling into your heart can help shift cruelty, hurt, hate and impatience.  Feel your heart fill with joy, kindness and compassion with each breath cycle.

6:  Smile into any body part:

Of course you can enjoy a quick 5 minute smiling break by breathing into any part of your body that is overworked, fatigued or stressed. Smile into your eyes if they are tired.  Smile into your jaw if you are clenching your teeth.  Smile into your shoulders if they are hunched and tight.  Smile into your feet if they are tired.  A smile encourages you to soften, release and improve energy flow.

Book recommendation for the Inner Smile Technique:

If you really want to improve the health of your organs you can add colour and sound to deepen the practice.  Click here to read more about Mantak Chia’s inner smile practice or buy his book  Taoist Ways to Transform Stress into Vitality: The Inner Smile * Six Healing Sounds.  I have a few of Mantak Chia’s books and I can personally recommend them all.

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What I’m loving at the moment:

Sarah Wilson, health practitioner, writer and TV presenter quit sugar as an experiment to support the health of her auto-immune disease. She noticed such a huge change with her health and mood that she wrote an e-book about it.  I think its a fabulous idea – although not sure I could go 100% no sugar but would certainly be interested in how different I feel without my honey and coconut palm sugar.

Click here to visit Sarah Wilson.

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Why not subscribe via email or rss feed and get free updates

You can also grab your daily rejuvenation tip by clicking here

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I use and love Ananga’s guided meditations and music

Please click here to sample her music:

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”  Lao Tzu

The 3 arrivals is a fabulous well-being practice that encourages your mind, body and breath to arrive – into the present moment with awareness and calm.  Its origins are Buddhist, and takes no more than 5 minutes of your time to bring you into the here and now.   Your breath, mind and body are all invited to be at the same place, at the same time.  A very healthy relaxed  place from which to live.

Photo by  Justin Adam’s:

I have personally found the 3 arrivals a real life saver over the past few weeks as I have spent many long hours in emergency rooms and hospitals with my youngest son.   So whilst the 3 arrivals is essentially recommended as an ideal practice prior to meditation, you can easily benefit from this wonderful  restful / mindfulness exercise anywhere, anytime.  Before you get out of bed, before you turn the computer on, in the shower, waiting in a queue, at traffic lights,  before you eat a meal or when you are about to start a new task.  In fact, I truly believe that the more you practice the 3 arrivals the more you will want to do it.

7 weeks to finding the Buddha in you:

The 3 arrivals is sourced from a wonderful book I am currently reading called Everyday Dharma: Seven Weeks to Finding the Buddha in You by Lama Willa Miller. I love, love, love this book.   Each day Lama Willa shares simple insight or thoughtful exercises to encourage you to live your life with more awareness.  You certainly do not need to be a Buddhist to benefit from this book.

Meditation on the 3 arrivals:

Time taken 5 minutes:

Step one:  Arrive with your body:

Step two: Arrive with your breath:

Step three: Arrive with your mind:

1: Firstly, arrive with your body.

Give your body permission to unwind and chill out.  Get into a comfortable position, then exhale (as loud as you like) with a sigh or ahh!   Let it all go.  Use the exhale to release physical tension and stress.

As Lama Willa Miller shares this is like a mini holiday for your mind and body.

2. Arrive with your breath.

Notice your breath.   Feel the rhythm of your breath.   Let your breath breathe you.  Simply allow it come and go naturally.  Allow your breath to arrive into this moment.

3. Arrive with your mind.

Stop getting involved in your thoughts. Stop planning and worrying.  Do not think about the past or be concerned about the future.  Give yourself permission to just be.  If you do nothing the mind arrives.

As Lama Willa Miller says “Thoughts are like fish-bait.  If you stop biting at the bait, you will not get hooked.  If you leave thoughts alone they will not harm you”.

You can find Lama Willa Miller on twitter and learn more about her book by clicking here.

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What I’m loving at the moment:

Sarah Wilson, health practitioner, writer and TV presenter quit sugar as an experiment to support the health of her auto-immune disease. She noticed such a huge change in her health and mood that she wrote an e-book about it.  I think its a fabulous idea – although not sure I could go 100% no sugar and living without my honey and coconut palm sugar.

Click here to visit Sarah Wilson.

_________________________________

Why not subscribe via email or rss feed and get free updates

You can also grab your daily rejuvenation tip by clicking here

_________________________________

I use and love Ananga’s guided meditations and music

Please click here to sample her music:

Guest post by Dr.Rita Khanna

“Time is non refundable.  Spend it wisely”

Yoga Nidra means, “sleep with awareness.”   It is an effective way of achieving relaxation physically, mentally, and emotionally.   In fact, a single hour of Yoga Nidra is equivalent to many hours of quality sleep and is much more resorative and rejuvenating.

Modern medical science accepts that a calm mind can act as a healing force for many conditions. These conditions include heart disease, high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes, digestive problems of all kinds, arthritis, acute cough and cold ailments, as well as other chronic degenerative conditions.

Photo by Tarnalberry

How to prepare yourself for yoga nidra:

Gently lie down on your back in Shavasana posture (as above), legs apart, arms a little away from the body, with palms up. If you want to cover yourself with a cotton sheet, you may.   Close the eyes gently, while adjusting your body.

There should be no movement during Yoga Nidra. Try to listen to your heartbeats…   Be witness to all the sounds of the surrounding nature…Watch the incoming and outgoing breath for some time consciously… As you breathe in, the abdomen is rising, and as you breathe out, the abdomen is falling… Feel great comfort, ease, and relaxation…

Set your intention:

Before beginning the practice of Yoga Nidra, make a short resolve.  It is an important stage in Yoga Nidra. Resolve is a determination to become something, or to do something, in your life. Everyone has desires and ambitions.   For example, you may like to give up any of your habits, or you want to practice something new to better yourself.    You may resolve that you will remain healthy all your life or that you’ll follow the path of Yoga from now and onwards.  Whatever resolve you make, repeat it three times to yourself, thinking that God is witnessing you.

Next, move your awareness through your body:

• Face.  Be aware of the top of the head…   the forehead…   both sides of the forehead…   the right eyebrow…   the left eyebrow… the space between the eyebrows…  the right eyelid…   the left eyelid…   right eyeball… left eyeball… right ear… left ear… right cheek… left cheek…the nose… upper lip… lower lip… and the chin…

• Right side Visualize the right hand thumb… index finger…middle finger… ring finger… little finger… feel the tips of the fingers… Be aware of your right palm… wrist… forearm… the right elbow… upper arm… the shoulder… the right chest… right side of the stomach… the thigh of the right leg… its knee…the calf muscles… the ankle… the heel… the sole… the right big toe… the second toe…the third toe… the fourth toe… the fifth toe… the whole right foot.

• Left side Now take your consciousness to the left side. Repeat as you did above with the right side.

• Back.  Your body is touching the floor… be aware of the points of contact between the body and the floor… Relax your heels… calf muscles… back of the knee… thighs… hips… lower back… upper back… right shoulder… left shoulder… shoulder blades… back of palms… back of the arms… the neck… and the back of the head…

Now move your awareness to your major body parts:

Bring your awareness on the main parts of the body… full right foot… left foot… feel both feet together… the right leg… the left leg… both legs together… full right hand… full left hand… feel both hands together… the right arm… the left arm… both arms together… your full back and spine…complete abdomen… chest… and the whole face… the face is totally relaxed and peaceful… now feel your whole head and body together.

Visualize your body lying down on the floor completely relaxed.

Concentrate on your breathing:

Now become aware of your natural and normal breath.   The breath is coming in and going out freely… you move with the breath fully consciously.

Do not force the breath… Be the witness… Concentrate on the abdomen…

With each inhalation, it is expanding…with each exhalation, it is sucking in… Now, as you are aware of your breath, start counting backwards with each in breath and each out breath, as follows:

“I am breathing in 27 (or 10); I am breathing out 27 (or 10); I am breathing in 26 (or 9); I am breathing out 26 (or 9); and so on, from 27 (or 10) to 1.

Say the words and numbers mentally as you count your breaths.  After completing the counts, pause for about 5 minutes if you started counting from 27 and for about three minutes if counting started from 10.

Keep your awareness on the sensations in your body:

Be aware of your body and of your sensations.  Feel, with each inhalation, that cool air is entering your nose, and the body is becoming more energetic.

You are getting strength, power, courage, good health, and happiness.

Feel as with each exhalation, warm air is coming out of your nose, and you are releasing all the toxins, stress, ill health, all the weakness from your body.  The body is becoming relaxed, and you feel as if you are sinking into the floor.

Nature visualization:

Mentally select a place of natural beauty, which you have ever visited and liked, such as a park, a garden, a lawn, or a riverside.  Feel as if you are mentally present at that place.  Take your mind to that place, and feel as if you lying at that place and are breathing the air of that environment.  Keeping the mind involved with the same environment, feel as you are experiencing and enjoying the same happiness again.

Repeat your resolve:

Repeat your affirmation and resolve, mentally, three times, with total involvement and awareness.

Culmination:

Unwind all efforts…  draw your mind outside…   become aware of your breathing…   become aware of your surroundings… the room you are in…  do not open your eyes… lie quietly until your mind is completely awake and externalized.

When you are sure that you are wide awake, turn the body to left side and sit up slowly.  Rub your hands, massage the face gently, and open your eyes.  The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

Note:

Keep your cell phone and landline phones off during the resting period to avoid distraction.

This is a guest post by  Dr. Rita Khanna’s of the Yogashaastra Studio in Secunderabad, Hyderabad, India .  Dr. Rita Khanna’s was initiated into this discipline over 25 years ago by world famous Swami Adyatmananda of Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh (India) and is a well-known name in the field of Yoga and Naturopathy.    Her email address is: yogashaastra@gmail.com

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I really appreciate the time you’ve taken to read our guest post, Carole.

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“Change one thing in your life, and it effects all your life “

Value your time, by appreciating the huge potential your next 30 seconds has.  I regularly add thirty second breaks into my day to stop, breath, soften my body and adjust my thinking.  It’s a very simple way to add lots of little healthy  relaxation practices into the day.   All you need, is the co-operation of your mind, body and breath, to enjoy, and achieve,  30 seconds of relaxation.

Photo by monkeycat:

Thirty seconds is not a demanding amount of time.  It requires minimum effort, very little concentration power and doesn’t need to be scheduled into your diary.

A thirty seconds relaxation practice is very do-able – anywhere, anytime.  The shower, the car, before you get out of bed, or especially when you are waiting in a queue. It’s a very portable and flexible relaxation habit – perfect for a super busy lifestyle.

Kick start your 30 second relaxation habit:

Simply leave post-it notes saying “It’s time for 30 seconds of  relaxation” on as many surfaces as you want.  The steering wheel of your car, bathroom mirror, on your pillow, computer, in your diary, coffee mug, oven, on your clock – wherever you want.

Perhaps today, perhaps right now, is the perfect time for you to enjoy a thirty second relaxation practice.

5 of the best 30 second relaxation practices

1:  Sounds of the ocean therapy:

Close your eyes, cup the palms of your hands over your ears, un-hunch your shoulders and listen to the sounds of the ocean, playing inside your head (designed especially to calm your thoughts).  Yes, it’s true, when your hands are gently cupped over your ears you can hear the ocean.

With your eyes closed, picture yourself on the beach with all the sunshine and warmth.  Feel, and enjoy the next 30 seconds of peace as you turn inwards, away from the outside world and listen to your own creative ocean therapy.

2: Smile into your organs:

The ancient Taoists believe that a constant inner smile is the key to health, well-being and longevity.

A smile, when energetically directed towards your internal body (along with the help of your breath) can improve blood flow, release tension and free up stuck emotions.  You’d be surprised how tight and tense your organs can get.

Close your eyes, relax and smile. Feel the smile cover your entire face.  Now transfer that smile into your liver.  Use your inhale to invite your smile to penetrate deep into your liver.  Feel your liver respond by softening and letting go, as it receives the healing energy from your smile.

* Smile into your organs:

3: Ask for a hug:

Touch is healing so hug loud, hug well, hug often and hug longer.

Hug your children, partner, pet or close friends more often. Heck, why not give free hugs to strangers. It is said that we need at least 4 hugs a day for survival, 8 hugs a day for maintenance and 12 hugs a day for growth. Wow, that’s an impressive daily quota.

So if hugging therapy seems like your thing, make hugging your new relaxation habit.

* 10 hugging tips to grab on the run:

4: Belly breathing to calm an anxious stomach:

Most of the yoga classes I go to start with belly breathing.  After a few rounds, I feel my scattered energies have been called back, my stomach begins to un-knot and soften, I have more awareness of my body and how its feeling (very important), and I most definately feel calmer.

Start by rubbing your hands together and then placing your warm palms onto your belly.  Encourage your breath to flow down into your belly area.  Feel your hands rise with each inhale and fall with each exhale.

To further deepen your belly breathing relaxation practice, breathe into the sides and back of your belly area. This will automatically invite more oxygen and blood flow into this area of your body.

Enjoy the relaxing gifts that belly breathing has to offer your body, mind and soul.

5:  Calm your mind with a mantra:

A mantra sends a clear message to your body, and is a practical no fuss way to take charge of scattered, anxious, stressed thinking. Remember your thoughts are not in charge – you are.

Repeating the mantra “Breathing in I am calm”  Breathing out I smile” for 30 seconds will encourage your muscles to relax, your thoughts to slow down and your breath to deepen.

This wonderful relaxation mantra is borrowed from the awesome Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Master and his book Present Moment Wonderful Moment: Mindfulness verses for daily living.

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Humming is a soothing form of sound medicine, infusing your body with many therapeutic benefits.  It’s also an easy and fun way to enjoy a meditation practice.

Imagine filling your head with the vibration of a calming “humm” for one, two or even 5 minutes.  It’s bliss. Bliss that you can create inside your head and body within seconds.

12 instant benefits of humming:

I’m trusting you’ll be impressed with the following 12 well-being benefits that I have gathered along my journey with humming.Enjoy.

1: Grounds and brings you back to your centre.  I personally find it helps settle the feeling of being restless or scattered on the inside.

2: Promotes clarity of thinking by refreshing your mind. You can physically feel the vibration of the “hum” clear out the cob webs.

3: Has a very relaxing and soothing effect on your neck, face, head and shoulder muscles, which helps dissolve stress. Try it, you’ll be surprised.

4: Humming reduces the number of thoughts that fill your head. When you are humming there is no room for over thinking.

5: Humming puts a smile on your face. Well, it certainly does for me.

6: Humming slows down your breathing rate significantly.  Dr. Kataria’s research shows, we normally breathe 15-17 times in a minute but with humming you can bring it down to 4-6 a minute which helps to slow down your heart rate and brings down your stress level.

7: Helps dissolve unproductive thinking.  If you are having a bout of negativity, jump straight into a few rounds of “hmmmm” and notice a shift in your thinking.

8: Calms your nervous system as it activates the parasympathetic nervous system.

9: Dr. Kataria firmly believes it helps those with insomnia or restless sleep patterns, and perfect for inducing a deep sleep without dreams (the best kind of sleep) .  I recently bought Dr.Kataria’s humming meditation CD and have been practicing it whilst lying in bed (before sleep) to the sounds of an Indian instrument called a tanpura. It’s divine.

10: “Humming creates a wonderful circuit of energy in your body re-vitalizing its cells and charging its chakra’s”  as quoted by Deva Premal, who is well known for her chanting CD’s.

11: Improves sinusitis. The vibration helps shifts and clears pathways and blockages

12: Lowers blood pressure as proven by Dr. Kataria. 5 minutes of humming can reduce your blood pressure between 10 – 20 mmHg

How to practice a simple humming meditation:

1 - Find a quiet place, close your eyes, straighten your spine and neck, drop your shoulders – and relax. Gently touch your lips together so your hum can travel easily into your head, face and neck muscles. Relax your jaw.  Play some soft background music to enhance your experience.

2 – Take a deep slow breath in, and then create a “mmm” sound on your exhale, without opening your lips.  Continue to hum for the length of your exhale. You can make it musical but traditionally it’s more of a tone than a tune.

3 – Re-new breath then continue.  It’s that simple.

Start with 1 minute and increase over time to 15 minutes.  One key point which is shared by many yogic and Tibetan wisdoms is the importance of sitting still for a few minutes after your humming meditation.

How to practice a humming bee meditation:

Yogic breathing techniques have a wonderful variation on the above which I guarantee, will deepen your experience with the simple hum.  In fact, I’m warning you right now many participants at my Rest and Rejuvenation Retreats fall in love with this fun, easy style of meditation.

1 – Start by getting comfortable and relax your breathing.  Close your ears with your thumbs and gently rest your fingers over your closed eyes.

2 – Adjust the pressure of your fingers to feel as relaxed and comfortable as possible.

3 – Gently and deeply inhale, then make a “mmmm” sound for the length of your exhale. Repeat when it naturally feels OK to inhale again.

Covering your ears greatly intensifies and magnifies the sensation of the hum flowing through your head and body.

What I’m loving at the moment:

Sarah Wilson, health practitioner, writer and TV presenter quit sugar as an experiment to support the health of her auto-immune disease. She noticed such a huge change to her health and emotions that she wrote an e-book about it. I think its a fabulous idea – although not sure I could go 100% no sugar but it sure is interesting learning about how dangerous and addictive sugar is.

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What I’m loving at the moment:

Sarah Wilson, health practitioner, writer and TV presenter quit sugar as an experiment to support the health of her auto-immune disease.   She noticed such a huge change to her health and emotions that she wrote an e-book about it. I’m not sure I could go 100% no sugar but it sure is interesting learning about how dangerous and addictive sugar is.

Click here to visit Sarah Wilson.

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Why not subscribe via email or rss feed and get free updates

You can also grab your daily rejuvenation tip by clicking here

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I use and love Ananga’s guided meditations and music

Please click here to sample her music:

“The 12-step chocoholics program: Never be more than 12 steps away from chocolate”

Raw cacao (cocoa) powder is all the rage, particularly with the raw food movement and I love, love, love  it.  Its one of the worlds most beneficial super foods.  Research shows it has four times more antioxidants than goji berries, ten times the antioxidant level of blueberries and thirty times the antioxidant level of green tea. It’s also a power house of nutrients.    But why eat it, when you can smother it all over your face and let your skin absorb the nutritional benefits.

Photo by DavyRocket’s

Licking Is Allowed:

The best part for you and I is the raw chocolate facial is totally edible – so you can happily lick away knowing that every delicious lick is fueling your body with the good stuff. In fact I’m a firm believer that if you can’t eat it then it shouldn’t go on your skin in the first place.

Cacao Is The No:1 Food Source Of Magnesium:

You can eat cacao beans (nibs) five or six will literally give you a boost of energy for hours along with a good dose of magnesium, your stress protector.

Cacao is the number one source of magnesium for any food. Magnesium is one of the most deficient minerals in the modern world today. Its a great brain food. It is also the number one mineral in the heart.  If you don’t believe me then zip over and listen to David Wolfe.

Cacao has a high serotonin content which gives you the feeling of well being. It can literally lift your mood.

World Cocoa Foundation – encourages sustainable, responsible cocoa growing. Did you know there are between 40 and 50 million people who depend on cocoa for their livelihood.  Do your bit for the planet and buy cacao powder from sustainable cacao farmers.

I’ve listed more great resources and the end of this article.

Chocolate Facial Recipe:

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons raw cacao powder most good health food stores will sell

3 tablespoons of  honey, manuka honey if possible (great anti-bacterial agent, deeply cleanses your skin, and opens up clogged pores)

2 – 4 tablespoons of organic yogurt

1 – 2 tablespoons of oatmeal (will exfoliate dead skin cells)

Optional ingredients:

Green tea powder (powerful antioxidant)

2 – 3 drops of the rose essential oil (my absolute favourite)

Prepare:

Mix the honey, cacao powder and yoghurt together into a paste.  Add enough oatmeal to create the consistency you want so it won’t drip off your face.  Add more yoghurt if too thick.

Spread all over face, avoiding eyes.

Leave on for 15 – 20 minutes:

Additional mood boosters:

Soft lighting, perhaps just candles.

Relaxing music

Bowl of strawberries

Foot massage

Naked Chocolate:

There is a fabulous book by David Wolfe called Naked Chocolate It shares the scientific and exotic properties of chocolate with over sixty different recipes.

More Resources:

World Cocoa Foundation – encouraging sustainable, responsible cocoa growing.

Listen to David Wolfe America’s leading nutritional guru talk about the health properties of cacao.

From the tree to the table. A fabulous slide show showing you the process of cacao bean going from the tree to your table.

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Why not subscribe via email or rss feed and get free updates.

Or grab regular rejuvenation tips on facebook.

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I use and love Ananga’s guided meditations and music

Please click here to download:

“When you lose touch with inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself.  When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world”  Eckhart Tolle

Stillness when allowed to grow within you, has amazing healing qualities.  Stillness invites you to pay more attention to your inside world, rather than focus on your outside world. Stillness helps dissolve the restlessness most of us feel inside.

Photo by Riot Jane:

If you are ready to experience life differently, then treat yourself to at least  5 minutes of stillness each day. It really is one of the simplest and best medicines for your body, mind and soul.

Finding Your “Being Quiet” Groove:

The purpose of being quiet is to sense, connect with, and feel the place inside of you, that is your peaceful centre.

Just in case you are wondering,  it is nowhere near your head, shoulders or dangling around your feet.

Here’s a few simple things you can do that encourage stillness:

• Choose the easiest part of the day to find quiet (for me its early morning before the kids are up)
• Find a space where you are less likely to be found (even if you have to sit in the car, in the garage)
• Withdraw from the distraction of sound. Turn off any background or toxic urban noise. TV, mobile phone etc
• Continue to withdraw your senses by closing your eyes and getting your body extra comfortable.  The less distractions your body has, the easier it will be
• Do nothing except focus on the sound and rhythm of your breath
• Sink into your body and sink into your breath, now prepare to connect with your inner stillness

As you gently settle into being still, your breath will begin to slow down, as will your thoughts.  With less thoughts, your nervous system and body respond by unwinding, letting go and relaxing.  As your body relaxes you will soon become aware of the peaceful place which is exists inside of you.

Three Simple Ways To Practice Stillness:

1: Start with one minute:

If the whole idea of being still for five minutes, freaks you out, then start with a very do-able one minute each day.  After one month grow your sixty seconds to 2 or even 5 minutes. I guarantee, even if it feels like nothing is happening, you will start to notice small changes in your life.

2: First thing in the morning:

After you have been to the bathroom, come back and sit on your bed (or another safe, quiet space).  I personally find early morning the easiest time to touch stillness, before the busyness of my home and the world takes over. I know for a fact, my day ahead flows much better when I’ve taken the time to be still first thing in the morning.

3: Do it laying down:

Over the past year, I’ve written quite a few articles on different ways you can experience deep rest whilst laying down. One of my all time favourites is the yoga posture called child pose.  You literally kneel on the floor, bend over placing your head in front of your knees and  turn your back to the world. This simple pose gives your mind no option whatsoever but to withdraw from the outside world.

Another option is to lay down in savasana or corpse pose. The ultimate of relaxation postures.

Alternately you might like to experience quiet by giving your eyes a restful treat with a 10 minute yoga eye pillow session. The soft pressure on your eyes invites you to sink into your body and relax. It a marvelous way to let go and experience stillness.

Thanks for reading my article. Carole.

“Breakfast should not be rushed or eaten on the way out of the door with car keys in hand. This causes the nervous system to become agitated and disrupts digestion”  Kester Marshall.

I’m currently seeing an Ayurvedic practitioner (which I’m loving) and introducing many of the ancient Ayurvedic principles into my life.  Nothing too complicated just one little step at a time.  I’ve learnt so much about the consequences of thoughtless, rushed eating, in an overstimulated world.

Photo by zhaffskys taken in Thailand

In case you don’t know, Ayurveda is the sister science to yoga, and is said to be the oldest and most comprehensive medical system in the world.

A Gentle And Thoughtful Approach To Your Eating:

Ayurvedic medicine goes way beyond the food on your plate.  I find it very thoughtful, practical and deeply nurturing. It believes that disease begins in the digestive tract, due to lack of digestive fire.  Poorly, undigested food remains in your body, becomes toxic and tires and weakens your body and mind.

Anything perceived by your senses can also weaken your digestive fire. Your environment can either nourish or weaken your digestive fire when you eat. Your thoughts (whilst eating) can either nourish or weaken your digestive fire. Your activities can either nourish or weaken your digestive fire,  and of course your food can most definitely nourish or weaken your digestive fire.

As a result I’ve made a few simple changes to my eating habits.  In particular, I now pay great attention to the environment in which I eat, my thoughts at the time and how I actually eat.  My body and digestion has responded exceptionally well.

8 Mindful Ways To Eat:

1: Sit down when you eat: The purpose of eating is to eat.  Don’t redirect your energies into other physical activities such as walking around or gobbling your food down on the run.  By sitting down you are asking your mind and body to stop.  Give your body the time and attention it needs, to fully digest and extract the necessary nutrients from the meal in front of it.

2: Arrive at your meal. Get present: The wonderful Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh suggests a little breathing ritual so you can feel settled and more present within yourself before you eat your meal.  Repeat three times “Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile”.

3: Cultivate mindful eating – do not multi task: Yoga is all about bringing your total awareness back into your breathe, your body and into the present moment. Mindful eating is exactly the same. Avoid any form of multi tasking when you eat and certainly don’t sit in front of your computer, TV,  a pile of paper work or chat on your mobile.  Smell and taste your food.  Pay attention to the appearance, flavours, texture and lingering tastes.

Unconscious eating is the opposite, you barely chew your food, gulp it down and have no memory whatsoever of what your meal actually tasted like. You are unaware if you have overeaten, enjoyed it or even felt nourished by it. Your mind was somewhere else whilst your body was unconsciously going through the motions of eating.

4: Eat in a calm space that nourishes your soul: A busy, crowded, noisy or overstimulated environment can agitate your nervous system and disrupt your digestive fire. Turn off or remove as much excess stimulation as you can, and calm your space down. Alternately remove yourself from a hectic environment and find a quiet space that soothes yours senses and supports you enjoying your meal.

5: Chew your food and eat slowly: A rushed, scattered mind usually eats quickly.  I must say I’m the slowest eater in the world and have always been amazed at how quickly other people can eat their meals.  I’m sure they have just swallowed their food without chewing or tasting it at all.  When you practice mindful eating you will notice that you automatically spend more time chewing and eating your food at a more relaxed and gentler pace.

6: Experience a silent meal: You could liken this to the yoga pose savasana.  My favourite yoga pose of all time.  Why?  Because you don’t have to do anything accept let go and observe. You are aware but not engaged.

I’ve experienced silent meals before when I’ve been away on retreats.  For me its all about, getting up front and personal, with myself, my thoughts and the way I eat. No judgment, simple observation.

The first thing you’ll notice is how busy your mind is.  It will do its best to boss you around, ask you to hurry up and give you all the excuses in the world why you haven’t got time to be doing this.

Secondly begin to focus on your breathing, as suggested by Thich Nhat Hanh above in point two.  Feel settled, then enjoy your silent meal.

Notice how you pick up your fork, how slowly or quickly your hand moves, whether you close or open your eyes as you are about to take a mouthful of food. You then might move your awareness to your stomach.  Is it relaxed and ready to welcome food or is it tight and tense?

You’ll soon realize your whole body is involved in the eating process.

7: Eat real foods, avoid processed foods: Fresh, seasonal and locally grown foods are the best. Once you begin your journey of mindful eating and really start tasting your food you will soon notice the difference between processed lifeless food and wholesome cooked meals.  Your eating habits will evolve naturally when you practice mindful eating.

7: Small breakfast, big lunch, small dinner. Lunchtime is when your digestive fire is the strongest. Lucky for me, I work from home, so eating my main meal in the middle of the day has been an easy transition for me.  Yes, I still have to cook meals for my boys at night but its worth it as I notice my body has responded well to this change.

8: Do not rush away from the table: This has been a bad habit for our family and one which will take a little while to change.  As soon as your last mouthful is swallowed spend a few moments being still and complete your mindful eating experience.

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Why not subscribe via email or rss feed and get free updates.

Or grab regular rejuvenation tips on facebook.

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I use and love Ananga’s guided meditations and music

Please click here to download:

” Smile, breathe and go slowly” by Thich Nhat Hanh Zen Buddhist

Feel more relaxed and peaceful on the inside by simply turning 100% of your awareness inwards. Yes, give yourself permission to disconnect from the busyness around you (even if its only for a few moments) and re-direct your energy and breath inwards.

Once your awareness is gently guided away from the overstimulating, overly demanding outside world – you can then draw upon one, two or more natural relaxation practices (tools) that you know will bring relief or at the very least take the edge off how you are currently feeling.

You are your own best expert of your body …….. and know in this moment  ………… whether you are living life from your calm, peaceful centre ….. or  responding to life from a fatigued, stressed, exhausted place.

Know, there are things you can do, if you find yourself feeling anxious, stressed, tension building up or simply fried.

I personally use the practices below, for myself and with my Bali retreat participants, whenever needed.  It’s all about taking the time to support your body better and consciously choosing to trigger the relaxation response in your body at different times throughout your day or as the need arises.

Calm your nerves and release the tension:

1:  Melt the frown. Smile and release the worry.  It takes energy, lots and lots of energy to hold a tense, tight frown on your forehead.  Check in with your forehead now – lose the frown then relax the skin across your forehead.  Notice how you release the pressure in your temples as well when you melt the frown.  While you are at it, pay close attention to your teeth and jaw.  Un-clench your jaw, relax your tongue (very important) and part your teeth slightly.  This will help enormously release facial and neck tension.  You might even notice your shoulders relaxing and dropping at the same time.

Melt the frown, un-clench your jaw and drop your shoulders.

2: Take a chill pill.  Close your eyes, cup the palms of your hands over your ears, now listen to the sounds of the ocean playing inside your head.  Continue until you feel your nerves a little less frazzled, your thoughts a little calmer and your breathing more relaxed.

3:  Turn off the noise: Silence nourishes your body, mind and soul.  Silence is very restorative. Toxic urban noise is never ending and can be a constant background stress that you may not be aware of.  Tune into your hearing and notice which sounds irritate you.  Take a five minute “no noise” break.  Alternately turn down or turn off any unnecessary stressful noise.

4: Repeat a calming mantra: Use your thoughts to fuel your body with a constant stream of calming and relaxing thoughts. Mantras work because they take your focus away from the stress and drama (just for a moment) and invite more peace into your life.  Here’s a few of my favorites that you might like use. “I will remember to breathe and relax moment by moment” One of my personal favorites is “Every cell in my body is loved and healthy”. Breath in “I am calm” breathe out “I smile”

* How to get your “OM” on:

5:  Take a mental health break: A less crowded mind means your nervous system is calmer.  Take regular breaks from too much thinking and bring your awareness back into your body.  Do your best to have an enjoyable morning and afternoon tea away from your desk in a pleasant environment. Listen to the requests of your body, drink when thirsty, stretch and move when you need to and never skip a meal.  An added bonus; A quiet mind has direct access to wisdom and insight.

6: Adjust your breathing: Find some calm: Make your “out” breath twice as long as your “in” breath. This will immediately calm you down.  Your breathing directly reflects your stress levels. If you breathing is fast, tight and shallow then I encourage to read my article 12 great reasons to start alternate nostril breathing:

7: Calm your nerves by turning your back to the world: This is in my top 3 all time favorite relaxation postures in the world.  Its such a simple way to calm an overcrowded mind, call back your scattered energies back, calm your breathing and relax. Click here for full details. I promise you’ll love it.

8: Hug well and hug often: Give a hug or receive a hug, either way hug well and hug often. Heh, even give yourself a hug.  Hugging and cuddling is therapeutic, healing and calming.  According to Virginia Satir a family therapist; we need 4 hugs a day for survival, 8 hugs a day for maintenance and 12 hugs a day for growth.  Whats your daily hug quota?

* 10 Hugging tips to grab on the run:

9: Rest your eyes: When you relax your eyes you are inviting your mind and body to follow.  Do yourself a favor and grab yourself a yoga eye pillow and enjoy 5 minutes of relaxation.  You may even want to make your own find out more here about the benefits of yoga eye pillows:

10: Self massage nourishes your nervous system: I love my early morning “warm” oil massage.  Touch is healing and extremely nourishing to your body.  Self massage releases happy feelings into your body, improves circulation and supports the removal of toxins from your body.  There are simply loads of benefits.

Whilst “self massage” might seem like hard work at first, I can guarantee you’ll soon notice a difference.   I recently wrote an article on self massage which you are very welcome to read here:

11: Cancel, clear, delete your energy drains: Notice what zaps your precious energy and reduce your exposure to gossip, shopping centers, busy places, certain friends or family members. Better still cancel, clear and delete their existence in your life.

12: Give yourself a chocolate facial: Warning!  This is very addicted.  Licking is definitely allowed as long as no one is looking.

13: Hum your worries away: Time to Hum. Place your hand on top of your head, smile, now start humming. Feel the healing vibration of the hum reach the top of your head. Your clever hum will brush away the cob webs, soothe your mind, relax your face muscles and nourish your nervous system.

* 12 instant benefits of humming

14:  Sip a calming potion: If all else fails then do what I do; grab for my bottle of passion flower.  I know for a fact that the medicinal herb of passion flower calms my energies in an instant. It great for insomnia and nervousness and has a sedative effect on your nervous system. Around one teaspoon sends a warm calming feeling throughout my body.

* 3 potent natural herbal sedatives:

* An awesome shake that soothes your nerves:

* A fabulous restful yoga and mindful breathing DVD:

Photo by iujaz

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What I’m loving at the moment:

Sarah Wilson, health practitioner, writer and TV presenter quit sugar as an experiment to support the health of her auto-immune disease. She noticed such a huge change to her health and emotions that she wrote an e-book about it.  Not sure I could go 100% no sugar but it’s interesting learning about how dangerous and addictive sugar is.

Click here to visit Sarah Wilson.

_________________________________

Why not subscribe via email or rss feed and get free updates

You can also grab your daily rejuvenation tip by clicking here

_________________________________

I use and love Ananga’s guided meditations and music

Please click here to sample her music: