Mental & Emotional Health

Previously I posted about insomnia and it’s still been an ongoing issue for me although must admit didn’t stick to waking up at the same time every day.

Anyway, tonight I’m giving this guided meditation a go by Michael Mackenzie. He is apparently a master of meditation although I didn’t even know there was such a thing. As a bonus it’s supposed to help against addictive traits. I have the potential to become addicted to just about anything so this can’t hurt.

Unfortunately, the past few weeks have been highly stressful in my life. With quitting my job, taking a week off, starting school, having to write two mini-papers in the first 7 days of school, and friends moving away, you could say that I’ve had a lot on my plate. It’s been disconcerting going from a very stress free job to a job that the rest of my life could depend on. It has me thinking about how stressed I really am allowing myself to get for something that I could be more relaxed about.

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The DailyOM wrote a nice article on saving energy that spoke to me. It reminds me a lot of how I feel after being around large groups.

“Being a sensitive person in this world can sometimes feel very draining due to the fact that we are very receptive to the energy of the people and environment around us. Still, we want to be part of situations that involve small or large groups of people, and we would like to do it without becoming overwhelmed or exhausted. With a few simple strategies we can entertain at home and socialize in the world without running the risk of losing ourselves in someone else’s energy or giving our energy away. All this takes is a little time and practice, and the result-being part of social events without ending up depleted-is well worth the effort.

The whole purpose of this self-care ritual is to help keep yourself strong energetically when you are in a situation that could potentially be draining. For example, if you are having a party, you might take some time to prepare beforehand. Just as you spend time cleaning your home and preparing food, it is essential to prepare your inner home for the event. This can be as simple as taking a mindful walk or a cleansing bath, or engaging in any other activity that gives you energy. You can even just sit alone for a set period of time, tuning in to your energy and connecting to yourself so that you are less easily carried away by the energy outside of yourself. You may employ a mantra such as “I am centered and safe in the home of myself.” You can also charge a crystal or gemstone or any piece of jewelry with protective energy and wear it or carry it with you. This can be helpful during the event when just seeing it or touching it can remind you that you are centered and safe.

Keep in mind that it is always acceptable to excuse yourself for a bathroom break or to step outside for a moment. This can give you the time and space you need to check in with yourself and correct any energetic imbalances you detect. Whether you are at home or out in the world, taking care of yourself in this way enables you to keep your energy strong, even as you open yourself to others.”

mental and emotional health, energy levels, recharging, emotional recharging, socializing, relaxing

Early May brings about Taurus’s full moon; which also brings about a special Buddhist celebration; Wesak (or Vesak) is known as the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and passing into Nirvana (Nibbana). The idea of celebrating these three life-events is akin to celebrating the major tenets of Buddhism.

The celebration of birth means we recognize that Buddha was human and we can also strive to achieve the spiritual heights he attained.

The celebration of enlightenment points us towards a goal in which we do all we can to gain the full comprehension of our own spirit’s intention in life.

The celebration of Buddha’s passing into Nirvana means that we are reaching the nadir of our spiritual development. We then complete our decision to leave our desires and we are finally arriving at our “oneness” with the universe.

This year, Vesak day is being celebrated on two different days. It is celebrated on the full-moon day during the month of May, and since this May we have two full moons, we could have celebrated on the 2nd or we could celebrate on the 31st. (Sri Lanka, India & Malaysia celebrated on the 2nd while Thailand & Singapore are to celebrate on the 31st). Buddhists bring simple offerings (flowers, candles, incense) to the temple to remind them that “life is like beautiful flowers that soon wither and candles and incense that eventually burn out.” Birds or animals may be released as a symbol of liberation.

Whether you are a Buddhist or a Mormon, I suggest you take May 31st to celebrate the beauty and ultimate brevity of our lives. You can take the chance to identify the light within us that bonds both the celestial and the everlasting. If you take this time to focus on the exquisiteness of our humanity and spirituality, you may be able to find the balance between them.

mental and emotional health, Buddhist, religion, Vesak, Wesak, celebrations

As I was starting this post, I made it three things into my list and then accidentally lost the post. Instead of getting really frustrated, I used my own aforementioned stress techniques and moved on. I couldn’t control (or save) what I had previously lost, so I am continuing.

For the past two days you’ve been reading about life-changing activities you can do to lessen the stress in your life, but have any of you been wondering about little day-to-day things that you can do to help yourself out? Well, that’s what today’s “Stressball, III” post is dedicated to. Pick one thing a week and slowly start adding it to your life in order to reduce your stress!

*Add something beautiful to your life on a daily basis (e.g., flowers). I like to get flowers. I love having flowers around, and am thankful that my roommate is willing to replant weeds & flowers outside to cheer us both us. If I’m really craving fresh flowers, I will just buy them myself to cheer me up! : ) Looking at flowers reminds me that there is always something good in life!

*Do some enjoyable activities whenever possible. What do you like to do? Read? Check out a new book! Enjoy cooking for friends and family? Try out a new recipe! Do you scrapbook? Take pictures? Run? Watch TV? Do something that you enjoy doing; that is definitely going to help you out!

*Walk, work, and eat at a relaxed pace. If you can help it, remember that slow & steady does really win the race. Take your time and keep yourself calm, even under pressure!

*Take a short break after meals to relax. If you like to, get out and go for a short walk after dinner. Sip on a cup of (decaf) coffee. Read the newspaper. Enjoy your meal and then relax afterward to let it settle.

*If possible, go outside at least once per day and notice the simple things such as the weather, scenery, etc. This goes along with taking your walk! You can go for a 10-minute walk during your morning or afternoon break or even take a walk during lunch-time. Get your blood flowing and count this as part of your daily exercise requirement!

*During the day, whenever you remember, notice and tension in your body (jaw, neck, diaphram, shoulders, etc.). Breathe deeply and gently stretch and relax any tense areas. Need some stretches? Print this out and tape it up near your desk. During your breaks, use this to stretch yourself out and breathe deeply while doing so!

*Avoid holding in feelings day after day, but instead, find a safe place to feel, express and embrace them. < a href="http://www.451press.com/more-bloggers-wanted/">Start a journal! Write to get your feelings out, embrace them, and deal with them as they come. Don’t just sit on your feelings and let them eat away at you. This is one of the best stress-relievers I’ve ever encountered and probably why I enjoy writing so very much!

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We’re back with stress relievers here … and moving on … to destress! : )

Qigong & Tai Chi are two yoga/meditation combinations that are rumored to be good for stress, too. I haven’t tried either but would be willing to check both out if they’d make me feel better! Here are some of the basic principles of Qigong if you’re interested in checking out a “psychosomatic regime, which through mind, breathing, and posture regulation aids in the prevention and treatment of diseases and preserves and lengthens life.” You’ve probably seen people on TV, or even in the park (yes, I’ve seen it happen in the park) doing Tai Chi. If you’re interested in checking out their moves, follow me to Tai Chi Instructions and read up!

Something that I’ve been doing for about three years now is Conscious Breathing which can also be called “transformational breathing.” Conscious Breathing includes actually thinking about the breath you are taking in and expelling. Rather than just allowing your body to autonomically breathe, think about taking it in and letting it out and allowing your body to cleanse itself with it’s own breath. There are very few websites out there, that I can find, that explain How To Conscious Breathe but this one in particular is worth checking out and trying if you’re interested.

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I am a ball of stress right now. My nannying job may be falling through (they’re getting flakier and flakier day after day), I don’t have another job lined up, my job is currently ending on Friday, I’m not feeling well physically, I’m nervous about school, then money issues come into play with all of this. Needless to say, life is a bit hectic and messy for me right now. I’m not happy with that, and so I’m looking at some real stress-relievers for myself and figured that I’d share them with my faithful readers! This will take a few posts and stretch out to a few days so bear with me and enjoy! : )

First of all, when I’m stressed, and no one is home (because being watched during this stresses me out!) I like to let my body stretch out and do some yoga. There is a yoga practitioner near you and you can get yourself into a class to check it out. If money is one of your stressors (hi, that would be me!), you can even find free online yoga postures and watch streaming videos of yoga postures. Even your dog can do yoga … or should I say dog-a?

Another stress reliever I’m just now getting into is something that makes me laugh a little still. Most of the time, when you think about meditation, do you think about little bald men sitting on the floor “om”-ing? Well, it can be a bit more complicated and cleansing than that. There are many “learning” meditation sites out there, but I’ve found a lot of knowledge from a few specific meditation blogs I’ve read. Meditation Air makes me laugh “well, I guess that life, thats Zen and I have to accept this…….agrrrrrrrrrrh…” and so that’s a good stress relief. The Meditation Journey is also another blog to check out if you’re looking to watch someone actual travel to become their most Zen being.

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Destressing Techniques from HealthyDay online.

When you’ve got 1 minute
Place your hand just beneath your navel so you can feel the gentle rise and fall of your belly as you breathe. Breathe in slowly. Pause for a count of three. Breathe out. Pause for a count of three. Continue to breathe deeply for one minute, pausing for a count of three after each inhalation and exhalation.

Or alternatively, while sitting comfortably, take a few slow deep breaths and quietly repeat to yourself “I am” as you breathe in and “at peace” as you breathe out. Repeat slowly two or three times. Then feel your entire body relax into the support of the chair.

When you’ve got 2 minutes
Count down slowly from 10 to zero. With each number, take one complete breath, inhaling and exhaling. For example, breathe in deeply saying “10” to yourself. Breathe out slowly. On your next breath, say “nine,” and so on. If you feel lightheaded, count down more slowly to space your breaths further apart. When you reach zero, you should feel more relaxed. If not, go through the exercise again.

When you’ve got 3 minutes
While sitting down, take a break from whatever you’re doing and check your body for tension. Relax your facial muscles and allow your jaw to fall open slightly. Let your shoulders drop. Let your arms fall to your sides. Allow your hands to loosen so that there are spaces between your fingers. Uncross your legs or ankles. Feel your thighs sink into your chair, letting your legs fall comfortably apart. Feel your shins and calves become heavier and your feet grow roots into the floor. Now breathe in slowly and breathe out slowly. Each time you breathe out, try to relax even more.

When you’ve got 5 minutes
Try self-massage. A combination of strokes works well to relieve muscle tension. Try gentle chops with the edge of your hands or tapping with fingers or cupped palms. Put fingertip pressure on muscle knots. Knead across muscles, and try long, light, gliding strokes. You can apply these strokes to any part of the body that falls easily within your reach. For a short session like this, try focusing on your neck and head.
* Start by kneading the muscles at the back of your neck and shoulders. Make a loose fist and drum swiftly up and down the sides and back of your neck. Next, use your thumbs to work tiny circles around the base of your skull. Slowly massage the rest of your scalp with your fingertips. Then tap your fingers against your scalp, moving from the front to the back and then over the sides.
* Now massage your face. Make a series of tiny circles with your thumbs or fingertips. Pay particular attention to your temples, forehead, and jaw muscles. Use your middle fingers to massage the bridge of your nose and work outward over your eyebrows to your temples.
* Finally, close your eyes. Cup your hands loosely over your face and inhale and exhale easily for a short while.

When you’ve got 10 minutes
Try imagery. Start by sitting comfortably in a quiet room. Breathe deeply for a few minutes. Now picture yourself in a place that conjures up good memories. What do you smell — the heavy scent of roses on a hot day, crisp fall air, the wholesome smell of baking bread? What do you hear? Drink in the colors and shapes that surround you. Focus on sensory pleasures: the swoosh of a gentle wind; soft, cool grass tickling your feet; the salty smell and rhythmic beat of the ocean. Passively observe intrusive thoughts, and then gently disengage from them to return to the world you’ve created.

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I am doing some research for personal reasons on meditation as I’ve really been struggling to keep myself together in certain places lately … I thought I’d share some of what I learned on my lunch break and my own personal notes attached to them.

My favorite thing I read included a bit about eating meditations to keep yourself aware of your eating habits. I struggle with always feeling like I need to clean my plate and so being aware that it’s okay to leave food on a plate is something I am trying to become more aware of.

Another one that I have been doing for a while now and is one of the most basic meditation exercises that you can do is easy. You should try it on your own!

Silently repeat a word, sound, prayer, or phrase as a mental “focus”. You may close your eyes if you like, or focus your gaze on an object. I use “direction” as it’s a line from a quote I love: You will go in the direction you are facing.

Disregard distracting thoughts or concerns about how well you’re doing. Any time your attention drifts, simply say, “Oh, well” to yourself and return to silently repeating your focus word or phrase. This has been one of the harder parts for me, and I can’t deal with “oh well,” so I go with keeping the “direction” idea in mind thinking more in the lines of “this is not the direction you want to face,” and straighten myself out.

Now, slowly relax your muscles, moving your attention gradually from your face to your feet. Breathe easily and naturally while using your focal device for 10 to 20 minutes. After you finish, sit quietly for a minute or so with your eyes closed. After you open your eyes, wait another minute before standing up. I started with two to three minutes because the idea of 10 minutes was incredibly daunting to me. If you can only do it for a few minutes, it’s a way to get started and you may eventually need to block out a half an hour or so to do this technique just because you want to!

If you only have a minute or so, try this exercise that my pain therapist told me about.
sit back in a chair, on the floor, wherever you can relax
breath in through your nose as deeply as you can feeling your stomach swell (as this is diaphragmatic breathing)
exhale immediately (don’t hold this breath in) expelling all the breath from your lungs and making your stomach flat again
once all of the air is out, hold your breath for seven counts (you will not pass out, this is a way of making your body recognize that you are not really in a fight-or-flight situation and it will help you relax)
as you are breathing out, remember to let your body sink deeper into whatever you are sitting or standing on and try hard to only concentrate on your breather

In short: breathe in, breathe out, one-two-three-four-five-six-seven, breathe in