Stress Management tips
The purpose of stress management is to learn techniques to support your health & well being so that you can create the best life possible for yourself and those you love. If we do not have our health then our options in life are restricted. This was very much driven home to me when I worked with Family carers. When people become ill it not only limits and effects them and their health, but it also has huge effects and implications for their family and it particularly impacts on the financial resource of the household. This is not to say that the sick person is to blame in anyway or that those arround them would do anything other than care for them it is merely to point out that health and well being is at the foundation for the best possible life.
So we need to care for oursleves and by doing that your are caring for your family too. Stress management then is an investment is your own health & well being & that of your family’s. It is about maintaining health and well being.
The Key to Stress management then is self care. Unfortunately this is something that most of us have to learn to do. Many of us were brought up to do for others and we have the ingrained belief that to think of ourselves is selfish. I feel your agreement!!
The Key is self care. It goes even deeper ~ it is self love. Health & well being is about nurturing a healthy self love.
The image that most holds this and drives this point home is the message that we get when travelling on board a plane. The air hostess or steward goes though the safety procedure in case of an emergency. We are told that if we are travelling with a young baby or infant that we must first put the oxegin mask on ourself first. This goes against our natural protective instinct to look after the child first. This is the image that we must hold in managing stress.
So I give you this image and ask you to bring it to mind when you meet resistance to self care caused by conditioning.
The smallest effort at self care will bring wonderful results.
The number on thing that you can do and can do anywhere is ~
remember to tune into your breath ~ breathe ~ breathe consciously
This sounds so simple but it has a powerful and immediate affect on your whole system ~ your mindbodysoul connection. It immediately interrups and so stops the anxiety and the stress cycle. It begins to tap into what the cardiolgist Dr Herbert Benson calls the Relaxation Response.
Your breath has the ability to trigger the alternative to the stressed response ~ it triggers the Relaxation Response.
The Benefits of a regular Meditation Practice
I read recently that meditation is like breathing for your soul and it rang so true. It is the clearest discription of how essential meditation is for us. Just imagine what our body would be like if we decided not to breathe!! It’s not even possible for us not to breathe. So what are we doing to our poor soul when we understand that meditation is breath for the soul? There are so many benefits to spending time going inside and staying within for while. I hope like me you’ll think of meditation in a new way having read this and be more motivated and allow it to be a natural part of your day like brushing your teeth.
Be still & know that I am God.
Here are 9 benefits that you receive from practicing guided meditation. You will be able to:
Listen to & hear your inner voice for direction, comfort, or inspiration
Center yourself to appreciate the miracles and gifts in your life
Spark your creativity and intuition
Boost your immune system and improve health
Lower your stress ~ Lower your blood pressure
Lift your depression or anxiety
Think more clearly
Relax your mind, body, and spirit
Increase your efficiency and productivity
