Hello friends of Full Circle.
It's a time of year when stress may nip our heels. Have a read through this list....ponder on what you can begin, with a sense of playfulness, even delight.....what would be fun to try, to repeat for a week or two and see how you feel. Calmer? A little more ease? Less frantic? Tummy less cranky? Reduced pelvic pain? You are the expert about yourself and your own body. What would make today more colourful, more vibrant for you? Daily Gratitude List Write down 3 things for which you're grateful today. Keep going if you'd like to, but create a habit of finding 3 things or people or daily activity or interaction or weather or ______ that you noticed gratitude about. Move Your Body Go for a 10 minute walk or jog or toodle down a quiet road or through the forest…..no phone, on your own, no distractions, noticing the temperature, the humidity, the clouds, the trees. Just be present in the moment of moving in the world. Go every day, growing your movement to 30 minutes each day. Even the stormy, snowy, windy or rainy days can be brilliant! Breathing Ideas Pick one of these breathing ideas and do any of these 10x in a row, notice if you feel calmer. Then repeat daily (or whenever you feel your shoulders rising, jaw tightening or butt/toe gripping). Or try another and play! So Hum As you breathe in say (or think) "Sooooooo…." Then as you breathe out slowly, say (or think) "Hummmmmm." Alternate Nostril Breathing Place your fingertips #2 and 3 on your forehead. Use your thumb tip to close your R nostril. Breathe in your L nostril. When you're full of air, use fingertip #4 to close off your L nostril and breathe out your R nostril. Don't move your fingers when you're empty of air. Breathe in your R nostril. Full of air = switch fingertips on nostril closure so you breathe out your L nostril. Breathe in your L nostril and repeat. Slowly. Deep Pelvic Breath Ly or sit in a comfy chair. Place one palm on your chest bone and one on your low belly, releasing your belly, buttocks, hips and pelvic floor. Breathe in your nose, slow and deep with only your lower hand lifting with your filling belly, feeling your hips release, your pelvic floor (vagina/scrotum/anus) open and widen and your back arch gently. Breathe out your pursed lips, slowly and simply letting your body release and let go….no action, just settling back to the starting position. Distance from External Expectations Reduce the power and proximity of societal, familial, friend (other) expectations in your mind, body and self-talk. Step back from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, You Tube, your cellphone. Take at least one day unconnected to it all. Notice what matters to you (not others). Greet the Woman in the Mirror As you wash your face and brush your teeth in the morning, greet the woman in the mirror and thank her for coming into the day, taking care of herself, being her/you. Notice how you look, take time to appreciate your eyes, your smile, your presence. All that you bring into the day is improved if you're thankful to be you. Sleep Well Invest some commitment, time and energy into sleeping well. Stop all scrolling/watching/phoning 2 hours prior to a consistent, calm, warm bedtime. Make bed time routine and sleep a really important part of your daily commitment to a healthier, calmer, more vibrant you. Connection Where, when, how and with whom do you fill your cup? Is there a weekly visit with someone that you'd find energy-giving? A weekly walk with someone, a teatime, volunteering, checking in with _______? Creativity Everyone is an artist and has a creative urge that support each of us being ourself……Cooking? Baking? Drawing? Knitting? Painting? Journaling? Photography? Hands on, expressing you being you. Unitask Once your estrogen is depleting/depleted (peri to post menopause), your cortisol (stress hormone) will rise if you continue to multitask. Estrogen helped you multitask; you don't have it any more. You'll ask your stress system to respond if you keep multitasking, so stop it! One task, one activity, one skill, one thing at a time. Prioritize and do one thing. Then stop and appreciate that you've done "it" and go onto the next one. Way less stress. Compassion Self Compassion (Self-compassion entails being warm and understanding toward ourselves when we suffer, fail, or feel inadequate, rather than ignoring our pain or flagellating ourselves with self-criticism) and Fierce Self Compassion (Fierce self-compassion involves “acting in the world” to alleviate suffering. It tends to involve protecting, providing for, and motivating ourselves. Sometimes we need to stand tall and say no, draw boundaries, or fight injustice. Or we may need to say yes to ourselves, to do what’s needed to be happy rather than subordinating our needs to those of others. And if we’re stuck in a bad situation or habits that are harmful, it means doing something different. Not because we’re unacceptable as we are, but because we care.) Definitions by Kristen Neff with gratitude for her two books. Noticing All of us have stress in our lives. In fact, we need a modicum of stress in order to be alive! In addition, some of our stressors aren't changeable ….. our family, our health concerns, our aging parents, our jobs, our financial position. But…..we can notice our "body keeping the score". Are you A jaw clencher? A shoulder holder? A butt gripper? A toe grabber? If your body continues to "keep the score" of all of life's stresses/stressors, do you respond further by Not sleeping? Developing a headache? Catching the latest virus passing by? You can change up your stress response by first noticing how you in your "only you" way respond to stress. AHA! Paying attention is surprising and enlightening. Then release your jaw, soften your shoulders,you’re your tummy go, rock back and forth on your toes while you release your buttocks and wiggle your feet. Just breathe. Repeat with your inbreath, "I am safe", and with our outbreath, "It's OK to let go". These small ideas can change your sense of calm, your response to life's challenges and your vibrancy. What works for you? 1. _______________________________________________________________ Date: ___________________ 2. _______________________________________________________________ Date: ___________________ 3. _______________________________________________________________ Date: ___________________ C2 - 1204 NW Blvd. Creston, BC Ph 250-254-3494 Fax 1-855-655-5281
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