Relaxation, harmony and ease are your natural state of being. When you’re tense, anxious or worried, you’re actually just blocking the flow of the Universe through you. The good that you desire hasn’t gone away, it’s just tied up in knots and can’t move. Your attention is on what you’re afraid of, rather than on what you want. And “where attention goes, energy flows.” When you let go, you let relaxation and good surface and express in your life.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
Peace and relaxation is your natural state of being. When you are at rest, your muscles are at ease and energy flows through you. This allows your body and mind to recharge and heal. If you become anxious or upset, this ties up the energy in tense muscles. It doesn’t mean that relaxation isn’t there, it’s just blocked. When you’re able to let go, do or think of something more enjoyable or positive, then relaxation surfaces again. Practice taking a relaxation break every hour for just one minute and notice the difference in how your day goes.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
How to make friends with stress by Shamash Alidina
Stress is a complicated topic. A little bit of stress is good for you, too much is bad for you, and your attitude about it affects how it impacts you. Use the mindfulness exercise in this article to reframe how you view stress, and change the experience to be more positive.
The Trap of Emotional Nonacceptance
Does your inner critic take you to task when you feel an unpleasant emotion? The distressing emotion doesn’t feel good to begin with, and the inner criticism makes it worse. Instead of fighting those undesirable emotions, use the steps in this article to start feeling better.
Types of Stress and Stress Relief Techniques For Each
There are so many different ways to relieve stress that it can sometimes be difficult to find the best technique for your personality and situation. However, it’s well worth the effort to find the right stress reliever for you. This list of stress management techniques are grouped in 4 categories that you may encounter in your life.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
Question: How do I deal with overwhelming thoughts when I’m trying to meditate?
Answer: It’s normal to have problems with thoughts distracting you during meditation. It happens to those first starting meditation as well as seasoned meditators. It’s one reason why there are so many meditation techniques that use some sort of focus, like a mantra or staring at a candle.
When I use self-hypnosis at the beginning of a meditation, I go deeper than with any other technique. And because you’re focusing on relaxing your body, counting down and then imagining a special place, it helps to calm down the errant thoughts. However, it is a constant practice to keep them calm and not let them distract you.
Whenever you have a thought try to get your attention, bring your focus back to your special place, affirmation or any visualization you’re using. You’re in the process of training your mind. Letting it know that you’re going to take charge. Once you’ve practiced enough to get the thoughts quieter, the next step is to be able to simply observe them and let them go.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
When you’re upset, it affects your body, tensing your muscles. The reverse is also true, if your body is relaxed, then your mind is calm. You can control your state of mind through relaxing your body so you can be more peaceful. A calm mind allows you have a sense of well-being and to think more clearly. Use this meditation to access a peaceful state that can contribute to more success and satisfaction in your life.
Transcript:
Thank you for joining me. Have you ever noticed that when you’re upset, stressed, anxious or worried that your muscles are tense? And that you breathe shallowly, from your upper chest? Your thoughts are telling your body that you’re feeling threatened, and they’re responding to protect you.
But did you realize that when you deliberately relax your muscles and take deep breaths, your mind begins to calm down and you feel more peaceful? It’s true. What affects the mind will affect the body and vice versa. You have the power to take control over your state of mind, by affecting your body.
I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, of Heartvision Consulting. I’m a vision strategist, helping women program their business for success by creating a master plan. But I’ve also been a hypnotherapist for over 30 years. I’ve helped hundreds of people to improve their quality of life through relaxation and then to achieve their goals.
I’d like to lead you through a short meditation of deliberate relaxation that will help you find more calm, so you have a better life.
If you want to, close your eyes.
Take a long slow deep breath. Now let it out, letting it go. Take another deep breath in. Now exhale, letting it go, all the way out. Take one more deep breath. And let it go, all the way out.
Now place your attention on your scalp. Let go of the muscles there. Imagine them becoming like a floppy rubber band.
Bring your attention to your face. Relax your facial muscles.
Place your attention on your neck, and let those muscles relax.
Now your shoulders drop, loose and limp.
Your arms relax, like a rag doll.
Your chest and abdoman become soft and relaxed.
Place your attention on your back, and you let it relax, becoming like soft putty, relaxing all the way down to your hips.
And now your legs relax, all the way down to your toes.
Just relaxing your entire body from the top of your head to the bottoms of your feet.
Now imagine that you’re feeling calm, peaceful, serene, like your mind is a calm pool of water. Safe and secure. Floating with a sense of well being.
I wonder how you can create this calm, peace, serenity, safety, security and well-being in your life from this moment on? Maybe you can create it with 3 deep breaths, and a quick relaxation. Maybe you can simply remember how it felt to be at ease. No matter how, it can be easy for you now to create this calm and well being in your life. And you can bring this peace with you into your life as you open your eyes.
How did that feel? The more you practice it, the easier it becomes. The effects accumulate over time.
Whenever your mind is calm, you have a sense of well being, are able to think more clearly and make better decisions. You’re more creative, resourceful, and resilient in the face of challenges. In addition, you’re more attractive to people, both in your personal and professional lives. You’re able to feel more fulfilled and satisfied in your work. Isn’t that worth taking a couple of minutes out of every day to practice this exercise?
If you’d to achieve a 90-day goal more easily, download my free comprehensive Strategic Vision guide at www. SetYourCourseGuide.com. You’ll receive the guide, as well as a training video of that walks you through it with tips and directions to support you in being able to accomplish your goal.
Thank you for watching. I hope you’re able to take this meditation and practice it daily to bring you a much better life. Take care.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
3 Ways to Better Understand Your Emotions
Many struggle to identify what exactly they’re feeling, and often times the most obvious label isn’t actually the most accurate. Because of society, culture, and family rules about ignoring or suppressing them, many people don’t even recognize that they’re feeling anything. But it leaks out in inappropriate ways. But when we’re able to accurately label what we’re feeling, we can decide how to address the issue.
Use Guided Imagery For Relaxation
Both guided imagery and relaxation are amazing remedies for stress and anxiety. The benefits have long ranging mental, emotional and physical effects. This article gives some specific instructions and tips on how to practice this effective technique.
A quick technique to overcome procrastination
Procrastination sabotages your productivity, effectiveness, and can impact your relationships. It’s designed to have you put off what might be boring, uncomfortable or unpleasant. But those tasks still need to be done, and putting them off means that you waste your time and energy. This article shows you 4 steps and several tips to break the habit of procrastination.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
To Feel More Productive, Take a Break to Do Something Selfless
In our pressured, hectic lives, it seems like we don’t have enough time to get everything done. Crossing an item off your to-do list gives you a feeling of accomplishment, but then you add three more items. Self-care is important for your wellbeing, but doesn’t make you productive. However, being altruistic gives you a sense that you have more time to get things done.
How to Stay Motivated and Reach Your Big Goals in Life
To accomplish your goals, you have to stay motivated, even for the tasks you don’t like. Here are 5 simple, yet effective, ways on how to get motivated and stay on course to your goal. You don’t have to use all of them to be effective. Mix and match the ones that work for you.
Stress Management: How to Reduce, Prevent, and Cope with Stress
Sometimes it seems like there’s nothing you can do about your stress. You may feel overwhelmed and powerless over it. But you have more control than you think. You can take charge of how you manage your thoughts, actions and how you handle your problems. Explore the 6 strategies in this article to manage your stress and discover a more balanced life.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
8 After-Work Meditations To Do If You’re Stressed
According to surveys, people in the U.S. are more stressed than people in other countries. And work is one of the biggest causes of it. Experts and research shows that meditation can help you to destress and wind down after a rough day of work. These meditations take between 10-20 minutes after your day and give you a better quality of life in your evening.
Tips to Resist Temptation
If you give into temptation frequently, you’ve made a habit of giving into it. That makes it more difficult to resist because it’s become a reward, of sorts. But you can train your mind, and your brain, to say, “No.” Use the tips on how to retrain yourself, but also how to take control over temptation.
10 Quick Questions that Will Change the Way You Think Today
How do you talk to yourself? Do you belittle or encourage yourself. The way you talk to yourself is going to influence your decisions and actions. One way to improve your self-talk is to ask yourself the right questions, because they will lead you to greater choices.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
Feeling Stressed? Try These 3 Meditation Techniques
There’s no question that stress negatively impacts your personal and professional lives. But there are some simple ways to take a mental time-out that can rebuild your inner resources. Incorporate these meditation practices into your daily stressful situations. They’ll keep you focused and help you relax.
How to Build Self Esteem (A Guide to Realize Your Hidden Power)
Self-esteem is a driving force behind our confidence, how we see and feel about ourselves, and encompasses our sense of value, significance, and self-worth. Research has shown that over 80% of people struggle with varying levels of low self-esteem. This article’s 6 steps will show you the things you can do right now to improve your self esteem. This will allow you to realize your hidden potential and your self worth.
9 Telltale Signs You’re Dealing With an Inauthentic Person
There is no skill more important to success than being able to detect who is sincere and who isn’t.
Authentic people are self-aware and accept themselves. Inauthentic people are fake and suffer from crippling insecurity. Some of the characteristics of an inauthentic person might surprise you, because they can be so deceptive. But knowing and understanding who they are can save you a lot of heartache.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
by Linda-Ann Stewart
Our lives today are filled with things that keep us busy and distracted. We obsess over our cell phones: talking, texting, tweeting, checking Facebook and surfing the internet. We’re working longer hours and have less time off. When we do take vacations, it’s generally rushing to a location so we can participate in activities that keep us busy.
Our frantic lives have become a habit. We have a need to fill every waking moment with activity. When we don’t have anything to do, we feel anxious, panicked and seek to do anything that will relieve the discomfort. This craving to be productive has spun out of control.
We can actually become addicted to the adrenaline rush that stress provides. Many people become adrenaline junkies, seeking thrills in ever dangerous sports so that they get their hit of this chemical. Once we’ve reached this high level of stress, our ability to think things through, reason, be creative and learn decreases.
We can become addicted to the habit of stress. A habit is formed by doing the same thing over and over until it becomes automatic. Not only do we get a physical jolt of adrenaline from it, but we also receive emotional rewards. And a habit tied to an emotional benefit can become hard to change.
Some of the benefits to chronic stress include:
Chronic stress will eventually lead to a physical, mental and emotional collapse, because sooner or later the adrenaline runs out. This amount of stress also reduces the effectiveness of our immune systems and makes us more susceptible to illness and disease.
Stress caused by our own busyness is a choice. We make decisions every hour of the day that contribute to the pressure we feel. Some of it is caused by trying to control every aspect of our lives. Trying to be perfect also pushes us to feel overwhelmed. Neither of these is realistic or constructive.
Like any habit, it’s uncomfortable when we begin to break it. Some people get panicky when they first start to relax. It feels unfamiliar, unnerving and unsafe.
It takes a change of perspective before the habit can be altered. We have to realize that our mindset and decisions have helped create the stress that we’ve been exhibiting. Then we have to be willing to handle the things we’ve been avoiding.
Here are five steps to break the habit of chronic stress:
1. Become aware of what you’re doing that’s causing you to be so busy and pressured.
2. Learn what the benefit of it is for you, and decide if it’s worth the eventual burnout and exhaustion.
3. Address whatever emotional reason has pushed you to be so busy.
4. Let go of some of the control that you’ve been exerting in your life. Delegate to others and let them run with the project. Accept that everything isn’t going to be perfect. Don’t look at your cell phone more than once an hour. When you’re with someone at a restaurant, if your phone rings, let it go to voicemail.
5. Take time outs. Do deep breathing, learn mindfulness meditation, practice yoga, do relaxation exercises, exercise. These all work by switching on another physical system that naturally reduces stress.
When you begin to practice these steps, you may feel strange and uneasy. That’s normal. But the physical, mental and emotional benefits are well worth the effort. You’ll be able to think clearer and have more resources to deal with the challenges of your life. Feeling centered will become more natural.
Breaking a habit is rarely easy. You have to perform new actions consistently over and over until you’ve created a new behavior. However, once you have them instilled in your life, you’ll find that your life is much happier and healthier.
Affirmation:
I deserve to have time to enjoy my life. Whatever has been promoting stress in my life is out of balance with the Universe. I now make new choices to restore balance and harmony in my life. Divine Order is now taking place in every area of my life, allowing me to be calm and centered. The Universe supports me in my endeavor to establish peace and serenity.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
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