Relax the Body and Mind follows

Have you ever thought that how you treat your body and how attentively you listen to your "body's voice" could be an important step toward acknowledging and reducing stress? 

Your body is always talking to you. It has a loud voice. It says things like "I'm tense", "I can't breathe" or "I don't have enough energy to cope."

You can't help but listen and you can't help feeling the tension mount.

Do you give attention to those body signs? Do you put ANY attention to them?

True relaxation starts with a relaxed body. Only when you are totally physically relaxed you can start to relax mentally.

All body tension is muscular tension, and all muscle contraction is self produced, even if you aren't aware of producing it. Once you become aware of the tension, you can begin to let the tension go. 

The truth is that your body registers stress long before the conscious mind does. Tense muscles, sore joints or tiny pains and aches are your body's way of letting you know that you are under stress. They are those red lights on a car's front panel signaling you that something is going to break down.

Do you give attention to those body signs?

Many times we are treating our body like a junk car that gets you from one place to another, instead of treating it like a precious temple. 

Your body can tell you a long story about your unique states of tension and release. All you have to do is turn your attention within, and quietly listen.

Remember to thank your body for keeping you alive and informed, for serving you despite all the times you have ignored it needs.

Do something special for your body today: take a bubble bath, wear your most comfortable clothes, get a manicure or foot massage. 

Here is your this weeks challenge: Daily Body Scan

• Start with body check-in.
• Pause in a quiet place and close your eyes. Allow your breathing to slow down and deepen. Tune into your body.
• Ask your body,"How relaxed am I at the moment?" " Where is the tension in my body?
• Scan your body for any tight neck or back muscles, sore joints, tiny aches or pains.
• As you find each contraction, twitch, or distortion, thank your body for showing it to you.
• Focus on each area for a moment, exploring the tightness and soreness. 
• Inhale deep down in your abdomen and then exhale and allow your tight back muscles to relax, your eyelids to stop twitching, your knees to stop aching. You don't need this tension anymore and you can let it go!

Of course it is difficult to remember in the middle of a daily rush that you are supposed to notice your physical sensations. 

To help you to keep focused and develop this destress habit, I suggest you to make signs that says Check In With Your Body. Hand one on the bathroom mirror, and other in the place where you will see it throughout the day. Practice your body scan when you aren't under stress.

You can choose to start your day with a body scan. Do it while you are brushing your teeth. Mentally go down, from the top of your head to the tips of your toes, ad simply notice what you feel. Relax any tense area. 

Keep checking in with your body daily. It will tell you the truth you need to know about stress in your life, secrets you cannot hear from any other source.

The first step towards true relaxation must start with your body. Right now you can change what your body says by spending a few minutes each day giving it a chance to relax.

Start your day with the relaxed body and your mind will follow. 

What to do now:

• If you'd like to talk about working with me, please contact me directly at info@action4balance.com with a brief description of your stress related situation. 
• Sign up and receive a newsletter.

My Favorite Smoothie Recipe

I love green or fruit smoothies. They are packed with 'live' nutrients, easy to prepare and tastes divine.

Here is my favorite recipe. Its my usual healthy breakfast.

Cinnamon Banana Smoothie

1 banana

1 ½ cups of almond milk

1 tbsp agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

pinch of sea salt

a few ice cubes (optional)

Blend all ingredients in a blender and enjoy!

Alla Tua Salute !!! :)

This smoothie tastes sooooo good. Fruit Smoothie is also a great pre - and post-workout snack.

Want more some Great Smoothie Recipes? Click Here

Green Tea Benefits

It is a fact that the Chinese and Japanese are aging better, having less heart attacks, are less overweight, and less prone to cancer. Could it be thanks to an ancient, green, hot beverage that might just make you want to replace your morning coffee?

Here are the most important health reasons why green tea must be part of your diet:

- Fights against cancer cells, reducing the risk of breast, prostate, lung and colon cancer

- Helps kill leukemia cells

- Helps digestion and eases upset stomachs

- Facilitates weight loss

- Prevents tooth decay and bad breath

- Reduces risk of heart disease and stroke

- Heals body from infection, boosting the immune system

- Helps prevent osteoporosis

- Regulates blood sugar

- Lowers blood pressure

- Reduces rheumatoid arthritis

Best green tea as usual on  Amazon.com

The Science of Detox

“It is not the germs we need worry about. It is our inner terrain.” ~ Louis Pasteur

In fact IS OUR INNER TERRAIN helping us to maintain good health or its full of toxic and acid garbage need to be trashed out?

Your body is already incredible.

It is equipped with a multitude of biological processes that help break down and excrete toxins every minute of every day of your life. This miraculous body is a vastly complex living system that can become overburdened when faced with stress stress, pollution, toxic food load and fatigue.

No matter how you live your life now, the truth is, your body is a collection of all that you have lived (and all that you have inherited) until the present moment in time.

Its time to take care of your inner terrain.

 

The Art of Extreme Self-Care by Cheryl Richardson

An excerpt from  The Art of Extreme Self-Care:

Take Your Hands Off the Wheel

It all started with the dishwasher.  After a good night's sleep, I walked into the kitchen one morning to make a cup of tea and found my husband loading dirty dishes into the top rack.  I stood quietly by, taking special note of how he "tossed" them in without much concern for how they were placed.  Once he was done and safely in his office, I, knowing full well that the dishwasher needed to be loaded correctly, walked over, opened the front of the machine, and proceeded to rearrange what he had done.  Just then, Michael walked back into the room.  

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing," I replied, looking guilty as hell.  

"No really, Cheryl, what are you doing?" he demanded.  

I quickly explained how important it was to put the dishes in the dishwasher in a certain way to insure that they'd be cleaned properly.  Before I could finish my well-honed argument, he exclaimed:

"That's ridiculous.  They'll get clean regardless of how you put them in.  Why don't you just tell the truth?  You're a control freak and since I didn't do it your way, you need to fix it."  

I felt like a little girl caught in the act of stealing candy at the corner store.  I stood there, head bent, looking down at my slippers.

"Cheryl," he explained, "what do you think goes through my mind when I come into the kitchen and find you redoing what I just did?"

I looked up with a sheepish grin on my face.  

"It makes me say 'Why bother?  It's never right and she's just going to do it over anyway.'  So I don't help out and that's why you end complaining that you never get the support you need.  Rather than receive my help, you criticize it."

Ouch.  I hate when you're face to face with the person who knows you better than anyone else in the world and there's no where to hide.  Michael was right.  I was a control freak and when it came to asking for or receiving help, I got an automatic "F." 

If there's one thing I've struggled with the most over the years as I've worked hard to become a more conscious woman, it's asking for and receiving help.   Like so many women, my natural default is to want to be in control by doing things myself.  And, over time, this "I'll do it myself" mentality, turned into "Hi, I'm General Manager of the Universe and you need to do this my way and in my time to keep me happy."  What follows from there isn't pretty.  Eventually I proudly wear the cloak of martyr and everyone pays the price.  I get bitchy and resentful, and I end up feeling painfully alone.  

There are plenty of reasons why we don't ask for help. First of all, those of us who like to be in charge have typically done so for a very long time.  As a result, it doesn't even occur to us to ask.  Second, there are the perceived costs.  When I talk to people about why they don't ask for help, I hear things like:

• I don't want to appear weak.
• It takes too much energy to explain what I need, so I don't bother.
• I hate being disappointed when people don't follow through.
• It's too much of a hassle to fight with family members who resist helping out.
• I don't want to hear "no."
• I don't want to feel indebted to anyone.

If you look closely you'll see that what all of these examples have in common is, in fact, control - the attempt to manage the perceptions of others by not appearing weak, for example, or the desire to avoid conflict or disappointment.  And then there's the idea that doing everything on your own makes you less indebted to others.

So how do you know when support is long overdue?  Here are a few warning signals:

• You hear yourself chronically complaining about how much you have to do.

• You feel like the weight of the world is resting squarely on your back.

• You fantasize about packing a bag and leaving for the nearest deserted island.

• You find yourself crying at unexpected times and in unexpected places (or you feel like you need a good cry).

• You start yelling at inanimate objects or at drivers in front of you who are driving the speed limit.

• You feel so exhausted that the idea of brushing your teeth feels like too much work.

These are clues that you need someone to lean on - now.  Sure, I know that asking for and receiving help is challenging.  Many of us use the same arguments:  "No one can do it better than me," or "It takes too much time to explain what needs to be done," and "It's just easier to do it myself."  And while I've used these same excuses, I've also learned to remind myself that there's too much at stake.  The quality of my life is far more important than any task. 

To learn about four specific ways to ask for and receive help, pick up a copy of The Art of Extreme Self-Care: Transform Your Life One Month at a Time

How To Recognize Pre-Menopause Symptoms

When experiencing pre menopause symptoms keep in mind that these are simply the lead up process to full menopause.

Menopause basically means a women stops her menses or menstrual flow. It's a time of change and while the symptoms associated with it can be uncomfortable, research indicates women who embrace this as a new beginning in their lives tend to have a better mental disposition and thus, handle it much better.

Pre Menopause Symptoms

Pre menopause symptoms are the body's way of easing a woman into menopause and the change is usually a slow one. The time it takes can vary considerably but ten years is common.

In fact, don't just ignore them and put them down to menopause. See your doctor because they may well be associated with other conditions of a more sinister nature. Your doctor is best placed to determine exactly what they are related two.

Here are some symptoms to take note of:

- irregular periods

- hot flashes

- mood swings

- migraine headaches

- weight gain despite the fact you follow a sensible diet and exercise regularly

- night sweats

- insomnia

- joints which ache regularly

- vaginal dryness

- skin irritations or dry skin

- depression

- libido issues or lack of sex drive

The symptoms of pre menopause can start as early as the thirties. This may come as a surprise to most women but the truth is, handling them has a lot to do with your mental preparation.

Too many women wait to the very last minute to even learn about menopause and how it can affect many facets of their lives. Your education, despite the fact the big "M" gives an impression of aging, should begin very early.

Want to know how to effectively prepare for the symptoms of menopause and save yourself unnecessary stress? More information.

It's Not the End of the World: Developing Resilience in Times of Change

The world is in crisis... but we don't have to be. We all know resilient people who bounce back from hardship and create their best lives. That's the promise of change. Other people stress out and melt down, losing hope and health. That's the danger in times of change. The good news is that resilience isn't a genetic gift for the lucky few-it's an easily understood skill that anyone can practice and master. Resilient individuals face reality head-on, take action, find deeper meaning in life, laugh often, and are masters of improvisation. A new kind of natural selection is already having its way with us. As change and uncertainty escalate, those who are prone to stress will be less able to compete, but hopeful, stress-hardy people will rule the world.

More Information