Leverage Your Time Spent Waiting

Will there actually be a time when we can say it has passed us?

That it’s OVER?

Who do we want to be post-covid?

In the video below Glenda and I take a candid look at 'waiting' and how we up-level lock-downs to figure out how we want to show up in our lives.

Let's face it, along with all the uncertainty, we have been doing a lot of waiting.

Waiting in lines, waiting for updates, waiting to go back to work, to hug a friend, and the list goes on.

Wouldn't it be great if we could leverage our time spent waiting?

Not to leverage it up with crazing amounts of things to do but INSTEAD the opposite, leverage it up when we do NOTHING--just waiting.

Time is very precious to us all and we often are looking for something to do while we're waiting-check emails, send a text, make an appointment, write another list.

We just don't want to waste it.

Why not try a short mindful 'Waiting' Meditation?

It's a great way to train your focus muscle. You meditate on the go, while waiting!

Let's activate clarity, expand our creativity, and open ourselves up to more compassion and peace.

Weave a few moments of stillness into your day without feeling guilty about your to-do list.

Watch the video below to learn how to power up your time spent waiting.

An Easy Self-Love Meditation for NON-Meditators

Interrupt the voice in your head with this simple self-love meditation.

It's not selfish to appreciate and love yourself-we're all doing the best we can and continue to grow. I believe that meditation should be fun and accessible, so I invite you to take a couple of minutes to try this one out and see how it feels.

This meditation is from the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk and peace activist.

Breathe in the words, "Hello, I'm Home". Think of it like saying "Hey body, I'm here with you."

Going into the body brings us to the present moment where we can feel safe and grounded. When we connect to our bodies with these words, we activate gratitude and loving kindness toward ourselves.

How to Make Stillness and Deep Breathing a Habit

Have you ever said, or heard someone say, "Deep breathing doesn't work"?

This got me thinking about habits like say, brushing your teeth. If you only do it occasionally you could say that it doesn’t really work either.
 
Why is it so hard to develop a new habit?
 
There’s a lot of information about how to change a BAD habit but what about building a new one from scratch?
 
Let’s face it, we already know what’s good for us.
 
Try this:

Think about a new habit that you’ve been trying to add to your repertoire.
Got it?
Now see if the journey below sounds familiar.
 
We know how to do the thing.
We can even figure out when.
We sort of know why.
 
But still we don’t do it, at least not regularly.
 
Here come the excuses…
No time.
Too tired.
Forget.
Too hard.
Not urgent enough.
 
Then…
We feel guilty.
We feel defeated.
We’re okay without it.
We forget about it all together.
 
Until…
We realized we need it.
Something’s got to change.
 
AND WE START AGAIN!
 
YAY! WE START AGAIN!
 
This is so important that you need to say it out loud, tweet it, Instagram it or throw it up on Facebook, but share the message loud and proud:

“It’s okay to start again!”

Life’s a journey, you’re on your path, enjoy each day as it comes, try and try again…I know, you’ve heard it all before.
 
My all-time favourite way to fire up a new habit is to anchor it to something I’m already doing.
Let’s say you want to remember to practise your deep breathing. Maybe anchor it to when you get into bed, or just before you brush your teeth, or when you park car, or just before the first sip of your morning coffee?
 
Stress is going to wear you out!

Deep, diaphragmatic breathing triggers the parasympathetic nervous system which boosts the immune system, digestion, your pre-frontal cortex, where you have access to deep thinking, new ideas and more compassion. Click here for my infographic on the benefits.

Now back to the quote at the top of the page, “Deep breathing doesn’t work for me.”

 If we only try to breathe deeply during a crisis of anxiety or extreme stress, there’s a chance deep breathing won’t help. The calm deep breath we’re talking about here, is best used as a preventative tool.

We want to build up our emotional resilience and actually change our brain so that the challenges of our life don’t overwhelm us and set us up for stress, illness, worry and suffering.

The more you use this calming tool, the more you and your body will benefit!

Helping you smooth out your day!

Michele

Your Heart Energy is YOURS to Use

I like to use the calm, soft pink colour of the rose quartz crystal to remind myself to live from my heart. Carrying a small tumbled crystal helps me to OPEN my heart so I can FILTER my actions, decisions and words through it. 

When the heart is closed we tend to be more JUDGMENTAL, cruel, violent and arrogant, so, the BEST way to soften these qualities is to bring your awareness to your heart and, by doing so, you can tap in to the quality of love, which nourishes and feeds your life.

The biggest benefit or me has been that I'm WAY less impatient, which is a REALLY GOOD THING for myself, and those around me. Thankfully, there are other benefits too, so try this exercise.

Place one hand on your heart.
Close your eyes. Breathe slowly and gently. Relax your jaw and forehead.
Stay with it for at least 15 seconds. You may even feel your heartbeat. 
Think of some thing, some place or some one you love and let that feeling of love fill your heart.
Feel your heart soften and open. Keep breathing, gently.
Spread that good, loving feeling to every cell in your body. Take your time with this.
Then focus back on your heart and thank it for all that it does for you.
Gently open your eyes.

When to Use: You can tap in to this feeling whenever you need a re-boot back to your heart, especially when your thoughts start to generate negative emotions.   
Side Effects: Your heart energy will multiply and touch those around you. You will have easier access to the qualities love, gentleness, compassion, radiance, respect, joy and optimism.

Your heart energy is a simple resource, available exclusively to you, 24-7.

Enjoy the ride!