1min Reflective Radiance- 30 day Challenge Complete!

I wanted to acknowledge my readers in celebrating their most magnificent self today! I am celebrating my love of wisdom and wellness by expressing it through my blog.  Thank you for following my own 30 day challenge of waking up to wellness and ending your day with reflection.  Check in soon for future posts.   

Are you ready for change in your life? If you are interested in deepening your own personal growth, finding your life purpose and getting clear on your vision for the future, contact me for a complimentary life changing coaching session.  

Nameste. 

The Lotus Life

Day 30: 1min Wake Up Wellness- In Celebration

We got to Day 30, Yay! What are YOU celebrating? What have you learned about yourself in the last 30 days? What are you most PROUD of?

Hold a little celebration for yourself. Celebrate taking the time to learn and grow towards your most magnificent self!  

Who is the person YOU are becoming?

1min Reflective Radiance- Your Uniqueness

What did you discover about whats unique about YOU ?  How hard was this exercise for you?  Were you able to come up with 3 unique qualities?

Ask your partner, friends, family what they think is unique about you.  Acknowledge them by thanking them for their answer and then tell them what is unique about them.

Practice this for the next week.  Journal about how special and magnificent you are and what sets you apart and makes you unique...

Day 29: 1min Wake Up Wellness- Your Unique Traits

Write down this morning 3 things today that are unique about you.  What really makes you different and stands out about you?  Next to your unique trait write about what you love about yourself.  How are you leveraging your unique qualities in your work, relationship, or in this world?  

If you are having trouble with this exercise, know that we are all unique from one another.  Connect with yourself and ask yourself, what have I done differently then others in the past? Look back into your past and see whats there.

1min Reflective Radiance- Revealing your Core Values

What did you discover about your top 3 values today?  How much are you honoring each one?

Notice what values are being stepped on in your life today. What needs to shift in your life in order to start fulfilling your values?  Commit to 1 thing right now you can start doing to live by your values!

Day 28: 1min Wake Up Wellness- Your Values

Values represent who you are right now.  They are principles that hold worth in your life. Values are not chosen and shouldn't be confused with morals. They are intrinsic and distinctly yours as a unique human being.

Think of your top 3 values today.  Write them down and ask yourself how how much you are honoring that value from a scale of 1-10 (highest).  Here are some examples of values: humor, accomplishment, relationships, community, honesty, fun, personal growth, being in nature, etc.

How well are you honoring your values?

1min Reflective Radiance- Pausing

Did you practice Pausing today?  What did you notice about your body + breathing?  Incorporate a pause (when needed) in your everyday life.  Use this time to check in with yourself and whats happening inside of you.  Connect back to your breath to create a steady, flowing energy...

Day 27: 1min Wake Up Wellness- Learning to Pause

If you find yourself frustrated or your breathing is unsteady today take a Pause.

Connect back to yourself.  Close your eyes and bring your attention back to your body, limb by limb, feet on the floor, weight of the body on your chair. Release any tension in your stomach muscles or anywhere else in the body.  Be aware of your breath.  Rest even deeper into this stillness by inhaling deeply and then exhaling, letting any tension out.  If any agitated thoughts begin to arise, bring the body back to this Pause.

This is a great exercise to do during the day, especially at work.  You can even send yourself a little outlook reminder to take a Pause and check in with yourself.

1min Reflective Radiance- Consciousness

What is it to really know yourself and your purpose?  Reflect on what this question means to you and answer it in your own time... 

Then inquire to yourself, What perspective would I have on this world?

Day 26: 1min Wake Up Wellness: Consciousness

Consciousness can be defined as the relationship between the mind and the world in which it interacts. It can also be called awareness or wakefulness.  Consciousness and its power of seeing are one and the same, it has the ability to know itself and know everything that is to be known.

Consciousness is pure and is not subject to distortion, however it becomes compromised in everyday life. We are not the body, not the senses, not the mind and not the ego, but rarely experience ourselves as different from these. We are able to perceive only through our body and senses.  We are able to think only through our mind and to identify only through our ego.

Pure Consciousness experiences things the way they are presented to it by the body, senses, mind and ego.  It is detached from any dependencies.

- Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

Day 25: Your Sunday Inquiry- Your weekend

How fulfilling was your weekend?  What values where you able to honor? Which values were you not?

Think of 1 thing you are celebrating from the weekend...something you are most proud of and have a little celebration to honor yourself tonight!

Days 22-24- A Loving Meditation for Forgiveness

The Dalai Lama once said that anything that is not love is fear.

Seeing the primary emotion as fear instead of anger or hatred may help you offer forgiveness a little easier.

Practice the following meditation, repeating over and over for several minutes twice a day.

May I be filled with loving-kindness;
May I be peaceful;
May I be healthy;
May I be happy.

Start to substitute "I" with someone you would like to forgive. - from a excerpt by Linda Sparrowe

Notice what starts to shift for you after your practice.

On a side note, If you are in or near Washington DC for the next few days the Dalai Lama is visiting.  For more information go to http://kalachakra2011.com/index.html

* I will be out of town for the next few days, returning with your Sunday inquiry.  Be well, the lotus life

1min Reflective Radiance- Letting Go

What is the best way to let go of something you are holding onto?

Observe your breathing when someone or something has hurt or angered you, or your mind is focused on negative energy. Notice the tension that arises and what form it takes in your body. Become aware of how the tension has impacted your muscles in your neck, shoulders, lower back, or maybe caused anxiety or burning in your chest.

Practice just noticing your breath...when we do this we can notice where we are holding our pain. Find a way that works best for you to release tension and any discomfort you are feeling in your body.

One way I let go of tension is by writing. Write your thoughts in a journal and let your subconscious mind take control of the pen. Write anything that comes to mind, without rationalizing it.  After you are entirely finished, choose what you would like to do with your writing.

Day 21: 1min Wake Up Wellness- The Connection between Letting Go & Physical Pain

50% of all people who have a heart attack can describe at lease one emotional trigger that may have led to their illness, according to Dr. Alex Lickerman, MD, former director of primary care at the University of Chicago hospital.



When someone has hurt or angered you, your sympathetic nervous system springs into action to protect you, unloading stress chemicals to prepare you either to fight or flight.  Unfortunately, the sympathetic nervous system has no way of knowing whether the perceived threat comes from an immediate danger or from something that has happened 20 years ago (the subconscious has no concept of time). Every time you relieve a painful memory, your automatic nervous system rises up to fight the oppressor until it final exhausts itself and gives up.   

Repressing the hurt or anger only makes things worse.  When you vow not to think about your pain, you may be "letting go" of it mentally, but it reality you are pushing it deeper into your body and heart.  This causes physical tension which becomes very habitual and we don't even notice how much we are holding our breath, locking our knees, clamping our jaws, which eventually shows up as physical pain.
- an excerpt from a writing by Linda Sparrowe

The mind + body connection is an area of focus in my practice and I believe it is one of the most important connections to begin to understand physical pain.  Read this over a couple times today and let is sink in.  Notice what comes up for you...

1min Reflective Radiance- Absolutes

Roughly how many times did you use absolutes (words like every, everyone, everything, all, always, never, no one, nothing) in conversation today?  What did you notice when you used them? What became true for you?

Start counting how many times you use absolutes in your conversations.  Notice when they are appropriate in your conversation or if another word is better suited.

Day 20: 1min Wake Up Wellness- Using Absolutes

We often use absolutes in conversations: every, everyone, everything, all, always, never, no one, nothing.  These absolutes are rarely justified. For example, "no one likes your work" or "everyone is dissatisfied with it." In these statements no one or everyone means most people.

Become more aware when you use absolutes in conversations.  Ask yourself, is this statement really true?  For example, is it true that no one likes your work or everyone is dissatisfied with it?  How do you know that is true?

Start replacing your absolutes with "I."  For example, I don't like your work or I am dissatisfied with it. Notice what is true.  Practice this in conversations today.

1min Reflective Radiance- Independence

Upon reflection today, how did you declare your independence?  What did you choose to say YES and NO to?  Where in your life do you want more freedom to think and act for yourself, free of judgement and attachment?  For example, is it needed from your relationship? family and friends? your financials? your own expectations or standards that you set for yourself?  


From a worldly perspective, where do you think freedom + independence is needed most in this world?  

Day 19: 1 min Wake Up Wellness- Celebrating Your Independence

 

Happy July 4th everyone!  This post is in celebration of Independence Day in the United States.  On July 4, 1776 the United States adopted the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. 

If you were to write your own Declaration of Independence today what would it say? Spend 10 minutes today writing this down.  How do you define Independence?  From a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest) how much are you honoring your freedom in your life? What is 1 thing you will start to say YES to in your life?  What is 1 thing you will now say NO to?  How will these honor your independence?

Day 18: Your Sunday Inquiry- Your Worth

How do you measure your worthiness in this world?  
For example, do you derive your self-worth from what other people think of you or what you think of yourself?

1min Reflective Radiance- Spontaneity

Upon reflection, were you able to discover how spontaneous you are? From a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest) what would you rate your spontaneity?  What number would you like it to be?  


What did you do to surprise yourself and/or another person today? If you haven't had a chance take tonight as a perfect opportunity! 


                                  

Day 17: 1min Wake Up Wellness- Spontaneity

Spontaneity arises from a momentary impulse.  It is not contrived or planned in any fashion.  It is acting from a natural tendency. The beauty of being spontaneous doesn't allow for too much thought.  You are acting on the spirit of the present moment.  It allows you to be creative and unpredictable.

What is one thing you will do today to act spontaneous?  Find a way to surprise yourself or another person today.  I would love to hear your surprises today by posting them to this blog :)

This post is dedicated to my close friends for giving me the energy to be spontaneous last night. My husband and I had planned to drive to the beach this morning, but the place we are staying came available last night.  After my friends suggested leaving last night, it was my initial reaction to stick to the plans.  After asking myself what was at risk if we went? The answer for me was there nothing at risk, only that I would be honoring the spontaneous part of me.  I love that I can learn this quality from my spontaneous friends and create a space for it in my life. ♥

1min Reflective Radiance- Vulnerability

What was true for you after watching this podcast? What have you been numbing or avoiding in fear of being vulnerable? What would it be like to embrace and accept vulnerability wholeheartedly?  What can you now let go of?  

Day 16: 1min Wake Up Wellness: Vulnerability

The best way for me to share with you my thoughts on vulnerability is by watching this TED talk.  Brene Brown does a great job by talking about our ability as humans to empathize, belong and love ♥

It's a bit longer than our usual 1 min but really worth watching :)

1min Reflective Radiance- Reminder of Your Life Purpose

Think of a metaphor or symbol that describes who you are when you are on your life path or living your purpose. Make it short and simple, something that you can remember.  Remind yourself of this metaphor or symbol everyday. Put it next to your bed, at your desk at work, or maybe wear it if possible.

My life purpose statement is personal to me but it has to do with laughter.  I have a little laughing buddha next to my bed which is my daily reminder...it also makes me laugh everytime I look at it!  


♥ Cheeky Buddha :)

Day 15: 1 min Wakeup Wellness- Discover your Life Purpose

                                             

Do you know when you are on your life path and when your not?  What is it like to be on it?  What do you feel when your not on your path?  Discovering your life purpose is more then your work/career or personal goals that you are achieving.  Look at it as finding the impact are you having in your world. We all have have a purpose but it is not something you learn or aspire to be but something that is already inside of you.  This is a beautiful and powerful process of self discovery and invite you to find your path today.

As a coach, I help you express your life purpose and discover your unique impact in your world. 

1min Reflective Radiance- Blurting your Intuition

Were you able to hear or feel your intuition today?  What was it like?  Where did you look for it? Sometimes trying to see, explain or understand it is difficult. Intuition is never wrong, however our interpretation of it can be incorrect.  For example, is it intuition or fear?  

Practice blurting your intuition without attachment of being right.  Make it spontaneous by beginning to talk before you know what you are going to say. Practice the suggested exercises from this morning and notice if it becomes easier to access. 

The beauty of being a coach is that I get to practice using my intuition with my clients.  It is almost like an unspoken energy that I feel usually within my stomach or chest. Coaching has taught be to express it instead of suppress it as many of us were taught at a early age.  How will you start to express yours?

1min Wake Up Wellness Day 14- Trusting your Intuition

Intuition can be described as thoughts that come into our mind quickly without much reflection or beliefs that cannot be justified. As Carl Jung described it, "it is perception of the unconscious to bring forth ideas, images, possibilities, ways out of a blocked situation, by a process that is mostly unconscious."  This is fascinating isn't it?


Your Intuition is a very powerful tool.  Have you heard this inner voice, or felt this feeling in your body?  Have you missed the opportunity for something you really wanted to say or do? Practice accessing and trusting this inner knowing.  Here are a couple tips for practicing:

Keep a diary of intuitive impressions, whether they come through dreams, thoughts, sensations, or instantaneous insights.  You can learn your intuition's ways of communicating with you and check it's accuracy. If you are unsure how to start or have trouble accessing your intuition, begin each entry with gratitude for what you have learned that day regardless of how the learning arrived.

Nature often has a calming and centering effect, which helps your access to intuition. For example: Ask a question about an issue you are facing. (For example, what is missing from my life?) Focus on your question and then let it go. Take a walk in nature, fully embracing the present moment. Pick up an object from your surroundings-a stone, a stick, a leaf, whatever is lying there. Paying close attention to your object, ask your intuition, "What insights can nature give me about my question?"

1min Reflective Radiance- Embracing Stillness

 

What was it like to be still today?  How was or wasn't this in sync with your energy?  

Spend 10 min a day clearing out the noise in your mind to make space for your own brilliance and focused energy.  What now becomes possible when creating this space?

I spent sometime today clearing out the thoughts in my head and noticed that there was alot of noise going on, like drums beating. Once I was able to clear the thoughts out and embrace the stillness, I felt a sense of relief.  I could better focus my energy on the thoughts worth listening to that were there to serve my true authentic self. 

1min Wake Up Wellness Day 13- Coming to Stillness

Why stillness? As long as we are living, something is in motion...

The body moves in order to sustain and regenerate, as does the mind.  But so much of our activity, both physical and mental is unnecessary and causes stress.  Free yourself from the surface agitation in order to find your quieter and more peaceful place in life.  The surface agitation is all of the inner noise that makes up scattered energy, which is unfocused and unmeasured. Out of stillness arises the possibility that your energy is bright, intelligent, and focused.

The sense of your own stillness is also a sense of your own energy.  Find a way to connect with your stillness today and notice what your energy feels like.

1min Reflective Radiance- Play to Win!

Have you been playing to win or playing not to lose?  Shift from the reacting structure of playing not to lose to a creative place of playing to win. Work on getting a clear understanding of what really matters to you and confront the belief or assumption that is resulting in your anxiety.

* Having a coach will support you from moving out of the reactive and into a creative way of living and honoring your life.

Day 13: 1min Wake Up Wellness- Play to win or Play not to lose?

Think about a time in your life when you went after something and didn't get it.  What happened, how did you act?  Were you playing to win or playing not to lose?

Playing not to lose:  Reacting in a way to reduce conflict, i.e. solving the problem, or a quick fix to make things go away.  The driving energy here is inner anxiety or conflict. Underlying belief: I am powerless, I can't create the life I want.

Play to win: Creating from a place of what matters most, from a vision that has been created.  The driving energy here is desire/passion, and what matters the most.  Core belief: I am powerful, I can create the life I want.

What do you notice about the beliefs or assumptions in each instance?  What do YOU experience when you go after something you want?

Day 12: Your Sunday Inquiry- Experiencing the Present Moment

Experience the present moment today.  Notice if your mind is jumping to the future or living in the past.  Shift your energy to the present by honoring the moment you are in.  We cannot fully live in the present if we are giving attention to our thoughts...

1min Reflective Radiance- Irritated with Yourself?

What did you notice about your irritation for others?  Were you able to turn it around and look from within?  What are you learning about yourself?  


Practice reframing your feeling next time you feel irritated with others.  Ask yourself what is really bothering me? Once you can look within, you will gain a deeper understanding of yourself.

1min Wake Up Wellness Day 11- Irritated with others or oneself?

"Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves." - Carl Jung


How is this statement true for you? Notice when you are irritated today...turn the feeling around and look within.  What is making you irritated?  How can you reframe the irritation you are feeling for others and turn it towards yourself? 


  

1min Reflective Radiance- Free of Guilt?

Upon reflection today have you been feeling guilty about something?  By gaining a new awareness of appropriate and inappropriate guilt...what has shifted for you?  

What can you now be free of?

1min Wake Up Wellness Day 10- Redefining Guilt

In today's society guilt is everywhere and anywhere, especially in our subconscious. It can be defined as a person experiencing conflict at having done something that they believe they should have done. People feel guilt for violating their moral standards and then hold onto the responsibility for the violation. This can result in anxiety, depression and physical and emotional pain.

Let's redefine guilt as something you experience if you intentionally do harm to someone or something. This is appropriate guilt. Saying YES and NO when you want to is your business and your choice.  Ask yourself, am I intentionally doing harm here?

Where in your life do you feel inappropriate guilt?  Redefine it and let it go as it's probably not appropriate.

1min Reflective Radiance- What did your Future Self say?

Describe in your own words what your future self looked like...What was the message from them?  What did you do today to remind yourself of this message?

By going into your own future, you can find your evolved self, the one that no longer cares about the judgments and opinions of others, the one that was there when you were born and for various reasons got buried in the process of adapting and accommodating to society.


How can you bring your future being into YOUR life today?

Going the extra mile:  Paint (literally or visually) a picture of your future self, being as creative as possible.  Put the picture next to your bed or maybe on your desk, a place where you can see it everyday to remind yourself of whats really important.

1min Wake Up wellness: Day 9- A Message from the Future

Take a moment to see yourself in 20 years time.  What do you look like?  What are you doing?  If 10 years is easier, do 10 years.  Close your eyes and really see yourself.  What do you notice about yourself? What is important to you then?  Pretend you had to wear a message on you, what would your message be?

Take today to really embody your future self.  Maybe sit like them at work, stand in that posture, speak like they would speak, and go at their pace.  If you see yourself moving away from your future self today, move back in that direction.  

Write a message to yourself today from your future self...what do they want to tell you?  Write it on a post it note, on your calendar or put it on your phone to remind yourself daily of that message.

1min Reflective Radiance- Your saboteur

How well did you do today sending your saboteur on a HIKE?  What did it feel like to NAME it and acknowledge it?  What values are you now able to honor?

Notice when your saboteur is present?  What will you NOW do with it going forward?

If you couldn't really hear it or see it today, spend 10 minutes this evening personifying it on a sheet of paper.  Be as creative as you can!

1min Wake Up Wellness: Day 8- Your Saboteur

As coaches, we work a lot with our saboteurs in coaching. A saboteur can be thought of a group of thoughts processes and feelings that maintains the status quo (keeping things the way they currently are) in our lives. I'm sure you have heard a voice saying, for example "I shouldn't ask for what I want because I'm not good at or it will jeopardize my job." 

Often, it wants to protect us, but in fact it keeps us moving forward and getting us what we truly want.  The saboteur is neither good nor bad, it just is.  The saboteur loses its voice and power over us when we can identify what it is and consciously choose what we want to do with it.

Identify one of your saboteurs today.  Give it a name.  What does it look like?  How much voice does it have?  Acknowledge it's presence and then send it on a vacation.  Tell it "I know you have been working hard all week and could use a vacation, I'm sending you on a hike for the rest of the day."  Ask yourself, how is this saboteur honoring your BEST self?

I have a saboteur called public speaking.  It tells me "if you get up to present to the team, you will fail."  It use to have a tight grip on me, but after recognizing, naming and visualizing it, I am able to choose what I want to do with it.  Nowadays, the voice isn't very loud. 

1min Reflective Radiance- Your Inner Teacher

How well did you do today tapping into YOUR inner guru?  What did she/he say?  If you had to name this voice, what what you call it?

How much voice will you now give it everyday? Honor yourself daily by connecting to it.

1min Wake Up Wellness: Day 7- Your Inner Teacher

We all have an inner "guru" or teacher inside of us- our higher consciousness, which is said in eastern philosophy to reside in our third eye, the subtle energy center located between your eyebrows.  When you need a new perspective today, tap into your inner teacher, listen to what it is telling you.

Exercise:  Sit comfortably, close your eyes, and bring your middle and index fingers to the space just above and between your eyebrows.  Connect with your inner guru...what is it telling you?  How powerful is the voice?

1min Reflective Radiance- how attached are YOU?

Were you able to observe your thoughts today? Did they stay for long or did they pass quickly? What did you notice about your attachment to them? 


Exercise tonight before bed:
Notice your thoughts like they are clouds passing in the sky.  Watch each one go by one after another.  If one stays for awhile, just tell it to float along with the others...watch it drift away in the night sky.

1min Wake Up Wellness: Day 6- Attaching to Your Thoughts...

A thought is harmless unless we believe it.  It is not our thoughts, but the attachment to our thoughts that causes suffering.  Attaching to a thought means believing that it's true, without inquiring. A belief is a thought that we've been attaching to, often for years. - Katie Bryon


Become aware of your thoughts like they are clouds passing in the sky.  Watch each one go by one after another. What do you notice?  Do they hang around or pass in the sky?  


Become the observer of your thoughts...

Day 5: YOUR SUNDAY INQUIRY...

What is the world trying to experience through YOU?


or 


What is YOUR unique gift that you are giving to this world?

1min Reflective Radiance- Your YES and NO's

What were your 3 things that you committed to say YES to this weekend?  What were the 3 NO's?

How well are you doing to sticking to your commitment? What are you honoring and letting go of?

What awareness do you now have about choosing to say YES or NO?

Day 4: 1min wellness wakeup- Learning to say YES or NO

When you are at a place of choice you can either say YES or NO.  What are 3 things you want to say YES to this weekend?  What are 3 things you want to say NO to this weekend.  Write these down and keep them with you during the day.

What are you honoring about yourself when saying either YES and NO?

What are you letting go of this weekend?

1min Reflective Radiance- Coulda Woulda Shoulda

How did YOU do today turning your SHOULD to COULD?

What did it feel like to come from a place of choice?  What were you able to say YES or NO to?

Practice going from should's to could's for the next 30 days.  Notice what impact this has on your mind + body...

I have chosen not to go to the grocery store after work today. It was a should of mine this morning but after turning it to a could, I was able to make a choice that felt right for me.

Day 3: 1min Wake Up Wellness- Coulda Woulda Shoulda

TURNING YOUR SHOULDS TO COULDS


Should is used to give advice and make recommendations and to talk about obligation, duty and what is expected to happen


Could can be used to ask for permission or to make a request 


Should is more limiting.  When you say to yourself, "I should go to the gym or I should lose 10 pounds," it applies an obligation and limits what is possible. Shoulds can make your subconscious rage when you end up doing something you don't want to out of obligation or duty.


Could opens more possibilities for choice. "I could go to the gym or I could lose 10 pounds."  When you are in a place of choice if gives you the option to consciously choose YES or NO.


How can you turn your SHOULDS INTO COULDS?  Notice today when you use the word should or something similar like need to, or have to.  Turn  it into a COULD, want to or love to, and consciously chose YES or NO.


I feel like I should go to the grocery store after work.  If I turn it into a could there is more possibility.  I could go to the grocery store after work... now I can commit to a yes or no.  

1MIN Reflective Radiance: WHO's BUSINESS WERE YOU IN?

How present were YOU today in staying in your own business?

When did you notice that you were in someone else's business?  What did you do to bring yourself back to your own wonderful self?  How can practicing this exercise free your life?

1MIN Wake Up Wellness: Day 2- WHO's BUSINESS ARE YOU IN?

Staying in your own business

"I can find only three kind of business in the universe: mine, yours and God's (for me, the word God means reality. Reality is God, because it rules.  Anything that's out of my control , your control, and everyone's else's control- I call that God's business.

Much of our stress comes from mentally living out of our own business. When I think "You need to get a job, I want you to be happy, you should be on time, you need to take better care of yourself" I am in your business.  When I am worried about earthquakes, floods, war, or when I will die, I am in in God's business.  

If you are living your life and I am mentally living your life, WHO IS LIVING MY LIFE?  Being mentally in your business keeps me from being present in my own. To think that I know what's best for anyone else is to be out of my business.  Even in the name of love, it is pure arrogance, and the result is tension, anxiety and fear.  

Do I know what's right for myself?  That is my only business. 

An important quote from Bryon Katie

Practice: If you feel any stress, discomfort today ask yourself whose business are you in mentally?

1min end your day Reflective Radiance- YOUR DAILY HABITS

Before you leave work today....


What did you notice today about your attachment to your habit?  Who would you be more of if you let go of this habit?  What is 1 thing you can do that will serve you better?  Embrace this for the next 30 days...


I noticed today that I am much more attached to my habit of checking facebook then I thought.  Staying connected on facebook is really important to me but does not always serve me throughout my day.  I could be much more productive if I detached myself from using it so much.  1 thing I will do is be more aware of my habit and how it serves or doesn't serve my best self.

1MIN Wake Up Wellness: Day 1- YOUR DAILY HABITS

                 

What is one thing that has become a daily habit of yours?


How important is this habit of yours?  Rate if from a scale of 1-10 (highest).


What is your want or need driving the habit?


If I don't have (want/need), what happens?


During the day, notice how attached you are to this habit, what impact is it having?


A daily habit of mine is checking facebook. From a scale of 1-10 it is a 7.  My need for this is to feel connected.  If I don't have connection, I feel isolated.   

YOUR DAILY 2 MIN PRACTICE

STARTING TOMORROW 
1 min of wake up wellness to start your day
1 min of reflective radiance to end your day


NOURISH YOUR MIND, BODY + SOUL & tap into YOUR ENERGY

Hypnotherapy- becoming a standard treatment

The BBC recently released a video on hypnothearpy and how it should offer it as a standard medical treatment.  "The hypnosis and psychosomatic medicine section of the Royal Society of Medicine says the technique can be used to relieve pain and treat stress related conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome."


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13664587


4 years ago after seeing a hypnothearpist for insomnia it encouraged me to train and certify as one.  I was able to completely overcome my insomnia through hypnotherapy and meditation.  Nowadays I incorporate it into my coaching practice and my clients experience its positive benefits.  I am a true supporter of standardizing it in the medical world and can personally validate its benefits.


Also check out this article, also by the BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8572818.stm

Yoga & Your Breathing- a new perspective

I have practiced yoga on and off for the last 12 years. It wasn't until recently that I have gained a new perspective on the practice.
Some of the positions can be quite difficult and challenging.  I noticed that it was hard for me to maintain my breathing and balance when attempting to stay longer in a position.  This lead to unsteady balance and a lot of loud breathing.  I would then become frustrated with myself and feel defeated.  

I recently got back into the practice and started with yoga level 1.  I started to observe my behaviors in yoga class and noticed a connection to my everyday life.  Was it true when work, relationships, health, etc became hard and challenging in my life that my breath became unsteady and I became frustrated and stressed? 

Recently, something has shifted for me in yoga class.  I can really listen to my breath and how I react by breathing through the uncomfortable positions.  Practicing and maintaining a constant flowing breath in yoga class has given me a greater awareness of how this is needed in my own life when times are difficult.  

To me yoga is not about doing the positions correctly or staying in a position for an extended period of time but really about listening and knowing your breath when doing it.

Become the observer of your breath in your next yoga class...

Everyday Philosophy- The Exercise

Recently I have been thinking about things that have contributed to help me find the real meaning in my life, and this is one of them. When I was living in London I attended a Philosophy school in Marylebone.  Every class we would practice "The Exercise" below.  It allowed the students to step in the space of being present and alive.  The Exercise has greatly changed my life, and massively improved my sleep habits...really use ALL of your senses when practicing.  I would suggest you have someone read it to you or print out a copy to read yourself.  

The following exercise is both ancient and modern.  It is both time honored and of the moment.  It is very simple and requires no special training. Practice everyday for 30 days.

Find a comfortable chair.

First let the mind be free of any concern or preoccupation.

Allow the body to be upright yet relaxed. 

Let go of tension.

Be aware of where you are now...

Feel the body...

Feel the weight of the body on the chair...

Feel the gentle pressure of the clothes on the skin...

And the play of air on the face and hands...

See color and form...

Be fully here...

And let listening be wide. Accept all sounds...those close at hand...

and then those further and further away...

Let all the sounds be held in the silent listening, 

and rest in that awareness for a minute or two.

Excerpt from Philosophy Works

Check out these yoga sites!

http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20110119-the-worlds-best-yoga-spots

Pefectionism

According to wikipedia perfectionism is defined as the following:
Perfectionism, in psychology, is a belief that perfection can and should be attained. In its pathological form, perfectionism is a belief that work or output that is anything less than perfect is unacceptable. At such levels, this is considered an unhealthy belief, and psychologists typically refer to such individuals as maladaptive perfectionists.


Hamachek describes two types of perfectionism. Normal perfectionists "derive a very real sense of pleasure from the labours of a painstaking effort" while neurotic perfectionists are "unable to feel satisfaction because in their own eyes they never seem to do things [well] enough to warrant that feeling of satisfaction". Burns defines perfectionists as "people who strain compulsively and unremittingly toward impossible goals and who measure their own worth entirely in terms of productivity and accomplishment".

After watching the movie Black Swan this weekend, it has inspired me to write about perfectionism. The Queen Swan played by Natalie Portman (who was brillant in this film), demonstrates characteristics of perfectionism throughout the film. Natalie Portman plays the neurotic perfectionist who never feels like she is good enough when training for the role of the Queen Swan.

My husband Mike who takes Improv courses wanted me to be mindful of the characters in the movie. He is reading a book called the Eight Characters of Comedy. One of the characters is THE NEUROTIC. According to this book the NEUROTIC get frustrated when nobody understands them, they tell you what they're thinking as they're thinking it. They always expect things to turn out a certain way and they get upset when they don't. They have a "rule book" that they just assume everyone will follow, a set of rules that helps them make sense of things. they talk and talk and talk some more.

Questions to think about:

What is arising in your mind when you read this?

What expectations do you set for yourself?

What does being perfect mean to you?

What does letting go look like to you?

Exercise

Start to observe how you feel when you are achieving certain goals, or perfecting tasks in your life. Does pain arise in your body? Are you breathing more heavily?

Keep of a journal of these and start to observe the way you feel when performing these tasks.

The Lotus Life

Creating this blog will allow me to tap into my creative resources.  I will be blogging about my journey as a life coach amongst many other things for the next few months...I encourage you to follow + please feel free to comment at any time.

I too have a life coach and one of my goals for the week was to create a blog.  I am rubbish at writing so this will be very informal.

P.S. Check out my new website: www.lotuslifecoach.com