Relaxation Moments

Relaxation for The Mind and Body

Morning Rituals: Setting the Stage for a Serene Day

//  by //  Leave a Comment

Rituals can change the way we view the day and can improve our well-being and quality of life. Having a set routine helps us develop good habits and reach our goals and aspirations, while rituals improve our mood and shape our beliefs. They allow us to keep ourselves accountable and stay motivated on the days we do not want to get out of bed.

Morning rituals are the best way to set our days up for success and stay in control of the day, regardless of outside factors. The way that you wake up each morning will dramatically increase your quality of life and balance your stress levels, allowing you to feel calm and at peace throughout the rest of the day.

What is a Morning Ritual?

Both routines and rituals are crucial to a positive state of mind and maintaining mental stability. However, it is important to know that they are not the same thing but that they complement one another. A morning ritual takes on a task that may be part of one’s routine and puts meaning and intention behind it.

Rituals are habits that an individual develops to nurture and build a strong mindset. They allow us to appreciate the benefits that our routines provide to us for our daily lives and provide value beyond completing a task.

Rituals are self-empowering and allow us to change our perspective on reality. They allow us to reinforce habits with reasoning behind them that can be very effective on improving our mental health and emotions.

Examples of Morning Rituals

Gratitude

Gratitude reinforces happiness and can set the tone for a positive outlook on the day. It allows you to appreciate the little moments that occur throughout the day and finding ways to be grateful for whatever the day presents.

One way to practice gratitude is through journaling. By making a list each morning of the things you are most grateful for, you will train your mind to look for moments of appreciation throughout the rest of the day. Starting your day off with a grateful mind is the best way to stay positive and full of joy each and every day.

Goals and Aspirations

Writing down your goals and how you will achieve them is the best way to stay motivated and keep yourself accountable. It is easy to say a goal out loud but writing it down and staying attuned to it each morning will make you more likely to achieve it and stick to it.

Along with your gratitude journal, writing down the ways you will try to achieve your goals and make progress each morning will get you closer and closer to your goals. Goals that you think about each and every morning will keep you dedicated and committed no matter what obstacles arise.

Meditation

Meditation is a great practice to keep your mind healthy and productive throughout the day. By clearing your mind for a short period of time each morning, you will notice the positive impacts that meditating has on many different components of your life.

Research has shown that meditation has direct links with happiness, reduced anxiety and depression, balanced emotions, and alertness. When you acknowledge and sit with your emotions, you will notice that they no longer follow you throughout the day and prevent you from completing your daily tasks.

Meditation has tons of benefits that will improve your perspective on reality and your calmness throughout the day. Meditating will also help you realize gratitude and focus on your aspirations while staying as productive and dedicated as possible.

5 Ways to Find Inner Peace And Calm in Times of Chaos

//  by //  Leave a Comment

When the news is filled with negative emotion and our surroundings are chaotic, it can seem overwhelming and stressful to be trapped in the house, full of uncertainty. However, it is important to realize that peace and tranquility come from within and can be found even in the most challenging times. Making an effort to find this inner peace is one of the most important things you can do during these times, and below are five different ways to do so.

Meditation & Yoga

Meditation is great way to calm the mind and focus on your breathing in order to stay present in the moment. Yoga and meditation practices allow you to feel balanced from within and allows you to reflect on outside surroundings rather than consuming them.

Starting with a guided meditation or a yoga class on YouTube is a great way to start practicing without spending money. They will teach you breathing techniques that can help you calm down when you find yourself stressing out and you will notice that you are not as anxious and overwhelmed.

Routine

Developing a routine, even when stuck at home, is a crucial way to find structure in your life when there are challenges put in front of you. Waking up at the same time, making time to workout each morning, and reading before bed are a few examples of tasks you can incorporate into your daily routine to keep you feeling calm.

Nature

Even though we do not have the ability to go shopping or be in public to get out of the house, we can always take our dogs for a walk or go on a hike in nature to relax and get rid of the feeling of being trapped in the house. Nature is a great stress reliever that will help you feel gratitude and inner peace throughout these tough times.

Taking a 30 minute walk each day is a great way to stay active and get a breath of fresh air to reduce your stress and anxiety levels. When you are constantly surrounding by technology filled with news that may seem concerning your stress is likely to rise, and you will feel worried. When you step away and let go of this attachment, you will instantly feel calmer.

Watch Your News Intake

When chaos is going on around the world and there is stress in the air, the news is the main source that people base their opinions off of and process information from. However, the news is very quickly to only announce negative news and alarming stories, which can make the brain feel overwhelmed, anxious, and stressed.

It is important to stay up to date with current events, but it is also important to not let it consume you. Many of these things are out of your control and after you take the precautionary measures that you can, it is important to step away from the news in order to relax the mind.

Read

Reading a book is great way to clear your mind and distract yourself from your surroundings when they seem overwhelming or negative. It is a great way to restore your emotions and reduce stress without staring at a screen or scrolling through social media.

When you read a book, you are improving your brain function, and this has proven to improve mental wellbeing. Whether it be an educational book, self-help book, or fiction, you will find that you are able to learn a lot and grow both professionally and personally in an enjoyable way.

What Is Inner Peace and Serenity?

//  by //  Leave a Comment

We all talk about finding inner peace and serenity, but few actually understand how they can apply these practices to themselves. Buddhist philosophers like Gandhi have described inner peace as the most important aspect of life, and the only way to feel genuinely happy and successful.

Inner peace is described as a deliberate state of spiritual calmness without sufferings or mental disturbances. It is about finding a sense of calmness where the mind functions at its optimal point regardless of one’s surroundings. With enough strength and practice, one can find this sense of inner peace even when faced with stress and anxiety.

Serenity comes from the Latin word serenus, which means clear or unclouded. Serenity is a mental state in which an individual feels calm and untroubled while truly at peace with themselves. It allows an individual to stay true to themselves and not let their surroundings impact their state of mind. It can be extremely helpful through recovery and overcoming hardships when frequently practiced.

There are many ways to practice a feeling of inner peace and serenity, and eventually you will be able to experience it in a very natural way.

Feeling at peace with yourself and in a state of serenity throughout the day allows the mind to function in a very positive way and has tons of benefits on your overall quality of life.

There are many ways to find serenity and inner peace and many of these strategies have been practiced for hundreds of years.

Meditation is the best way to calm the wandering mind and feel truly relaxed and at peace. Meditation allows you to let go of the trauma and negative self-talk that follow you throughout the day by clearing the cloudy mind.

Meditation is simply having the ability to calm the mind and let go of all thoughts for a couple of minutes in order to become present with reality and observe and acknowledge your surroundings. It allows you to feel less overwhelmed when negative emotions arise and not let emotional disturbances impact your life.

Meditation allows you to be mentally strong and maintain a sense of inner peace and serenity throughout your day, regardless of the stressors that come about. When you sit with these emotions and thoughts and are able to observe them, you can make important realizations about yourself that allow you to understand who you truly are.

Practicing acceptance is another way to experience constant serenity throughout your daily life. By accepting the curveballs that life may throw at you, you will no longer let things bother you as much as you have in the past.

Accepting uncertainty and understanding that you cannot predict the future or change the past allows you to feel present in the moment and let go of the wandering thoughts. Finding a sense of acceptance for what is and what will be allows you to be more alert and focused on what is in front of you while feeling calm and unbothered.

Another way to maintain a sense of inner peace is to keep your environment organized and clean. When you look around your room and see a mess of clothes and other belongings, it can be very easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed. This stress you experience will likely be carried with you throughout the rest of your day and will make you not perform at your best.

By decreasing clutter and keeping your environment free of distraction, you will feel relaxed and feel a sense of serenity when you are home or at work. By changing the things in your environment that are in your control, you will feel more comfortable in your surroundings and will be able to focus within.

Why Sunday Should Be a Day of Rest

//  by //  Leave a Comment

Most people who work during the week, usually try to fill their responsibilities and chores on the weekend. You get extra workouts in, plan family time and weekend trips, do home improvement, take care of cleaning and chores, and many other things that you don’t get done during the weekday.

While it is good to take advantage of days where your work responsibilities are put on hold, trying to do too much 7 days a week is going to lead to a lot of stress. This is why it would be a good idea to use Sunday as the day of rest each week, and adjust your schedule accordingly.

Leave Your Work for the Work Week

If you have a habit of constantly worrying about work whether you are working or not, you are making the stress and overwhelm in your life a lot worse. This is often where burnout comes from, because you are basically working 24/7, whether you are in the office, talking to clients, answering emails, or just can’t stop thinking about work.

The best thing you can do is only focus on work while you are at work. Whether you work out of the home and leave work in the office, or you work from home and need a different workspace, make sure you have a way to distinguish between work and home.

If you happen to work from home, have a dedicated workspace. This makes it easier to switch your mindset from work to being at home. You know that if you aren’t in your office or at your desk, you should not be focused on your job.

Scheduling Too Much Over the Weekend

Another big mistake with not having proper days of rest is trying to schedule too much into your weekend. Weekends are great for doing chores, meeting up with friends, and running errands, but you should not be dedicated your entire weekend to this. If you do, by Monday morning, you are still exhausted and feel like you didn’t get any time to yourself.

You really need to find the right balance between getting stuff done, and have some free time to yourself. Schedule it in if you have to – make it an appointment you have with yourself to practice self-care and get proper rest.

Take a Rest from Everything on Sunday

The best way to find this balance is to have Saturday be your 6th day of work or personal responsibilities for the week, then leave Sunday open for yourself. Sunday should be your day of rest, which means not spending all day running errands, doing household chores, or working. It is normal to want to take advantage of the weekend to get things done, but when you schedule most of them for Saturday, you have more time on Sunday for you.

This doesn’t mean you have to lay around all day, but it is a day where you decide what you want to d with your time. This might be an outing with your family, going shopping, taking a midday nap, baking cookies, or doing crafts at home.

Your Mind and Body Need Rest!

Remember that both your mind and body need proper rest. Even if your idea of resting on Sunday is working on your couch, you are still working. Do not get into this habit! You should have at least one day or even half a day a week with no work, no chores, and no responsibilities. This is needed for proper self-care, stress relief, and just allowing your mind and body to unwind.

Here is an idea of some things you can do over the weekend or on Sunday in order to rest both your mind and body:

Write in a journal or planner. Journaling is a good way to get all those worries and thoughts out of your mind, so that your brain is clear for relaxing and not stressing so much.

Meditate. Meditation is going to relax your body and mind, and help you with your breathing practice.

Go for a walk or hike. Exercise doesn’t have to cause you stress or be something that is uncomfortable. Think of a light form of exercise that is good for your body and mental health, such as a hike with your dog, or walking by the beach or lake.

Spend time with loved ones. It is still okay to be social when you have a day of rest, as long as it is something relaxing that you enjoy. This might mean going out for drinks, having a family game night, or inviting friends over to watch the game.

Take a hot bath. Baths are wonderful for self-care, allow you some time to yourself, and are very relaxing. They allow you to rest both your mind and body, and can incorporate essential oils for some aromatherapy.

Read a book. This is a great way to rest in your favorite couch or lay in bed and read a book. Make it a book you want to read for personal reasons, not work, school, or other responsibilities. This is a good time to read for leisure, depending on what you are most interested in.

Evening Yoga for a Peaceful, Restful Bedtime

//  by //  Leave a Comment

Hoping to increase peaceful feelings in your household as everyone settles down for the evening? If you have a family, bed time can be anything but peaceful. There’s likely a nightly protest from the kids about getting to sleep on time. There could be arguments over having to put smart phones or ipads away; or maybe someone has neglected to finish homework on time.

If you live with a partner, you might have different ideas about what the evening routine should involve for enjoying some peace before bedtime. Maybe he or she enjoys turning up the volume on loud, violent movies just as you are settling in with some light reading. Or perhaps your to-do list is what summons you after-hours, which is stressful.

If you are looking for an evening self-care routine to carry you away from the pressures of family life and make the pre-bedtime hours more relaxing, then think about this series of yoga poses designed to help you relax for a more restful sleep.

Practices these poses slowly and in this specific order, taking deep, cleansing belly breaths throughout. Hold each pose for about 6 deep breaths to release tension in the body.

Mountain pose. Stand with feet positioned hip-width apart. Place arms at sides and press shoulders down as you exhale. Inhale through the nose, letting the chest rise as the feet press down into the ground and the top of the head rises proudly skyward. The trick to releasing tension in mountain pose is planting the feet firmly, and imagining the top of the head spiraling to the heavens as you pull your stomach muscles in and breathe deeply.

Forward fold. From mountain pose, sweep the arms overhead and out to the sides. Then bend down as though you were about to touch your toes. You are folded in half at the waist, with head toward the ground. As you breathe through this pose, pull your abdominals in. Hands can dangle freely, or if you’re more flexible you can try to place them on either side, behind the calves.

Downward-facing dog. From forward fold, step backward with one foot and then the other while planting the palms flat on the floor in front of you. You are now bent in half with feet and palms supporting you. This pose resembles a dog stretching. Tummy pulls in as you breathe and imagine pinning your bellybutton to the back of your spine.

Plank pose. Plank is like a gentler version of a pushup. It’s a great pose to relieve stress from the entire body while engaging all of the long muscles. Lower yourself from downward-facing dog into plank pose. Hands are beneath shoulders, pressed into the floor on either side of you. You’re using your chest muscles to support your body. Imagine you are a plank of wood, everything flat and straight, with tummy pulled in and backside tucked downward. Breathe through plank pose, then move on to upward facing dog.

From plank, come into upward-facing dog by placing your body in the prone position (facing the floor) with palms under shoulders, ready to support you. Next, lift only the torso (your hips stay pressed into the ground). Lift your torso, shoulders, neck, chin and face upward while pressing the lower half of your body (hips, front of legs and feet) to the floor. Rest between breaths and then resume the pose again if you need to.

Child’s pose. Come into child’s pose from plank. Sit on your knees, then lower your head to the floor so that your forehead touches the ground. Arms can be on either side, hugging your knees, or stretched out past your head. Focus on elongating your spine, keeping hips pulled back in their sockets and reaching forward with hands if you can.

This series represents just a few of the basic, relaxing yoga poses that you can do to increase relaxation in the evening hours, relieve stress, and sleep better. Not only will you get to sleep more quickly, but you are more likely to stay asleep through the night. And if you do wake up? Try doing some more relaxing yoga.

Prayer Brings Peace to the Family Home

//  by //  Leave a Comment

If you are thinking about ideas on how to bring more peace to your family life? Prayer is one way to deepen the bond between family members and cultivate a loving, soothing environment at home. How does praying together accomplish this?

Prayer offers hope. Praying as a family reminds us of our shared values, and that we are all in this life together, struggling as we may yet pushing on, encouraged by our support of each other.

Prayer helps individuals be heard, seen and felt. While praying with our children and our partner, we are made aware of what they think about things, what bothers them, what they hope for and what obstacles they face.

Parents and children can set goals for the family and for each individual. During prayer, we can talk about our hopes, fears and challenges, and define what we would like to happen in our lives.

Prayer strengthens our bonds. Along with healthy, open communication and the sense of trust between family members, when we listen to and reflect on what family members wish for both individual family members and for the family as a whole, we feel supported and encouraged.

Prayer helps us love more deeply. When we feel loved, the peaceful feelings grow between us as a family. Loving gestures, affection and kind words increase oxytocin levels in our blood which help us to feel calm and secure.

How to pray even if you’re not religious:

People all over the world and from all cultures and belief systems pray. Whether or not you believe in a higher power and regardless of your ideas of what happens after we die, you can bring spirituality into your family life, and increase peaceful, loving feelings through prayer.

What to pray about:

Pray for strength. Send wishes into the universe, or to your God, that family members can work through their problems large and small.

Pray for success. Success is a subjective concept, but we all have ideas about what we’d like to make happen in our lives. So if you and your family members have set personal goals that will keep you on track with living better and improving the world by way of your gifts, then talk about it and pray about it together.

Pray for health. A weak body means we are unable to enjoy what life has to offer. When we’re robust and full of life, we can engage more fully and do the things we want to do. Pray for the health of your partner and family so that you may enjoy life to the fullest.

Pray for understanding. Many of the conflicts that we experience in our daily lives are rooted in misunderstanding. In seeking to connect with each other through prayer, we can gain better insights into our relationships.

Pray for peace. Set intentions for being more kind, loving and patient, with your partner, within your family, and with the people you encounter every day.

Making Peace at Home Starts With You

//  by //  Leave a Comment

Do you wish and hope for more peace and ease in your daily life with family? Sometimes it feels like our home life is not even close to that vision that we have in our minds of children playing quietly by the fire, family members speaking softly and using manners, and all of the peaceful things we would like in our daily home lives.

One way that we can bring about more peace in our families is to start by offering peace to others. Start with some simple daily changes.

Set the example. If your family members are usually impatience and use rude and disrespectful remarks, you should refuse to indulge in this behavior. Do not reflect a rude attitude back at others. Instead, be firm, patient, and polite. This may take some getting used to, but if you practice what so many preach about peace, you may just find that your calm and soothing ways are catching to other people.

Replace irritation with patience. Changing your entire attitude may seem impossible at first. Tension often builds as we have conflicts with family members over various issues. Even the small things seem to pile up in our heads, much like that never-ending mountain of laundry. But if we become aware of how often we feel annoyed by the very changing aspects of our own family life, we can begin to change our responses.

Keep tension under control. One way to be more patient is by finding release for your stress. If we take time out for exercise every day, including some light cardio and stretching, it will make a big difference in how we react to the little things that come up.

Be peaceful in words and actions. If your thoughts are negative, keep them to yourself. If your actions can cause unhappiness to others, change your plans. Find ways to be peaceful in your daily relations. By doing this, peace will come to you as you give it to others.

What Does Peace Mean to You?

//  by //  Leave a Comment

Peace can mean different things to different people. Generally though, when we think of peace, we think of a calm scene. The picture might include vision of a beautiful nature scenery or a tidy space free of clutter. It might be soft music, or no music at all… or perhaps the soothing sounds of nature.

Are we alone in our peaceful scene? For many people, being by ourselves brings a sense of peace. We can relax and go with our own inner flow. We don’t have to talk with or organize with others, which can often feel like work, and stress.

If we are with other people, then peace might be the absence of conflict. Peace shared with others might feel like everyone is together, but each doing his or her own thing. Just chilling out, and not getting ruffled about anything in particular. Not feeling pressured to talk, explain or defend ourselves, or perform at any given time, could feel like peace to some.

What other words mean peace to some people?

Serenity. Feelings of calm, rest and ease. Absence of expectation or judgment.

Safety. A quiet space to let your guard down and be yourself. A place where there are no threats, either to our physical body or our mental well being.

Freedom. Peacefulness might come from having the freedom to do what you like, when you like. Peace might feel like floating along at a leisurely pace, responding to your own inner whims.

Solitude. Some people consider their alone time a necessary means of finding peace. If you’re something like this, peace to you might look like personal space in which to think, dream, create, learn, or just be.

Quiet, agreeable companionship. Mutual respect and courtesy, living and letting others live.

Harmony. Disagreements without strife. Being able to communicate in a relaxed manner, letting the thoughts flow easily, being okay with whatever is being said.

Relaxation. The opportunity to rest and recharge your battery. Peace, to many people, means getting some time to relax and unwind.

If you’re someone who would like to trade confusion for clarity, calamities for calm, and chaos for quiet in your everyday life at home… then try these tips for keeping the peace in your household.

Seeking Peace for the Holidays

//  by //  Leave a Comment

Wondering how you can share more peace with others during the holiday season? Spreading peaceful feelings to other people can have a positive effect on our overall wellbeing. This is because when we show kindness, patience, tolerance and understanding toward our fellow humans, we activate a sense of calm and it becomes contagious. An easygoing and lighthearted vibe is definitely something that we can pass along to the next person. This works to create a pay-it-forward gesture of peace.

When you think of peaceful holidays and how to go about achieving them, imagine that all people are connected by invisible links. Share the peace… pass it on… don’t break the chain!

Consider this: each time we argue or have a tension-filled exchange that’s punctuated by thoughtless behavior, impatient communication and overall rudeness, we send stressful feelings out into the world and we also invite more stress into our own lives. Just as our strivings toward peace have a ripple effect on the people around us, our lack of peacefulness can also impact those with whom we interact. So when you’re faced with a difficult situation, choose the peaceful response. Remember that a peaceful life begins with you, and the choices you make.

Peacefulness is something that we can strive for in small but meaningful ways. The holiday season is a great time to start sharing peace with others. The peaceful gestures that we offer during this celebratory time can carry us through to the coming year, and offer a fresh start in how we approach our relationships.

Choose peace during the holiday season: here’s how.

Approach holiday plans with an open and flexible mind. Don’t let minor mishaps spoil the day. If a family member opts to bring wine instead of the requested potatoes, let it go. Offer the gift of benefit of the doubt. Perhaps this family member is having a tough year. Next year could be the Christmas that they shine in the kitchen.

Be gracious when it comes to gifts. Gift-giving can be a source of contention around the holidays. One way to keep the present exchange peaceful is by setting a max on spending. Another way is by deciding in advance who will be trading gifts this year. Will it be kids only, or are adults involved as well? If someone buys a gift for you that isn’t quite right, say a polite thank-you and then quietly exchange or re-gift if you must. Complaining about or showing ingratitude for gifts is no way to have a peaceful Christmas.

Likewise, if you give a gift and it’s the wrong size or the person already has one, be the bigger person. Understand that not everyone can always make use of the presents we give. A gift can be passed on to someone who can use it, or it can be returned for cash. One way to avoid ruffled feathers over Christmas presents is to avoid the “how do you like the X that I gave you” follow-up conversation. Once you give a gift to someone, it is not your business what becomes of that item.

Show tolerance for everyone at the party. The merriment of the holidays comes with its share of clashing personalities. Solitude-seeking introverts might feel engulfed by more aggressive types. Your Christmas bash might result in some rowdiness or perhaps a heated debate or two. People are in close quarters at this time of year. The best policy for keeping the holidays peaceful is by keeping conversational topics light, and ignoring the urge to give certain people a piece of your mind. Walking away during an awkward moment is a very good means of retaining the peaceful Christmas vibe.

Meditating Throughout the Summer

//  by //  Leave a Comment

Meditating in a summer environment can help you focus on the continuation of life. There is great beauty to be found in existence, and there is a season for everything. As you work to internalize an innate understanding of nature , you’ll be more likely to feel peaceful, complete, and where you should be in your life. When you meditate, you can use your surroundings to help you. Many people try to block out the world and simply look within themselves when they meditate. This can be very useful, but there are also other ways in which you can practice meditation. While you may want to avoid noisy streets and other distractions, you can certainly use warmth and nature to your benefit.

Warmth and Meditation

In order to meditate more easily and focus on what matters to you, you should be comfortable. That means sitting or lying somewhere that makes you happy and peaceful, but it also means enjoying the right temperature. If you’re too distracted on the fact that you’re too chilly, meditation will be more difficult for you. You can escape that challenge by staying warm and cozy during meditation.

The summer is ideal for meditating because the days are longer and the nights are warm. The soft noises of crickets and other small creatures can bring you peace and make you feel more connected with the world around you. As you start to relax and feel more comfortable, the warmth will help you focus on harmony and joy.

Avoid meditating in the extreme heat, as that can make you feel worse and result in a heat stroke. Instead, find a place where it’s simply warm and comforting.

Evenings in the summertime are often good for meditation, and the pitter-patter of rain can be peaceful as well. If you live in a desert environment, rain can bring about relief, great joy, and a deep appreciation for nature that you can use to help focus your meditation.

Grow and Develop Throughout the Summer Months

The object of meditation is growth, and the summer months provide several factors that you can use to speed that growth along, such as:

  • Warmth
  • Longer days
  • Quiet, restful, peaceful nights
  • Occasional rainstorms to renew and refresh you
  • A break from school or work
  • A stronger bond with nature and existence

There are many ways you can benefit from the warmth of summer when you want to meditate. The longer days are often helpful, and perhaps you’ll vacation, so you may have lower stress levels than you otherwise would. Even if you’re not able to take a break from work or school, you can still use meditation to help you feel better, calmer, and more relaxed.

Focus your mind on the beauty that summer has to offer. Blooming plants, quiet nights, small creatures and insects, rain, and the joy of being part of the cycle of life and existence can all be wonderful triggers for meditation and help bring peace and happiness.

Use what works for you. Everyone is different, and meditation is a very personal experience. The way one person uses the summer might not be the same way someone else uses it. Your meditation time is your own special getaway. Take the warmth, peace, and beauty of summer and use it in the way that feels most comfortable to you.