Deep Breaths

Who here feels stressed or anxious everyday?

We have all heard of fight or flight, it’s a stress response that helps the body prepare for impending danger.

The problem is when this response is triggered by stresses we experience every day and not in response to being chased by a tiger.

The result is all sorts of health problems including high blood pressure and anxiety. Stress also suppresses the immune system and makes you more likely to get sick and 'ain't nobody got time for that!

Of course we can’t just avoid stress and in fact it wouldn’t be useful to try. We can, however, change how we respond to it. One way is through deep breathing. Big breaths into our bellies that put us into a more relaxed state.

Try something for me now…tense all of the muscles in your body…in your arms, your legs, your shoulders…now…try and take a deep breath. You just can’t.
It’s this tension…that most of the time we are not aware of…that deep breathing will also help us to get rid of.

Anxiety just melts away in the moment for me. 
It also releases endorphins which are the bodies Happy brain chemicals. 
Endorphins also the bodies natural pain killers. 
Breathing into your belly, using your diaphragm, helps removes toxins from the body.
Reduces stress and lowers blood pressure.
Helps you sleep better.

Use the picture to guide you through.
Breathe in through your nose, deep breath into your belly for 4 seconds. Hold onto the breath for 4 seconds and then allow the breath to release through your mouth for 4 seconds. Hold again for 4 seconds and then start around the square again.

Is fear holding you back?

We are born with only two innate fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud sounds, the rest we learn along the way. Sometimes are fears are things we have picked up through and experience and sometimes we have taken on fears of others through our family and friends.

Your brain works in many ways to keep you safe.. but it can also be off kilter... it perceives so many things as a danger. In fact your brain will send out a warning signal each and every single time you do anything for the first time.

“Ohhh you won't be good at this, ohhh watch out this is hard... be careful!!” It screeches. 

Most of the time you are not in any danger at all and you just need to tell you brain to pipe down!

“Thanks for the warning brain but I have got this”

If you are brave enough to push through these signals and give it a go anyway there is nothing quite like that feeling of achievement.

In the meantime you could be spending anything from a minute to weeks feeling scared about something you know you want to or should be doing and we all know that's not a nice feeling.

So for now...think about something that you did in the past that you were fearful off but then you pushed through and did it anyway. Remember how good to felt afterwards, how rewarding the experience was and how it really wasn't as bad as you thought it was going to be in the first place. 

Use that feeling now...hold that feeling...and tell your brain it's going to feel great this time too. It's called a future facing feeling. Don't think about your fear right now, think instead about how great you know it will feel afterwards. 

Literally…tell yourself…

“Hey brain.. gonna do a presentation at work today, I am going to smash it and it's going to feel so good!

Every time you feel like you might throw up about it or even stop yourself from doing it altogether tell yourself

“I will smash it, I will be awesome” over and over and over.

Let this mantra become the only truth. Flood your mind with this new thought so there is no room for the fear. Let this be the only way... 

By the time you do the thing you were so fearful of it will be a walk in the park. 

The Power of your words.

“Be mindful when it comes to your words. A string of some that don't mean much to you, may stick with someone else for a lifetime." -Rachel Wolchin

No matter who you are, no matter what you do, never underestimate the impact your words can have on others. ALWAYS be mindful of interactions with people. YOU can be the difference in someones day...make it a positive difference.

Let me give you an example….I bet you still rememeber something horrible a kid said to you at school or someone said. The person who said it however…probably still can’t. For the person uttering them a string of words can be meaningless…but for the receiver it can be life changing. 

This is why it’s so important to be mindful of what is coming out of your mouth. 

Especially in anger. We all know how hard it is to stop outselves when we feel angry..but here is something that might help you

A Japenese scientist named Dr. Emoto gained international fame from the film “What the Bleep Do We Know?!”  which praised his experiments on the cellular structure of water. 

During his experiments he seperated 100 petri dishes of water and he praised  half…and shouted at and scoled the other half. The results were remarkable with the praised water forming beautiful shapes and the scoled half becoming jagged and ugly. 

In another experiment, Masaru Emoto tested the power of spoken words. He placed two cups of cooked white rice in two separate mason jars and fixed the lids in place, labeling one jar “Thank You” and the other, “You Fool.” The jars were left in a school classroom, and the kids were instructed to speak the words on the labels to the corresponding jars twice a day. After 30 days, the rice in the “you fool jar” that had been constantly insulted was now a black modly mess. The rice in the jar that was thanked was just the same as it was 30 days earlier. 

There is no doubt words are very powerful. So why am I talking about rice and water? Well consider that our bodies are about 65% water…up to 78% when we are babies. 

How many times a day do we throw our words away? 

We say things like, “I hate my hair,” “I’m so stupid,” “I’m such a idiot.” 

Without stopping to think tha these words bring a negative energy to us and affect us on a physical level. Ancient scriptures tell us that life and death are in the power of the tongue. Words can start wars, cause harm and break souls…but they can also heal wounds, be uplifting and change lives. 

So THINK before you speak

Is it True? Is it Helpful, Is it Inspiring, is it Necessary and is it Kind. 

 "Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble." -Yehuda Berg