Many of you have asked us about our favorite practices for wellbeing, which is a journey as much as it is a destination. Summer can be a wonderful time to take care of ourselves, slow down, and recharge.
Helene’s Favorites ….
Emotional Housekeeping
It is important for our mental wellbeing to know “what’s up” emotionally for us, in other words we need to feel our feelings. We often put our emotions on the back burner and by the time we get to take a peek at them they are all mixed up and we are confused why we are feeling low or frustrated and can’t figure out what is wrong. Taking a few minutes to go deep within and ask yourself “What am I (angry) about?” and then move on to sad, afraid, guilty, grateful, happy, secure, proud. This allows you to cycle through emotions and move them through you.
Gratitude
As a practice, gratitude can guide us through the hard times and allow us to see the silver lining even in the most difficult of times. Gratitude is a choice to focus on what is good in our lives. It can heal us where we are hung up on resentment and it can allow us to recognize that at every given moment we are exactly where we are supposed to be. Each and every day, I ask myself “How do I want to feel today?” When we ask the question and choose joy, we have a chance to reposition ourselves.
Reiki
Reiki is a very powerful tool when you are feeling energetically low. It’s a soft approach to moving very low energy through you without too much of your own input or work. I use Reiki when I am feeling emotionally blocked, when I am feeling overly anxious or really down, I have also used it when I was feeling disconnected from myself and could not figure out why. Sometimes our old stories and beliefs keep us stuck and we just need a little assistance.
Kim’s Favorites….
Meditation
The emotionally strong face stress by stepping back to gain clarity and connect with themselves and their spirituality. Gandhi was known to have said that when he was very busy, he should meditate for two hours rather than one. Of course, his quote is not aimed at avoidance, but rather at positioning himself for the work ahead. In the past few years of adding meditation practice into my life, I have been able to hear my inner guidance above the noise of the world. The return on investment can be life changing.
Reading and Listening – I enjoy reading and listening to anything by the late Wayne Dyer, author and motivational speaker. Your Erroneous Zones, The Power of Intention, Wishes Fulfilled: The Secrets of Manifesting, Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life all carry powerful messages on living well and finding peace, joy, and success in life.
Mind Mapping – a new favorite technique for me is a “mind map” in which I organize my thoughts in a diagram starting from the center with a core topic, building branches for each idea or task as a subtopic of the core and then building more branches off the subtopics. Similar to vision boarding, the mind map can create a visual for you that can be viewed daily. It might reflect a period of time such as summer or represent your overall life priorities to ensure balance or a future vision.
This is by no means a complete list. Sleep, eating well, and knowing what you love are also important components of wellbeing. This summer, challenge yourself to find new ways to care for the most important person in your life – YOU! Remember, we are each individually responsible for determining what brings us to the state of wellbeing. The exploration and destination are worth the time and effort.
The Center offers engaging, entertaining, and empowering programs and coaching around all of these activities. Follow our calendar and programs at www.center4c.com and feel free to contact us at (518) 344-6725.
