Creating Back to School Flow
The return to school, fall schedules, can bring on a bit of stress. Summer has its go with the flow, easy kind of existence. Easing back in to fall can be made simple and stress free by taking a few mindfulness steps.
1. Remind yourself that fall, and the return to school, means a return to an organized, set schedule. Knowing where you need to be, 5 days a week, can bring a level of comfort after the chaos of spontaneous, summer living. Revel in this return to harmony.
2. Start your day with an AM grounding experience. I do a blended visualization / meditation that takes 5-7 minutes and grounds me for the day. I sit on the stone steps in my back yard with my feet in contact with the ground. (Urban dwellers, sit and visualize your feet in the grass, connected to Mother Earth!) I close my eyes and visualize white light coming from the ground, up through my Chakras and Nadis, then turns around at the crown Chakra and goes back into the earth taking all negative (dark light) energy back into the earth to be absorbed. I visualize white light coming from above, through my crown Chakra, and circling back up at my root Chakra taking negative energy back into the atmosphere. I do both of these twice. Next I visualize white light coming from the earth again, up through my root Chakra. When It turns the corner at my crown, this time it goes back into the earth and creates a root system from my tailbone down into the earth. Now visualize white light from the crown Chakra, turns at the root Chakra and turns again at the crown Chakra to go back into the earth. Again, visualize the roots coming from your tailbone deep into the earth to ground you for the day’s challenges. Finally, I swirl white light energy around my body, from feet to head, like a twister moving up my body. This is to protect me from negative energy and other’s stress.
3. Create peace in your life with a regular yoga practice. The benefits of Yoga are profound. You will intuitively move towards healthier choices in your life. Your mind will become calm. Your body will respond physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually to the beauty of yoga. Your body will be in the flow of life. This is true mind, body, soul healing.
4. Nourish your body with 100% whole foods. To get started on whole food eating, pick up a copy of my book, Hands On Health: Take Your Vibrant, Whole Health Back Into Your Healing Hands.
5. Get to bed and be asleep before 10 PM. When your body is asleep before 10 PM, the level of stress hormones in your body drops. When you stay up late, burning the midnight oil, your body pays through higher levels of cortisol hormones. This is stress. Sleep, sweet dream sleep, before 10 PM and your body’s glandular system works for you in a balanced manner, making happy feel-good hormones!
6. Get outside every day, preferably moving your body. Yes, I mean exercise. Call it movement magic that heals the divine you! Something as simple as a brisk paced walk in the fresh air and natural light can do much to reduce stress, create feel good hormones, help you sleep better at night, and ease the challenges of daily life. Get outside in sun/wind/rain/snow/fog, walk barefoot, sit on ground, hug a tree, rest your spine against an old growth tree… just breathe in the world around you. Your body, mind, and soul will thank you for this grounding, earthy experience.
Positive, holistically-minded, lifestyle choices make for healthier, happier living. For a full list of lifestyle choices I recommend to my holistic health coaching clients, click here.
Be well; very well, Paula ; )
