Daily Stress Less plan

Yesterday, via the Daily Spark ( http://paper.li/Spark_Magazine/1316082551 ) I came across Deepak Chopra's 4 daily steps to reduce stress:

http://www.deepakchopra.com/blog/view/356/a_four_step_plan_to_stress_less. Being someone with a tamed tendency to stress and worry about, well anything if I let myself, I thought about what my top stress-management strategies are,

1. I'd really agree with Deepak on nutrition. B vitamins are very important for nerve function and I really believe that my mental health is much improved from taking a supplement (a particularly good idea for us veggies) and eating B vit-rich foods (nuts, bananas, wholegrains). Unfortunately I can't share his enthusiasm about Chyawanprash; I just don't like the taste! But, as it's Vitamin C he's recommending it for, there's plenty of other good sources. Get in the Omega 3's and 6's too for a happy brain. Personally I'm also a breakfast person, and understand that various experts and studies recommend eating breakfast for a balanced mind and weight. However, I'm aware that many people aren't breakfast people.
   
   
2. Mindfulness. I find this great for turning off the internal chatter, which is often worry chatter. Furthermore, if I'm focussing on my surroundings (particularly when outside), I notice their beauty thus getting a dose of positivity and feeding my need to connect with nature and get some fresh air into me.

3. Breathing. Well, you've got to do it anyway so just as well to do so in a way that calms you! Slowly inhale through your nose right down into your belly, feeling your lungs and belly expand as you do so, then slowly empty them. I like to combine with yoga asana's or Reiki and feel so much more peaceful for doing so. But time is limited as a parent and on more days than not I find myself unable to enjoy a decent yoga session. However a little can go a long way for me, for example; a few breaths whilst waiting for the kettle to boil or when I go to the loo or before I crash into bed – perhaps combined with stretching my arms high above my head or slowly circling my hips. Popping outside the back door for some deep breaths of fresh morning air always feels like a good start to the day for me too.
   
   
4. I had some CBT sessions a while ago and still use some of the techniques of questioning my worries and looking for evidence to back them up (which there often isn't). For example, if I'm stressing about something I did that I didn't do quite as I'd ideally like, I might ask myself who is actually expecting the standard I'm imposing, or how important this thing is in the big picture. This is a very crude example. If you're interested in CBT I'd recommend the CBT For Dummies book, www.llttf.com or, of course, speaking to your GP or a private CBT therapist.
   
   
5. Exercise Personally, I'm not a sporty type but go for a walk almost every day, usually for around half an hour to an hour. Again, my body and soul really do feel better for a bit of daily fresh air. If it's raining heavily or I really can't get out, I'll dance around the kitchen to music whilst doing chores, This also serves to amuse my baby, and perhaps any neighbours who can see through the window.
   
   
6. Gratitude Going over my day and acknowledging what it's given me helps me go to sleep in a peaceful frame of mind. On a Sunday evening, my husband and I also list our gratitudes from the week. It sounds corny but we're really enjoying it as a way to live more positively. 
    
7. Massage. Can I put that in as a massage therapist without it seeming like a bit of a plug?! Now most of us can't afford the money or time for a daily professional massage. Nor do most of us have a partner who has the time or energy to give us one daily. However, with self-massage and yoga I find that one of the many benefits is that it shifts my mind away from its chatter and to my body. Here's 3 of my calming massage tips for the busy bee: *
   - place 2-3 fingers on each temple and slowly, gently circle a few times,
   - make your hands into a claw shape and slowly massage your scalp with shampoo-ing movements,
   - close your eyes. Use your index fingers to slowly stroke up your nose and along each eyebrow to your temples. Then place two fingers in the centre of your forehead and circle slowly.
   Again, use those snippets of time waiting for the kettle to boil, standing in a queue or sitting on the toilet.

* Avoid these if you have a headache or have had any recent head injury or serious condition such as brain haemorrhage or tumour. If you have epilepsy or diabetes which is not well-managed, discuss first with your GP.

Imbolc

Last Wednesday, when I first saw the new moon, I started to tune to and celebrate the Imbolc energy. A couple days earlier, I had seen our garden's first snowdrops burst out their pretty white flowers from their spindly stems. I always think they look like little fairy skirts! Other shoots had been poking their heads up for a while, confused at the indecisiveness of this winter. Indeed, as I write this, it is below -5c (unusual in the South West) and frosty. I just stepped outside our back door to take a few deep breaths of the icy air, to let it bite my lungs. I breathed it back, warmed from where I'd brought it down into my belly, and stretched my hands up to the sky, enjoying the tingle of the subzero haze. Beautiful.

I love the clean purity of this energy, For me, it's the magic of the morning, of the new moon, of this time of year, I see the young goddess bringing excitement and hope for the projects planned and seeds – literal and metaphorical – being planted. I'm t the same time conscious of the shadow side of this: naivety and fear. “What if these plans don't work out?” “Perhaps I don;t have what I need to do these things”. These are the ways I've welcomed where this energy lies in the outside world and in myself:

♥ Through several walks, both urban and rural, mindfully enjoying the signs of spring and pondering what is emerging in my own life right now.

♥ By planting the first seeds of the year; this week I've sown coriander, basil and tomatoes :)

♥ By covering our alter with a cream cloth which has a pale floral pattern and strands of silver, and decorating it with white and green candles, some glass icicle-like decorations, a silk worm cacoon, a small snowman jigsaw, early daffodils from my native Cornwall and some offerings of seeds, lemon cake and water from the Chalice Well in Glastonbury. Burning ylang ylang, lavender and melissa oils in my burner,

♥ By eating foods that represent to me the new moon and of the first stirrings of life- for example, by their shape (bananas, cashews), seasonality (root veg, leeks) flavour (lemon, vanilla and maybe a bit of cinnamon/ginger to represent the strengthening sun) or nature (seeds, beansprouts). Wearing the colours I associate with this season and this aspect of the goddess (silver, white, pale green/yellow/pink).

♥ By looking back at the goals we made at Yule. How are they emerging? What are doing to nourish them? What challenges are there and what do we need to do to keep them growing? By giving thanks for how they are taking shape.

♥ By reflecting on the maiden goddess aspect of myself, where Brigid and Artemis are found in me.

As I think about the stirrings of life in my outer and inner worlds, I remember with a grateful, happy smile how it was on this date last year that a little stick from Boots told my husband and I that there was a little life stirring inside my womb... ♥

....Happy Imbolc   :)