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Over the last few months we’ve been hearing how expensive energy is becoming. Gas is up, oil prices through the roof, but nobody is speaking of the most important form of energy we possess: our own inner energy. While it is important to keep track of current events, it’s even more crucial to keep our own inner equilibrium intact. This article focuses on how to cultivate inner calm and positive energy during tumultuous times.
Tip #1:
Take short relaxation breaks from your everyday chores and activities. It’s important to find your breath as often as possible throughout the day. This means to take deep mindful breaths regularly in your waking hours. These short but essential breaks will allow you to release tension and bring attention to the present moment.
Tip #2:
Engage at least once a week in a mind-body practice. These practices are designed to calm both the mind and your body, since they are deeply interconnected. Such practices include Tai Chi, yoga, walking meditation, ecstatic dance, Pilates, swimming, and gardening.
Tip #3:
It’s important to find time for yourself even in the busiest imaginable schedule. A five to twenty-minute break to do something you care for with no interruption can add volumes of inner calm to your day. Make time to go for a walk, read a book, get a manicure, take a nap, listen to music or take a long hot bath – whatever healthy activity that soothes your spirit.
Tip #4:
During times of war and uncertainty, the human mind has a tendency to spin out of control and create unpleasant future scenarios. Cut these thoughts at their bud and recognize them as stories that don’t need to happen. For the most part, 99 out of 100 times, these stories are just fear-driven fantasies that never manifest in real life. Reduce your anxiety by better curating the thoughts you harbor.
Breathing comes naturally, until it does not. Most of us have forgotten how to breathe properly and often do it in a very shallow way. Recent research on the benefits of deep breathing include the reduction of stress, improvement of the immune system, better digestion, higher quality sleep and increase in energy.
To breathe properly we need to use our diaphragm, which is a muscle at the base of the chest that assists our breathing. Experts suggest that we take long, deep breaths on a regular basis by contracting and expanding our diaphragm.
Another important breathing habit is to always breathe through the nose. The benefits of doing this includes the reduction of foreign substances entering your body, increased oxygen flow to arteries, veins and nerves, improved lung volume and slower breathing.
The benefits of breathing are clearly shown by Wim Hof, a Dutch extreme athlete known as the Iceman, who has broken several Guinness World records, including one for the longest full-body contact with ice, for a period of 1 hour and 42 minutes. His superhuman abilities are possible thanks to a breathing technique he developed, along with cold exposure techniques.
You can learn to do breathing exercises with Wim Hof for free on his YouTube channel. Implementing daily or weekly breathing exercises to your regular (mindfully deeper) breathing will bring incredible results to your wellbeing!
If you are looking to reduce your sugar intake but worry that the crave for a delicious donut or refreshing ice cream will keep you from reaching your goals, take a look at these tips. One basic rule is that you need the knowledge and the right ingredients to keep yourself on track, such as swapping your fruit juice for an actual piece of fruit - as juice usually removes the fruit's fiber, which is essential to lowering the impact of blood sugar levels.
Another good tip if you spend time at home is not to buy anything that contains refined sugars: regularly check the ingredients on your products to make sure you buy the right stuff. Drinking more water and eating more whole foods prepared at home will fill you up and leave less space for sugary items. However, if the idea of not eating more sugar seems impossible, you can always combine your craving with a healthier option of candy - such as home-baked cookies or dehydrated fruit.
People who wait too long between meals are also prone to choose a more sugary and fatty food option than those who are constantly snacking on healthy options. Good options include fresh vegetables such as baby carrots, crackers with cheese, mixed nuts or homemade popcorn with low amounts of salt.
