Stop!
 
Many of us live in the future or the past when our lives happen in the here and now.
 
We look forward to our next holiday, the next event –  Xmas, marriage, a new job
And in this way we go from one event to the next never actually stopping to enjoy what we are doing right now.
 
And it’s not just the future. We also spend a lot of time in the past and whilst it’s good to learn from past mistakes, dwelling on them and wishing you’d done things differently – could have should have would have  - is not helpful and just leads to misery and difficult emotions just as anger, regret and hopelessness.
 
We live in a fast changing digital world, even now global warming, AI, wars and famine are taking centre stage. This digital age could also be called the age of anxiety. When we keep rushing on and on anxiety is the result. Busyness is the opposite of stopping.
 
Constantly rushing, striving to achieve this or that, chasing whatever it is, money, love, peace or happiness – stopping is the answer. Slow down - physically and mentally.
 
Physically try Yoga, Tai Chi, slow walks, doing your housework and cooking mindfully, being present when answering emails, listening when chatting with friends or work colleagues.
 
Mentally try meditation, noticing what is around you, drinking and eating slowly.
Your mind can stop, it is capable of stillness. It is also possible to gain  meta cognitive awareness, where you are aware of your busy mind but not drowning in it.
Let go of wanting. To let go of wanting is to achieve contentment with what is.

So gain some perspective, turn yourself upside down and just be for a while.
 
That is what stopping is all about - contentment

• Reiki is a Japanese form of energy healing, a type of alternative medicine which is becoming ever more mainstream.
• Reiki practitioners use a technique called hands-on healing through which according to practitioners, a "universal energy" is transferred through the palms of the practitioner to the patient, to encourage emotional or physical healing.
• Reiki is based on the belief that there is a universal life force energy that flows through all  living things. We all know that energy can neither be created or destroyed so it makes sense to channel "good energy" into the parts of the body and mind that can benefit form them and Reiki is a way of transferring the healing energy that has been used for centuries.
  
• When this energy is blocked or unbalanced, it can leadto physical, emotional, or spiritual problems.
• Reiki practitioners believe that by channeling this universal energy through their hands, they can help to clear and balance the patient's energy, which can promote healing.
• Reiki is a gentle, non-invasive therapy that can be used by people of all ages and health conditions. It is often used as a complementary therapy to other forms of treatment, such as conventional medicine or psychotherapy.

Some of the potential benefits of Reiki include:

• Reduced stress and anxiety
• Improved relaxation
• Pain relief
• Accelerated healing
• Reduced symptoms of chronic illness
• Improved mood and emotional well-being
• Enhanced spiritual well-being

Here is a brief description of what happens during a typical Reiki session:

• The patient will lie down on a massage table or sit in a comfortable chair.
• The practitioner will place their hands on different parts of the patient's body, or just hover their hands above a part of the body. 
• The practitioner will hold their hands in place for several minutes at each position.
• The patient may feel a warm or tingling sensation in the areas where thepractitioner's hands are placed.
• The practitioner will continue to place their hands on different parts of the patient's
• body until the session is complete.

Reiki sessions typically last 45-60 minutes. The number of sessions needed
will vary depending on the individual's needs.


If you are interested in trying Reiki, you may want to train to give Reiki yourself and we can help you to that as we offer Reiki Attunements and Reiki Certifications as well as Reiki healing sessions from Reiki Masters.

Give Reiki a try and see the benefits for yourself!

​Mindfulness and Meditation are often used interchangeably, but there are some key differences between the two.
Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment with an attitude of openness and acceptance. It is a way of being aware of your thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations without judgment and without getting involved in their story. This is called meta cognitive awareness.
Meditation is a formal practice that can help you calm your mind. There are many different types of meditation, but they all involve focusing your attention on something, such as your breath, a mantra, or your body.

Meditation is used extensively in Mindfulness but it is not the full story. There are many aspects to Mindfulness that can help you navigate the many situations you can find yourself in in today's fast moving world.

Mindfulness can give you the tools to cope in the world we are living in today, it can help you regulate your emotions, enjoy the life you have and thanks to our understanding now of the brain it can help you to change the habits that are not useful for you any longer using neuroplasticity.

​We have learnt more about the brain in the last 50 years that we did in the last 5 million and Mindfulness harnesses these development to help you survive and thrive in the fast paced ever changing world we live in.

Exercise releases feel good endorphins. 
This doesn't have to mean joining a gym (and then never going!) It can be as simple as finding a way to be outside for 10 minutes a day, going for a walk or doing some gardening but it's also a great idea to take up Yoga or Pilates. Both of these work with your body, improving your flexibility and posture without needing to feel the burn or ignore any pain that may occur during exercise. Dancing is also good exercise with the added bonus of raising your happiness levels. 

Add a bit of randomness to your life.
Try sitting in a different chair at home or at work. We spend 67% of our waking lives on automatic pilot, set in our ways, repeating habits that aren't always in our best interests. By sitting in a different chair we are getting a different view of the world and encouraging our brains to try something new.

Improve your sleep.
Sleep is a superpower and we need 7 to 8 hours of restful sleep a night to process our day and be in peak condition for the next one. It can be easy to see this amount of sleep as optional or even unobtainable but it is essential to avoid burnout and feeling lethargic and tired all the time.
Give yourself enough time to sleep and if you find falling asleep or staying asleep difficult, don't try too hard to fall asleep just allow sleep to come when its ready and maybe try counting your breaths or imagine you are in your favourite place to relax your brain while you drift off. Don't try to work out a difficult problem or go over and over a difficult situation just let your thoughts breeze past you like clouds in the sky or leaves on a stream.

Mindfulness & Meditation. 
It's no coincidence that Mindfulness is an NHS NICE recommended therapy for anxiety and stress. Just practicing 10 -15 mins of Mindfulness Meditation a day has been shown on brain scans to make areal difference to areas of emotional regulation and anxiety in the brain. Mindfulness Meditation is not about emptying the brain of thoughts and worries, its about noticing what's on your mind without getting involved in its story, and allowing things to be just the way they are without trying to solve or change them.

Random acts of Kindness
Being kind to your self and others allows your happy hormones to emerge. Let someone go before you in a queue, smile at people, offer to help someone with a task and don't forget to be kind to yourself too. Smile at yourself in the mirror, have a lovely bath or watch a programme you enjoy.

Have a Digital Detox
We spend far too much time on our digital devices often checking our phone or searching on our computers whilst trying to watch the TV or having a conversation with someone at the same time. We cannot multitask, we merely move from one thing to another and if we do too much of this we soon feel overwhelmed, anxious and on edge. Factor in time to relax away from your digital devices and focus on one thing at a time. The spirit in which we do things affects the outcome.

Write it down
Make lists instead of trying to keep things in your head. Try journalling about your feelings and wishes.  The process of writing down your thoughts can unload a busy mind and allow for moments of creative genius to emerge. When your thoughts are scattered and overwhelming you can miss these and be unable to focus on what really matters.

Try Listening
Listening to someone is one of the most helpful things you can do for you and your friends, children, partners and colleagues. Really listening to someone allows the other person to feel heard and allows you both to feel good about the conversation. So instead of just thinking about what you are going to say next ,allow the other person to have their say whether you agree with them or not. You might even learn something.

Take a break
When things start to become overwhelming take a break. Close your eyes and just notice what is on your mind, what thoughts, feelings and emotions are there and what physical sensations come with these, maybe tension in your shoulders for instance. 
Then let go of all this and take your attention to your breath, counting your breaths down from 7 to 1.
Then expand your attention to include a sense of yourself standing or sitting here, the sounds around you and the space around you and when you are ready open your eyes and return to your day.

Keeping the body in Mind
We often get out of touch with our bodies, not noticing if we are hungry or tired or sitting in an awkward position. And yet your mind and body are in constant conversation, a conversation we are no longer a part of. If you feel stressed your breathing will become shallow and your body will notice this and realise hormones such as Cortisol and Adrenaline because it feels you are in danger and this will make you feel more stressed and cause more stress hormones to be released.
Try to check in with your body every now and again to notice if you are feeling hungry, if your breathing is shallow or your shoulders are tense. Simply eating something or adjusting your breathing or position can move us into a more relaxed way of being, allowing our body to relax and stop the production of adrenaline and cortisol

If you'd like a FREE zoom consultation with me to see if you would like to do a Mindfulness Course submit the form below

As we discussed in our previous blog post about ways to look after your mental health – Mindfulness practice was highlighted as one of the things you can do to look after your mental health on a daily basis. 

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Mindful.org define mindfulness as “the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what is going on around us”.

We can all be mindful as it is a skill we all naturally possess, however it will become easier to do if you practice on a daily basis. 

Mindfulness involves focusing on sensations which you can feel happening in your body in the present moment.

Healthline states that practicing mindfulness is like becoming a parent to your mind rather than letting your mind control you. This is because mindfulness practice can create patience and compassion for yourself, teaching your mind to be still and present.

Another key part of mindfulness is to be aware of what is happening without judgement. It is easy to slip into the habit of judging the way you are thinking or feeling rather than just allowing everything to come and go without attaching our own thoughts and judgements.

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​Mindfulness has been proven to help us manage common mental health problems including depression, anxiety and feelings of stress. Although it may not be the cure, there is growing research which shows that when you train your brain to be mindful, you are actually remodelling the physical structure of the brain.

Mindfulness can help you to: 

• Become more self-aware
  
• Be kinder to yourself or others
  
• Feel more calm 
  
• Feel more equipped to choose how to respond to your thoughts and feelings 
  
• Help you to cope with difficult or upsetting thoughts
  
• Improve cognitive abilities
  
• Slow brain aging
  
• Increase your sense of well-being
  
• Help with pain management
  

Mindfulness has been practiced in various religions including Hinduism and Buddhism as well as being used in yoga practice and non-religious meditation. People have been practicing mindfulness for thousands of years, popularised in the East by religious and spiritual institutions. 

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Meditation is defined as “A practice involving focusing or clearing your mind using a combination of mental and physical techniques”. These techniques are intended to create a heightened state of awareness and focused attention.

There are 2 main types of meditation which include: 

Concentrative meditation: Which involves focusing all of your attention on one specific things, such as the breath, while tuning out everything else. The goal here is to really experience whatever it is you are focusing on to reach a higher state of being. 

Mindfulness meditation: This involves meditation coupled with mindfulness practice to target mental health issues. Mainly focusing on being aware and involved in the present moment rather than letting your mind wander.

Meditation also has foundations in ancient philosophies and world religions with different forms coming from all around the world. 

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• Decreases symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)
  
• Improves your ability to think, concentrate and solve problems
  
• Improved ability to adapt and overcome emotional problems
  

These benefits also have a big impact on your physical health, improving how well you sleep, your heart function and much more.

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There are a large number of scientific studies which show a vast amount of evidence that meditation and mindfulness practice can have an impact on the structure of your brain. 

Forbes reported that Harvard found in a 2011 study that after 8 weeks of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) the cortical thickness in the hippocampus increased – which is the part of the brain that governs learning and memory.

As well as this, there were decreases in brain cell volume in the amygdala, the part of your brain responsible for fear, anxiety and stress. 

There is also more and more evidence to show that meditation can help with addiction. This may be because meditation helps to disassociate the state of craving with the act of e.g., smoking. This means that one doesn’t always have to lead to the other but teaches people to ride out the ‘wave’ of craving until it passes. 

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To practice mindfulness, it is important to:

Notice how your thoughts come and go in your mind – You can learn that your thoughts and feelings are not actually a part of you and they don’t need to define your experience of the world – you can let them all go. 

Notice what your body is telling you – If you can feel tension in parts of your body, if your heart is beating faster or slower, if you’re breathing is heavy or shallow. 

Create a space between you and your thoughts – As your thoughts are not part of you, creating a space to look at these thoughts objectively can help you to reflect on them and react more calmly or let go of the thoughts which are not serving you

This short video from Mind can give you more information about mindfulness.

Mindful.org sets out these steps to follow to practice meditation: 

1. Sit down somewhere calm and quiet.
   
2. Set a time limit if you are just starting out try 5 or 10 minutes.
   
3. Notice your body, make sure you are in a stable position you can stay in comfortably for a while.
   
4. Feel your breath and follow the sensation as it goes in and out.
   
5. Notice when your mind has wandered. Your attention will inevitably leave the breath and wander. When you notice that your mind has wandered, simply return your attention to the breath. 
   
6. Be patient and kind to your wandering mind. Don’t judge yourself or obsess over your thoughts. Just come back to the breath. This is part of the practice, the more you practice, the easier this will become.
   
7. Close with kindness – When you’re ready, slowly open your eyes or lift your gaze. Take a moment to notice anything in your environment and notice how your body is feeling now. 
   

The key with mindfulness and meditation is to practice every day, even if it is only for 10 minutes.

Adding mindfulness and meditation to your routine will take practice. To help yourself, put reminders around you or create new patterns, for example taking a deep breath every time you answer the phone. Every time you intentionally practice mindful behaviours your skill will grow. 

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Looking after your mental health is an essential part of life and can make a huge difference to the quality of your daily life. Research from The Oxford Mindfulness Foundation found that our minds are naturally more drawn to difficulties and unpleasant feelings, often ignoring more pleasant feelings. 

It can be hard to stop and look at what you are thinking and how you’re feeling when you get caught up in everyday routine. However, finding a few minutes a day to do this can have a massive impact on your mental health. 

The NHS states that looking after mental health should not only be something you do when you’re feeling down or anxious and it should be something you actively invest time into all the time, just like with your physical health.

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Spending quality time with your friends and family and talking about how you are feeling is really good for your mental health, even if you do not feel like engaging with other people. 

One landmark study found that lack of social connection can have more detriment to your mental health than obesity, smoking and high blood pressure. 

Stanford Medicine found evidence to support connectivity with others, showing that people who are more connected to others have lower levels of anxiety and depression, as well as higher self-esteem and greater empathy. 

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It is important to make time in your life to do the things that bring you happiness. Whether that is sport, cooking, reading or playing with your pet, you should have a routine which makes time for activities that make you feel happy. 

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It is easy to get stuck in a routine when you do the same things again and again. This can cause us to get stuck in familiar ways and frame the way we see the world. 

Doing something small and simple to change your routine can have a big impact on shifting the way you are feeling, even something as small as changing your route to work or what you eat for breakfast. 

Engaging in curious thought is shown to shift your mind from being passive into being active, helping you to find new ideas and open possibilities for new things. 

This can also be seen in a willingness to be wrong. When you open yourself to other people’s insights and opinions rather than focusing on being right, you might find that you can solve more problems than you could alone. 

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This includes exercising and eating a good balanced diet. The Mental Health Foundation states that participating in regular exercise can increase self-esteem and reduce stress and anxiety. 

Physical activity also has a positive impact on our mood with researchers finding that people feel more content and calm after being physically active compared to periods of inactivity. 

Eating a good diet is also shown to help us think more clearly and be more alert, improving concentration and attention span. 

There is a lot of research showing that healthy gut can impact your brain. Your gut and brain are physically linked via the vagus nerve. So, while the gut can influence your emotional state, the brain can also alter the bacteria living in the gut. 

The gut is hugely important for producing serotonin (a mood stabiliser) as it is believed it produces 95% of the body’s supply of serotonin! 

Staying on top of your mental health as part of your daily routine will have only a positive impact on your life, allowing you to reduce your risk of physical health problems and help to better manage difficult times in the future. 

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Reiki is defined as “a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing” (International Center for Reiki Training). 
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Reiki practitioners use their hands to deliver energy to your body improving the flow and balance of your energy, therefore supporting healing. The technique helps people to become physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually balanced. 

Reiki is carried out by a practitioner using their hands to assess the body’s energy field. They use their hands to send energy to parts of the body which may need to be unblocked in order to aid healing and pain relief.​

1.    Improved well-being
Being mindful can help make it easier to enjoy life and help you to stay focused on enjoying the present moment rather than worry about the past, future, your success or self-esteem. Focusing on the here and now helps you to fully engage in conversations or activities, as well as enhancing your capability to deal with unexpected events. You will find you can form deeper connections with others and your patience will grow the more you practice.

​2.    Improved physical health
Mindfulness is scientifically proven to relieve stress, treat heart disease, reduce your experience of chronic pain, lower your blood pressure and even improve sleep. 
You don’t even realise the effects that daily stress can have on your body, even if you take 3 deep breaths right now you will feel your body start to loosen and shock yourself at how tight you were holding it!

3.    Improved mental health 
As previously mentioned, meditation and mindfulness is being used to treat many mental disorders, most prominently anxiety and depression disorders. However, it is also proven to help treat eating disorders, OCD and even substance abuse. 
Mindfulness works by teaching you to accept things and respond in the best way  rather than to react and fight them.

​4.    Improved immune system
There is science to support the fact that mindfulness helps affect our disease-fighting cells. When we encounter a virus or disease our bodies send out immune cells that circulate in your blood and fight the infection. Mindfulness meditation has been proven to increase the amount of cell activity in patients with cancer, potentially aiding the regression of the disease.

​5.    Reduced psychological pain
Mindfulness gives one the ability to better understand their thoughts and so helps people who have experienced trauma or addiction. The effects of mindfulness for drug addictions are hugely compelling as it allows people to better tolerate their cravings and avoid relapse. This may be due to the fact drug addictions come about due to physical cravings but arise due to the temporary relief that the substance can have on one’s psychological suffering. Implementing mindfulness practice can give you more power over your own thoughts, therefore improving your chances to beat addiction or mental illness.
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6.    Better memory
Everyone suffers from a bad memory sometimes, but did you know that many of these forgetful moments occur due to something called ‘proactive interference’ which is where older memories interfere with your access to newer memories. A study found that training in mindfulness resulted in the biggest improvements to short-term memory with the greatest reductions in proactive interference.

7.    Stronger relationships 
A study from 2018 found that people who practice mindfulness are more accepting of their partner’s flaws or imperfections. This may be because mindfulness can improve your acceptance, relationship satisfaction and empathy towards your partner, resulting in a happier and more loving relationship.

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The easiest way to introduce mindfulness into your daily routine is with an app. Our recommendation is the Headspace app which offers a huge range of guided meditations with specific goals in mind. The app clearly categorises each practice and provides a monthly course of 30 days for each goal. 

You can choose whichever ones suit you the best and then move on to the next one. The app also has mini video clips which can clearly explain some of the ways in which you can start to manage your emotions as well as articles to further explain some of these concepts. 

Other ways to start practising could be during your regular yoga practice. This is a great time to introduce mindfulness if you already practise yoga in your routine. We can help to teach you about mindfulness and fully immerse you into the practice on our yoga retreats abroad, leaving you with a new skill which can drastically improve all areas of your life. 

So, what are you waiting for? Take 10 minutes and try it out for yourself with this guided meditation mindfulness from Calm.

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