Relaxation To Wind Whispering Through Trees

Written By Don Shetterly

Do you want an easy relaxation tip?  If you're like me, nature provides many ways to relax.  I love listening to the sounds of the wind whisper through the trees.  There is something so calming and soothing to me.

When I was a kid, I would go out and lay in the grass, look up at the clouds go by and just listen to the wind whispering through the trees.  It was relaxation at its finest.

Go ahead and try it out for yourself.  Find a park or your backyard or anywhere you have trees and just listen to the wind whisper relaxation.

Rest For The Mind and Body

Recently we had some friends spend a few days with us.  It was fun because we went and spent time at the ocean and a few other places.  We tried to keep the pace easy because in the past, we've had other times where we felt so exhausted by trying to do too much with visitors.

We really needed this time away from the computer and busyness of our days.  There are often more things going on in a week and it seems like there is never enough time.  Even though we do try and stop to rest, life just sometimes gets demanding.

This past week was one that just allowed our minds to rest.  It was a time of "rest and relaxation" for the mind.  Just sitting down at the ocean and feeling the salt air, hearing the waves crash and being engulfed by the sun was so relaxing and restful.  It was refreshing and renewing.

It is far too easy for all of us to forget to truly stop, unplug the computers and phones, and enjoy life and nature the way it is meant to be enjoyed.  Yet, if we keep pushing ourselves day in and day out, we are just adding stress to a mind and body that is already pushed to the limits.

Have you stopped and unplugged lately or are you pushing yourself at a nonstop pace?  If you are, don't chastise yourself for doing this.  Instead, ask why it is that you are and how you can change that.  Your mind and body will thank you for it.

Go ahead, take a moment to stop to rest, recharge, and relax.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Down Time in Life

Written by Don Shetterly

I recently saw a post on twitter about this subject and could not help but write about it myself.  Downtime in life is something we all avoid.  We think it is as nasty as swimming in a mud pit or something.

Yet, downtime is so important.  It is quite necessary to the healthy function of the mind and the body.  It is necessary for the nervous system to not get overloaded and refresh itself.

Downtime helps us enjoy the finer moments of life and the world in which we live.  It keeps us from going off the deep end and diving into a pool with no water.

The Twitter tweet I'm referring to is this one.

“When children are overwhelmed they lose the precious down time they need to explore, reflect and release tension. ” https://t.co/nwlROQVHUv

— jason hilkey (@hilkeyj) August 1, 2016

One thing we don't realize is that especially in this day and age we keep ourselves going almost 100% of the time.  We, therefore, expect our children to keep up with this pace and so we teach them through our example that downtime is not important.  If we cannot do it for ourselves, how can we expect our children to learn proper healthy behaviors from our example?

One activity or meeting after another...

I've seen it a million times when doing massage where people are so busy, they have no time to stop.  It is one activity and meeting to another.  One activity or club or sport to another with their children.  It is almost like we are doing everything we can to avoid downtime in our life.

This is not normal and healthy behavior for humans.  Our bodies are not designed to run constantly.  Our minds are not designed to go from one continuous task to another.  Our nervous system is not healthy when we don't give it time to come back into balance.

Just before I was paralyzed from a Conversion Disorder, I was working 18 hours a day in my job, almost 7 days a week.  I was trying to be the best and be everything for my boss, the company, and those that I worked with every day.  I didn't know what it meant to take care of myself.  I didn't know what downtime was.  I was just like everyone else that I kept going and pushing but never stopping.

Conversion Disorder stopped my life...

Conversion Disorder brought me to a complete stop in life.  There was nothing else I could do but stop and start to figure out how to function in life once again.  It was a slow process, but it started by listening to the birds and feeling the sunshine and enjoying the little things in life.  It started by learning how to relax and stop and let go.

The process wasn't an overnight success.  It took me years, but I knew that if I went back to the Conversion Disorder experience, the second time would not be as fortunate for me.  It was a strong motivator to change my life.

Downtime and relaxation are critical to our well-being.  It is critical to the health of our mind, our body, and our nervous system.  If you read the news or watch the current political climate, you can see strong evidence, that our mind, body, and nervous systems are anything but healthy.

When we neglect down time...

When we neglect downtime, it is then that stress builds up in our lives and connects with past experiences where illness can begin to show up.  We've seen the alarming statistics about how much we continue to spend on healthcare, but yet we aren't any more healthy than we were 20 years ago.

We can all do so much to help improve the health of our own mind, body and nervous system.  It is a choice we make to either take care of ourselves or not.

If we don't make this an important part of our life, who will?  If you wait for someone to tell you to do this, you will probably never hear it.  If you wait until your health has gone past the point of no return, you will wish you had paid more attention and given yourself the downtime you need.

If we truly want to pass something beneficial on to our children, we will learn how to enjoy downtime and teach our children through example.  In the process, we will be giving ourselves one of the greatest gifts we can by taking care of the one and only body we get in this lifetime.

Do you get enough downtime in your day (not in a week or month or year, but in a day)?  If not, what will you start to do today to change that?

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Relaxing Day At The Ocean Video

This video was taken after a trip up the coast in Florida near Flagler Beach. It was a cloudy day, but still a nice drive.  I love this section of the beach because it almost feels remote even if other people are around it.

Just take a moment and watch the video.  It is only 2:23 minutes in length.

See if you can just let yourself get lost in the video and relax to the waves coming in and out.  See the clouds resting in the sky.  Think of something you want to let go of in this moment and just allow the waves to take it back out to the sea where it is diluted in billions of drops of water.  Breathe in the renewal that each wave brings and breathe out that which you no longer need.

YouTube Video:  Relaxing Day At The Ocean

Credits:  Video taken by Don Shetterly at Marine Land, Florida on 9/10/15

Relaxation To Swimming Dolphins

Enjoy this moment.  Enjoy the relaxation to swimming dolphins that I recorded some time ago off the coast of Florida near St. Augustine.  It was a beautiful site just to be walking on the beach and watching the brief moment where the dolphins were swimming close to the shore.  

Video:  Swimming Dolphins (YouTube) 

Some Days You Just Want To

• Some days you just want to scream for all the stress and torment people and jobs and places put you through. 

• Some days you just want to run down the street waving your arms in the air and yelling at the tops of your lungs.

• Some days you just want to run on the beach naked (after applying sunscreen of course and protecting those special body parts).

• Some days you just want to prank call everyone and anyone having fun in the most stupid and silliest of ways.

Relaxation In A Hammock

What took me so long to buy this? I don't know.  It is a question that alludes me. I once had a hammock many years ago and I loved it so much.  When we moved, I gave it away and well, I wish I would have never done that.  This hammock I bought is so relaxing.  I love it so much.

It doesn't get any better than finding relaxation in a hammock.  I mean, just see how you can sink down and let go of life and stress and those difficult moments in life as you lay in the hammock.

Your body is supported but suspended in air.  You can feel the breeze of the wind blowing by you, while listening to the birds chirp and sing.

It just gives me that moment of pause in life that I so badly need right now.  It is a time to just drift away from the stress and cares of life, knowing that for the time I am in my hammock, nothing else matters.  It is a moment where I just let go and be in the "now" of the moment.

Gliding Massage Touch

Time and time again, I have seen massage therapists that don't connect with their own touch.  They don't seem to be aware of just what their touch does to a body.  Way back in massage school, I remember trying to help educate an upperclassman to what their touch felt like when they began a massage on me.

You see, the way in which you touch someone makes all the difference.  In the specific circumstance that I am referring to, it is that first touch or that gliding stroke down a back or other body part.  Let me see if I can describe this further.

For instance, you have the person lying face down on a massage table with their back exposed.  You have the oil on your hands and you are ready to touch them by doing a gliding stroke down their back.  It sounds wonderful doesn't it?  It sounds like just the thing anyone would like.  Unfortunately, all too often instead of gliding down on their body as a plane would make a smooth landing at an airport, it is like they drop a bomb on the persons back with their touch.  Then, they start the gliding process.

Relax To The Ocean Waves

Imagine sitting on the beach next to the ocean.  Feel the sun on your body and the wind on your face.  The birds soar as the air currents lift them up.  The grains of sand far outnumber your comprehension as your gaze of the blue ocean water brings tranquility to your mind.  Now, just relax in this image and relax to the sounds of Ocean Waves.  



 

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Blog Post And Images (c) 8/11/12 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Stopping And Observing The World We Live In

Birds Outside My Window
Stopping And Observing

Those little things in life that we often miss can bring such joy, peace, and a moment of relaxation to our day. Yet, we so often walk right past them, not even noticing what is playing out before our eyes. It is like going to a symphony, and failing to see the orchestra playing, or visiting some tropical paradise and failing to see the sunsets, coconuts, and palm trees. These moments are all around us for a reason.

Many years ago when I was paralyzed from a conversion disorder, I remember sitting outside all weekend long at the Bridgeway Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. It was the first chance in weeks and even in years that I could just sit out and observe the world around me. I remember sitting there for many hours just listening, watching, and taking in everything that was there. It was as if I was part of all that was going on.

Relaxation Or Stress - Your Choice!

Corey The Orange Cat
Enjoying Relaxation

While we can have relaxation without release, it is often limited.  The more you can release and let go, the deeper the relaxation will be.  Imagine a container full of water that is almost full.  Imagine that the water in the container represents stress in your life and the container is your body and mind.  Now, try to add another container full of water and see what happens.  Most likely you will see the water overflow as the original container can only hold so much.  However, if you take water out of container, than you can add much more into it.

Our body is the same way.  We heap stress upon it every day hoping that somehow, it will just absorb it.  The thing is, we are usually numb to what is going on around us and in our life, so we don't even really sense or connect to all the trauma we put our body through in a day.  We just keep doing it minute after minute, day after day, with absolutely no rest in sight.  At some point during the year, we take a one or two week vacation, maybe even throw a massage in there and claim we've done a lot for our self.  Then, we head back to work and push our body every single day for the next year!

My Shoulder Hurts

One of my recurrent body pains is showing up again.  It would be easy for me to proclaim that the reason is a result from going to the fitness center.  As believeable as I could make that story out to be, I know it would be innacurate to some degree.

Yes, I do have a physical limitation in my shoulder that I am sure would show up on xrays and tests as being a shoulder impingement.  Unfortunately, that would be too easy of an explanation as well and if I got lost in that scenario, I would not be furthering my healing along from the pain.

You see, the pain isn't there 100% of the time.  Working out at the gym after a period of inactivity can sometimes inflame the situation.  Clicking a mouse all day long on my computer can also affect my hand, shoulder and neck.  However, I know that I can go for many days or weeks or months and experience no pain.

An Ocean Picture Meditation

To enhance the power of this ocean meditation, you may want to download and listen to one of my CD's called "Relaxing Ocean Wave Sounds". The sounds on this CD were recorded from the place you see in these pictures.

Since the ocean is one of my favorite places, every time I go, I always take pictures. For me to walk along the ocean, feel the salt mist and ocean breezes, it is breath taking to me.

I'm always captivated by the sounds of the waves and the roar of the ocean. If you ever have the chance to go to the ocean, do it! It is an experience you'll never forget. On the other hand, if you have been to the ocean, I hope these pictures will reconnect you with the sites and sounds you feel in your body and mind.





Just notice the rolling waves, and the ever so peaceful appearance of the waters that seem to stretch for miles and miles. The shoreline filled with its many grasses and plants that changes as the shoreline changes. If you travel for miles up the coast, you'll notice quickly how the shoreline changes, yet it is all connected.




Gazing into that deep blue horizon, it is like nothing else matters. No matter what is going on in life, it is like all is very insignificant to this moment that I am seeing. A point where I am standing there in this big world and while I'm connected to it, I feel as if I've drifted far beyond the earthly plane.




As the waves crash to the shore, I often see them bringing in what I need in life and taking away that which I don't need. I picture myself releasing all those difficult moments in life to the waves. The ocean is big enough to take these things, wash them away and carry back much needed peace to the shore.




Knowing that the shoreline I see at this particular minute and hour of the day, will change into something new, and unseen and that does not exist at this point in time. The low and high tide changes the landscape with each wave that crashes onto the shore. The depth of water and the water's edge display a landscape that cannot be imagined.


So to is our life. It is ever changing and what we see today is not what will be there tomorrow. No two days are alike and no two moments are alike. We can choose to participate in whatever moment of our life we wish or we can choose to step back and be an observer to the bigger picture of life. Sometimes by observing where we are in the moment, we are participating in life in a way that no comprehension can achieve.

May we view the ocean or other places in our life with great observance to gain a deeper understanding of who we are and where we are in life.


Further Reading:
1) Relaxing Ocean Wave Sounds (Blog Post 7/20/11)
2) Relaxing Ocean Waves (Blog Post & Video 7/08/11)
3) Ocean Waves (Blog Post 5/17/11)



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Blog Post & Images (c) 7/13/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

If any part of this post is used or shared, a link back to this site is required.
http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/
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Relaxing Ocean Wave Sounds For Sleep, Massage, Relaxation, Healing, Spa

Imagine it is a warm sunny afternoon on the beach, with the sun shining down and a light ocean breeze blowing against you. At random times, birds go flying by as if they are effortlessly drifting along. As you relax on a beach towel, listen to the waves come in and go out, as the rhythm lulls you into a deep relaxed and meditative state. Spend some time and wake up feeling refreshed, renewed, and at peace within yourself.

Relaxing Ocean Wave Sounds is a CD of ocean waves that was recorded at Canaveral National Seashore in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. It was recorded on the summer solstice at morning low tide (June 21, 2011).

The CD has very dynamic and full ocean wave sounds that will lull you to sleep, help you relax, meditate, or are just ideal for massage, the spa or any other relaxing and healing environment you wish to create.

Available now on iTunes, Rhapsody and Napster and Amazon.

The CD is 69 minutes in length (a 1 track single) and can be purchased on itunes for $1.99 or Rhapsody, Napster and Amazon for 99 cents.

It is available for mp3 download on these sites and the physical CD on Amazon will be coming soon.

I hope everyone enjoys the CD and I look forward to seeing the reviews online at the various download sites.

CD Title: Relaxing Ocean Wave Sounds For Sleep, Massage, Relaxation, Healing, Spa
UPC: 859706360099
Artist: Don Shetterly

For More Information
http://www.donshetterly.com

Let The Music Play

Out of my morning meditations came a stream of consciousness which stated that listening to some music as I worked during the day at my desk would help me stay focused and more relaxed. It sounded like an excellent idea but the speakers on my Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop are not that great and to hook up external speakers means that I have to plug another cable into the front of the laptop which I hate to do all the time.

Anyway, the only other way for me to listen to music was through my ipod. However, I hate the headphones/earplugs in my ears all day. It just doesn't work that well for me. I'm not a headphone/ear plug person for a long period of time. So I was in search of a new solution.

I had heard about and seen the JBL On Stage Micro speakers in action. They have some excellent sound and work well. However, I knew these very nice speakers were a lot more money than I wanted to spend. That was - until I found them on sale at Amazon. Reading some of the reviews, I was not sure how great the quality of this little speaker was but I'll have to say, I'm blown away by the quality and volume of this unit.

This little 6" diameter speaker allows you to plug into an electrical outlet or run it off of 4 AAA batteries. If it is plugged into the electrical outlet, it will charge your ipod. I've actually used it on my iphone 3gs as well and it works great with either one. There's a little remote that allows you to operate the speaker system and ipod functions without touching your ipod. The sound is excellent and I even turned the volume way up and it is still excellent. I could turn it up loud enough to hear it throughout much of my house. It is tiny and compact so when I travel, I can take it with me. I love having music play at night while I sleep and so this makes it easy to take with me to a hotel room. There are many more features of this that I won't go into detail here. This is my short little review of this speaker and you can click on the link below to read more about it on Amazon.

So why am I mentioning this up here on a Mind Body Thoughts blog? Well, part of it is that I wanted a way to play my relaxing music during the day as well as at night when I travel on business. It helps me focus and sleep better. Otherwise, my mind can run a million different creative directions in an hour and night time sounds can distract my sleep. It is small enough to travel with. I can keep it close by on my desk at a low volume to not bug others working around me.

More importantly, when I do workshops or bodywork sessions, instead of lugging around a big boom box with CD's, I can just take my compact speaker and ipod and away I go. It is one less thing to carry with me and pack. It is so compact, it takes very little space.

I know there are cheaper speakers out there and ones that are much more expensive but this cost $59.95 (regular price on Amazon was $99.95) and I know I've seen them for much more than that. The one thing I noticed was that you could get this in different colors but they were much more expensive. Mine is a black color and that's fine for me.

So now, my only problem comes in buying more relaxing music for my ipod! Anyway, I try not to make this into a commercial blog but every now and then I run across something that is too good to not share on here. My emphasis is not on the commercial side but on writing information and experience based blog entries. So, don't worry, I won't be doing this very often.

But go and check out these speakers and let me know what you think of them!

JBL On Stage Micro Portable Speaker Dock for Ipod (Black)

*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

The Brain Never Rests

According to an article on Newsweek.com, Why Your Brain Never Really Rests, scientists have ignored the brain activity in the background as the brain is not really active doing anything. Since scientists doing PET scans and MRI's assumed this activity was meaningless, they actually took it out of the results from the scans.

When someone is lying still and it seems like the mind is blank, the brain activity is really working hard. The very idea of default activity was so against the norm for the scientific community that when Marcus Raichle discovered it, his paper on the subject was rejected. The brain might be very active in the areas where it seems as if nothing is going on.

The brain is in the "default mode" when we sleep, stare in to space, undergo anesthesia or even when we are sitting motionless like in a moment of meditation and relaxation. The brain consumes 20 times as much energy during this time as compared to times of thinking, feeling and using our senses. That is a lot of energy consumed for the brain to be at rest. So while one may say the brain is at rest, it truly is not at rest.

The default mode of the brain seems to be preparing our minds for future situations including creating images about what to expect from future situations so we are prepared for those moments. There are many synapses taking place in the visual cortex of our brain during this default mode which suggests that the brain is creating mental images that help us make sense of the images in real time. The default mode is active when we are not taking in information and processing events from our day. It is a time when we may be pulling all kinds of information together including other people's perspectives to help us play through possible scenarios which help us plan and prepare for our moments ahead.

Just think of how much our brains are doing while we are in this default mode and then consider just how much we may limit the capacity of our brain when we keep ourselves too busy. We need the down time and the rest whether it is relaxing on a beach or at a pool, taking a leisurely walk, taking an afternoon nap or doing meditation and relaxation exercises. If we constantly stimulate our minds, we may be missing out on some of the most important revelations that will help us navigate through life in a much better and more balanced way.

I cannot help but think of the times that I've struggled to solve a problem. In one case, I was on a client site and spent all day trying to solve an issue. Finally I went home and just completely let go of it from my mind. I knew I had just a few hours to solve the situation the next day but I also realized that the best thing I could do was to just let go of it and get my brain off of the problem. Lo and behold the next morning when I walked into the client site, I solved the problem in the first 15 minutes. My brain had a chance to analyze all scenarios and all the information and input from the day to come to a solution that worked.

It is very important to give our minds a rest during the day and if we do this even for a few minutes, we'll be far more productive than if we just keep pushing through our day and pouring those gallons of caffeine into our body. Our brains offer us much more than we sometimes realize and often times, we are the ones holding ourselves back. Let us give ourselves what we need and watch how much our brain gives us in return.

Images: NASA/courtesy of nasaimages.org

*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Finger Pulse Meter - Know What's Going On

The pulse rate measurement using the Finger Pulse Oximeter is good not only to get a specific number but it shows in wave form just how strong or weak, steady or inconsistent the pulse is. It really gives a true picture of what is going on with the person's nervous system. Most people are not able to tell this and even if they think they can, the mind can fool you into what is happening with the body. Our filters, life experience, our awareness and our past traumas all play into how we read what is happening in our body.

As much work as I do on myself, sometimes I cannot tell what is actually happening in my body. There have been times that I have been dreaming and felt like my heart was racing as wildly and rapidly as it could, only to put the pulse meter on my finger and find out it was operating at a normal rate. There have been other times that I felt pretty rested and relaxed but found that the pulse meter showed my pulse to be around 99 bpm (beats per minute). We all go through this at one level or another. Some of us are more aware of ourselves and our body and we listen to our body but some of us spend very little time doing this. What each of us senses as a result of how closely we are connected between our mind and body is going to vary from person to person.

In a recent example, I've been working with a device that is designed to help relax you and bring you into a resting state. When I started working with it, after 30 minutes I would feel more relaxed and rested. However, when I put the Finger Pulse Oximeter on my finger and checked my pulse, it would show that there was very little drop in my pulse rate. Nothing had changed in my biology and physiology although my mind was telling me that I felt more relaxed. The device I was using helped me to feel good and while there is some benefit to that, without creating real physical and biological change, there is almost an insignificant amount of healing taking place. In fact, I could get the same drop in my pulse rate by laying still on my massage table for 15 minutes.

I'm just amazed at how the Finger Pulse Oximeter can really tell me in a clear, concise way what is going on when my body feels completely different than what the pulse meter says. Without it, I would be thinking that I had really achieved relaxation when in reality, I had not. It is very important to know exactly what is going on and not just guessing at it. This pulse meter is invaluable to me and is an excellent tool in monitoring my overall health.


*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Confusion - Symptoms Of Stress, Part 9

This is Part 9 of 9 Part Series - Confusion

In the health.yahoo.com article, 9 Surprising Symptoms Of Stress, confusion can be caused by stress. Stress causes distraction and lack of focus according to Debbie Mandel, MA, author of “Addicted To Stress”, “stress hormones lodge longest in the brain,” she says.

How many times do we see people or maybe it is ourselves, struggle with focus during our work day? Maybe we’re sitting in a meeting and just cannot seem to follow what is going on or maybe were a student in school and concentrating on our homework or listening to a teacher is difficult. Many people turn towards caffeine or energy drinks to help pump them up and make them more alert. In reality, these things only prolong the inevitable. Your body is stressed out and needs some down time. Taking stimulants may help for the moment but continuing to use these substances may be taking you down a path you don’t want to go.

What if you went outside during the day and took in the sunshine for a few minutes or just breathed some of the fresh air? What if you went out and listened to the birds, hearing their sounds or even listening to the wind blowing through the trees? You might even sit in your chair at your desk for 30 seconds and just focusing on feeling your breath in your body and just being there with yourself, pushing all other thoughts out of your mind. Even 30 seconds of doing one of these activities can help bring clarity to your mind in a day.

All too often, we push ourselves day in and day out but we stop to give ourselves the much needed time to rest and repair. While it may feel like we do not have the time to stop and rest, often we will find that if we do this, we will accomplish much more than if we just try to keep pushing onward.


Symptoms Of Stress: (9 Part Series)
Part 1. Tweaked and Tense Muscles
Part 2. Eye Twitching
Part 3. Ragged Cuticles
Part 4. Cavities
Part 5. Rashes & Itching
Part 6. Nausea
Part 7. Sleep
Part 8. Forgetfulness
Part 9. Confusion



*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

When Life Is Too Busy

I can't keep track of how many times I have heard people say "I'm so busy, I just can't find the time to get everything done". Their days are filled from early morning until late at night where they try to cram in some time to gulp down food, say hi to the family and attempt the act of sleep. The kids are in all kinds of activities or there are meetings to attend or there are long days at the office. It's almost like they need an assistant just to schedule their lives. Does any of this sound familiar?

If you notice any part of this being familiar, you may want to ask yourself why that is the case? If your life has become a runaway train on a track of endless things to get done, maybe it is time to stop, re-evaluate and make changes in your life. Sometimes we have to make hard choices and just because some activity or after school event looks fun and inviting, only so much is good for the body. Only so much can be done in a day and there are only 24 hours to a day, not 30!

Our bodies need rest and they need downtime but if we constantly push them to the limits every day, we're overloading them for no good reason. The constant push and get done mentality, adds a tremendous amount of stress to the body. Without giving ourselves a moment to relax or release all of this stress from deep within ourselves, we are daily traumatizing our life. Yes, you can keep this pace up for some time without major biological ramifications but at some point, your body is going to say "I've had enough!" When it does that, you'll see all kinds of physical symptoms showing up from lack of sleep, tired and sore muscles, back pain, weight gain, high blood pressure and etc, etc, etc. You name it, the condition will show up. Yes, I realize that these conditions can be caused by many other things but repetitive stress without release changes our biology.

For a long time in my life, I worked almost day and night. I had to be the best. I had to be perfect. I could not let anyone down. I had to be everything to everyone. It almost took me under. In fact, there wasn't much left of my life by the time I came to my senses. It took me some long hard and difficult moments to come back to reality and begin understanding what really did matter in life.

Our bodies have so much power and strength built into them and they can withstand a lot of pressure and stress but all too often, we just keep pushing ourselves every day. We don't give ourselves the time we need to relax and let our mind rest or to truly come down and experience a true state of peace within our lives. A day of vacation or a holiday here and there isn't enough to do this. It should be a part of our daily and weekly lives.

So if this blog post fits you, try to stop and evaluate all that you're doing in life. If you have to, take an inventory of how you spend your time and get a good grasp of what is going on. Are you giving yourself time to rest and relax each day, where your mind doesn't necessarily get input and stimulation, but is allowed to just clear out? Are you doing things that maybe they are fun and inviting, but may just be too much and you need to slow down? Are you trying to be there for everyone and anyone associated in your life but you are absent with yourself? Maybe you've turned to stimulants such as coffee or food to get you up and going.

We all need balance in our lives and while too much stimulation can be harmful, too much sedation prevents us from really getting things done. If there is a balance between the two in our day, than we will most likely find more optimal performance for ourselves in life and accomplish much more. I still remember when I was working full time and going to massage school, that my life was about as busy as it gets. However, on Saturday mornings I would go down and do Yoga. Even though it took about 2 hours out of my day, I found that I was able to accomplish much more during the rest of the weekend and absorb more of my school work than if I didn't spend the time doing Yoga.

My hope is that everyone who reads this will give themselves the moments of rest and relaxation they deserve. This way, they can not only give themselves to all those around them in their life, but they can also give their own self what they truly need and desire. For if we don't take care of ourselves, who will?

*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Healing Piano Music

WOW – no let’s make that a DOUBLE WOW! This CD, Healing Piano by Steven Cravis, really surprised me. I was expecting the sounds that I had come to know in Steven Cravis’ other CD’s but when I heard this one, I was surprised and amazed. I think this is one of Steven’s greatest works that he has done. Here’s why I say this.

The music is gentle but has flowing ripples of musical notes, as if you were staring across a rippling brook flowing gently through a lush meadow. The songs have delicately placed pauses in them, as if they just knew where exactly to be located to give the mind an opportunity to absorb all that it is receiving. The sounds range from more dominant tones to more mellow, with some tones just following one another in single file that is full of dimension, time, and space. The music is so deep and vibrantly full of life and energy that I find myself wanting to immerse myself in it, as if I’m soaking in a relaxing bath. To say this music is amazing is limiting my description by a vocabulary that can not explain the fullness of the sounds, tones, and inflections.

So I put this music to the test using my pulse meter to measure just what impact it would have on me. Using my iPod and noise canceling headphones, I laid on my massage table and just played the music as I closed my eyes. I took my pulse with the pulse meter and it was around 80-85 before I started. After listening all of the way through to the end of the music, I once again took my pulse. My pulse had gone down to around 69-74. It definitely dropped my pulse rate down about 10-15 points and that is an indicator that the “relaxation response” or parasympathetic mode is being reached, which offers the body a chance to heal through rest and repair.

This music is not only beautiful but so relaxing and inviting that I know you’ll want to check it out. I’m sure my clients will enjoy having relaxing massages to this music and I’m sure I will also be using this in my own relaxation and meditation times. This CD, Healing Piano by Steven Cravis, is truly a piece of art and Steven is going to have a difficult time creating work that outdoes this CD, but knowing his creative ability, I’m sure we will see many more great things in the future.

You can learn more about Steven Cravis at:
http://www.stevencravis.com

You can download music by Steven Cravis on:
iTunes

*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog