During the contest, the young man displayed superlative adeptness when his first arrow hit the bull’s eye, and then he split that arrow into two with his second shot. Highly pleased with his own performance, he dared the old man to match it. The master remained calm and instead of drawing his bow he motioned for the young archer to follow him up the hill. Curious about what the old man was up to, the young archer followed him near the peak of the mountain. There, they confronted a deep gulf, bridged simply by a flimsy trunk of an old tree. The master stepped on the wobbly log and walked to the middle, picked a far away tree as a target, drew his bow, and fired a clean, direct hit. Calm and composed, he stepped off the log quietly, looked at the champion archer and said, “Your turn now.”

As he stared into the terrifying chasm, the young man trembled and couldn’t even step onto the log, leave aside attempting to shoot at a target. Sensing his predicament, the old man looked at him lovingly and, without a trace of superiority, said, “Young man, no doubt you have great skill with your bow and arrow but you have little skill with the mind that controls these weapons. Shooting arrows in contests is not that same as firing them on the battlefield, where violence can arise upon any kind of terrain and under any conditions. If you want to be a real champion, go and become the master of your mind.”

Why Unwavering Composure Matters

For me, the lesson in this Zen story runs deeper than the abyss that terrified the young archer. All my life, I have been taught to focus on learning new ways to succeed, on acquiring knowledge, on gaining technical “expertise”. After all, these qualities are valued in the world. But when disaster strikes, when I am confronted with an unexpected crisis, or when life throws a curve ball, no amount of expertise and knowledge comes in handy — unless it is also accompanied by a tranquil mind. Only if you are calm and composed can you face stressful situations without succumbing to the pressure. And yet, learning worldly skills is given prominence everywhere with hardly any emphasis on the importance of training the mind for peace and calmness.

But then, life is the greatest school with the most unsuspecting teachers on its roll. And my teachers have come disguised as unexpected difficulties and stressful situations — challenges and problems that have stumped me and made me realize that what I most need at that moment is unwavering composure; nothing else matters as much.

Also read » The lion and the crippled fox

Why Staying Calm Helps

I rate the ability to stay calm and composed as greater than any other material accomplishment. Without composure, I cannot help myself or another. But if peace is my constant companion, regardless of how stressful the challenge, how demanding the situation, how dicey the problem, I know I can deal with it. This is what the Zen master implied when he urged the young archer to become the master of his mind.

I understand that steadfast equanimity requires great practice and dedication, especially because it is not given priority in a world that is smitten by material wealth and sense pleasures. But, like the Zen story teaches us, skill — or for that matter riches, fame or power — are of little use without a calm mind. That’s why I consider the ability to stay calm and composed under all circumstances to be the greatest quality. This quality of composure is a flowering of mindfulness. Let me explain.

How to Be Mindful In Stressful Situations

To be able to stay calm and composed in the midst of chaos and uncertainty requires one to be in a state of heightened awareness, which is the quality of mindfulness. When facing a crisis, a mindful person, rather than being swayed by extreme emotions, stays calm and controlled while working the best way out of the situation. Mindful beings are in touch the present moment and also know that their all power exists now in the timeless realm of now. When you focus on the present, you are able to respond better to the challenges at hand rather than being overwhelmed by stress and losing perspective of your situation.

Here are a few steps that will help you stay calm and composed in stressful situations:

1. Acknowledge and accept that you are feeling stressed

Only when you acknowledge the physical and emotional signs of stress — palpitations, feelings of weakness, a stream of dreadful thoughts — are you in a position to do something about it. Accepting your stressful feelings allows you to approach the situation objectively and calmly.

2. Stop and notice your breath

Take a moment to pause and pay attention to your breathing. As you notice you breath, you will begin to breathe deeper and slower which, in turn, will activate the body’s relaxation response and help you regain a sense of calm.

3. Bring your attention to the present

Become intensely present. Look around and notice your surroundings. Also make note of  the sensations in your body as well as your mental chatter. Doing so will instantly ground you and anchor you to the present moment. Now you will have a clearer view of the stressful situation.

4. Question your fearful thoughts

Stressful situations cause our minds to go into an overdrive of negative thinking. But most of these thoughts are simply unfounded fears that can be challenged and disputed with reason. As you question your thoughts, you will be able to look at your stressful situation in the right context.

5. Be your own friend

Avoid self-criticism. Bashing yourself up is self-defeating phenomenon with terrible consequences. Give yourself space to be imperfect. Be gentle and compassionate to yourself like you would be to a friend in a similar situation.

Conclusion

Try following the above steps, the next time you feel immobilized when facing a difficult situation. With practice, being mindful will enable you to stay stay calm and composed no matter how challenging and stressful your situation.

If you wish to learn how to cultivate a mindful disposition, start by reading this article.

Also read » The man who eliminated uncertainty

» Follow Manoj Khatri on Twitter and Instagram

The post How to Be Mindful in Stressful Situations appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Breathing consciously is like drinking a glass of cool water. As we breathe in, we really feel the air filling our lungs. We don’t need to control our breath. We feel the breath as it actually is. It may be long or short, deep or shallow. In the light of our awareness it will naturally become slower and deeper. Conscious breathing is the key to uniting body and mind and bringing the energy of mindfulness into each moment of our life.

Regardless of our internal weather—our thoughts, emotions, and perceptions—our breathing is always with us like a faithful friend. Whenever we feel carried away, sunk in a deep emotion, or caught in thoughts about the past or the future, we can return to our breathing to collect and anchor our mind.

How to Practice Conscious Breathing

Light and natural, calm and peaceful

While you breathe in and out, feel the flow of air coming in and going out of your nose. At first your breathing may not be relaxed.

But after practicing conscious breathing for awhile, you will feel how light and natural, how calm and peaceful your breathing has become. Any time you’re walking, gardening, typing, or doing anything at all, you can return to this peaceful source of life.

You can say to yourself:

Breathing in, I know I’m breathing in.
Breathing out, I know I’m breathing out 

When the mind is no longer thinking

After a few breaths, you may want to shorten this to “In, Out”. If you follow your in-breath and out-breath all the way through, your mind is no longer thinking. Now your mind has a chance to rest. In our daily life we think too much. Giving our mind a chance to stop thinking is wonderful.

“Breathing in, I know I’m breathing in…” isn’t a thought. It’s a simple awareness that something is happening, that you are breathing in and out. When you breathe in and bring your attention to your in-breath you bring your mind back to a reunion with your body. Just one in-breath can help the mind come back to the body. When body and mind come together, you can be truly in the present moment.

“Breathing in, I know I’m breathing in…” is another way of saying “Breathing in, I feel alive.” Life is in you and life is around you—life with all its wonders: the sunshine, the blue sky, the autumn leaves. It’s very important to go home to the present moment to get in touch with the healing, refreshing, and nourishing elements of life inside and around you. A light smile can relax all the muscles of your face.

Breathing in, I recognize the blue sky.
Breathing out, I smile to the blue sky, 

Breathing in, I am aware of the beautiful autumn leaves.
Breathing out, I smile to the beautiful autumn leaves. 

You can shorten this to “blue sky” on the in-breath, and “healing” on the out-breath. Then “autumn leaves” on the in-breath, and “smiling” on the out-breath. When you practice breathing like this, it puts you in touch with all these wonders of life.

Just one in-breath can help the mind come back to the body

With conscious breathing, you are in touch with life

The beauty of life is nourishing you. You are free from your worries and fears. You get in touch with your breath and with your body. Your body is a wonder. Your eyes are a wonder, you need only to open your eyes to be able to touch the paradise of forms and colors that are available. Your ears are a wonder. Thanks to your ears you can hear all kinds of sounds: music, birdsong, and the wind blowing through the pine trees. When you pay attention to your in-breath and out-breath, you bring yourself home to the present moment, to the here and the now, and you are in touch with life. If you were to continue to be lost in the past, or to run to the future, you’d miss all of that.

Breathing in, I follow my in-breath all the way through.
Breathing out, I follow my out-breath all the way through. 

In the beginning, you may notice that your breathing may feel labored or awkward. Your breath is a result of your body and feelings. If your body has tension or pain, if your feelings are painful, then your breath is affected. Bring your attention to your breath and breathe mindfully.

Breathing in, I know I’m breathing in.
Breathing out, I know I’m breathing out. 

Breathing in, I smile to my in-breath.
Breathing out, I smile to my out-breath. 

Let the quality of your breathing improve naturally

Never force your breath. If your in-breath is short, let it be short. If it’s not very peaceful, let it be like that. We don’t intervene, force, or “work on” our breath. We just become aware of it, and after some time, the quality of our breathing improves naturally. Mindfulness of breathing identifies and embraces our in-breath and out-breath, like a mother going home to her child and embracing her child tenderly in her arms. You’ll be surprised to see that after one or two minutes, the quality of your breathing begins improving. Your in-breath becomes deeper, your out-breath becomes slower. Your breathing becomes more peaceful and harmonious.

Breathing in, I notice that my in-breath has become deeper.
Breathing out, I notice that my out-breath has become slower.

When you notice that your in-breath and out-breath have become more peaceful, deeper, and slower, you can offer that peace, calm, and harmony to your body. In your daily life, you may be neglecting and ignoring your body. Now is your chance to come home to your body, recognize its existence, get reacquainted, and make friends with it.

Breathing in, I’m aware of my body.
Breathing out, I release all the tension in my body. 

Rising, falling

These breathing exercises come from the Buddha himself*. They’re very easy, like child’s play. If it’s helpful, put your hand on your belly. You’ll notice that when you breathe in, your stomach is rising, and when you breathe out, your stomach is falling. Rising, falling. Especially in the lying position, it’s easy to feel your abdomen rising and falling. You’re aware of your in-breath and out-breath from the beginning to the end. Breathing like this is enjoyable. You aren’t thinking anymore—of the past, of the future, of your projects, of your suffering. Breathing becomes a pleasure, a reminder of life itself.

Breathing in, I enjoy my in-breath.
Breathing out, I enjoy my out breath

*See Thich Nhat Hanh Breathe! You Are Alive (Berkeley, CA Parallax Press, 2008)

Later on, after you’ve been able to offer that peace and to your body, helping it to release the tension, then you can identify your feelings and emotions.

Breathing in, I’m aware of the painful feeling in me.
Breathing out, I smile to the painful feeling in me.

There’s a painful feeling, but there’s also mindfulness. Mindfulness is like a mother, embracing the feeling tenderly. Mindfulness is always mindfulness of something. When you breathe mindfully, that is mindfulness of breathing. When you walk mindfully, that is mindfulness of walking. When you drink mindfully, that is mindfulness of drinking. When you’re mindful of your feelings, that’s mindfulness of feeling. Mindfulness can be brought to intervene in every physical and mental event, bringing recognition and relief.

The present moment is the only moment

I’d like to offer you a practice poem you can recite from time to time, while breathing and smiling:

Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.
Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.

As my in-breath grows deep,
My out-breath grows slow.

Breathing in, I calm my body,
Breathing out, I feel at ease.

Breathing in, I smile,
Breathing out, I release.

Dwelling in the present moment,
I know this is a wonderful moment.

You can shorten this to the words below, one word or phrase per breath:

In, Out.
Deep, Slow.
Calm, Ease.
Smile, Release.
Present Moment, Wonderful Moment.

The present moment is the only moment that is real. Your most important task is to be here and now and enjoy the present moment.

Complementary content

Here’s a meditation that teaches you to breathe consciously — guided by the venerable Thich Nhat Hahn himself. You might find it immensely useful. (Audio only)

The post Thich Nhat Hanh Teaches How to Practice Conscious Breathing appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

“Today, each of us individually generates more information than ever before in human history. Our world is now awash in an unprecedented volume of data. The trouble is, our brains haven’t evolved to be able to process it all.”

In Ayurveda, we would say that our tejas, or the fire of our subtle bodies, cannot efficiently process all of the information we take in. To dig deeper into the functioning of tejas, let’s first explore the symbolism and usages of fire.

Fire as symbol

In Ayurvedic philosophy, there are Five Great Elements [Pancha Mahabhuta] that make up our world. They are Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether. They all have their purposes. Fire is the element responsible for burning, clearing, cleansing, transforming, and illuminating. Metaphorically speaking, fire stands for intelligence, wit, clarity, truth, presence, and light. The element of fire lives in the physical body, keeping us “burning” at about 98.6 degrees. This fire [pitta dosha] directs the release of hormones via the endocrine system and oversees the digestive, metabolic, and regulatory functions.

Fire also resides in an even more subtle place: our minds. In our minds, fire provides clarity, illumination, and truth. This subtle aspect of fire is called tejas in Ayurvedic philosophy, and it directs all mental, emotional, and spiritual activity, including the crucial mental actions of discernment and discipline.

Tejas and discernment

Tejas is responsible for distinguishing falseness from truth, reality from imagination, or even genuine healers from snake oil salespeople. This is the activity of discernment and good discrimination.

Discernment is a power of inquiry that comes to supported, thorough resolutions. But it is a unicorn in our world today. Many people live off knee-jerk reactions and impulses. They are quick to judge and divide. They think they know the truth and are unwilling to challenge or question. Others choose to avoid any situation that asks them to stand their ground or speak their truth. They become passive and gullible. Neither group dives into nuance or subtlety. In Ayurvedic language, we would say that the first group has too much tejas, and the second group doesn’t have enough. When tejas is just right, you can easily discriminate between junk food and nourishing food.

Tejas and personal discipline

There’s a fundamental difference between discipline resulting from strong tejas and the kind of discipline fed by the ego. It would be valid to think of the ego’s discipline as more like force or immobile resolution, whereas tejas discipline is intention and mindful commitment. With tejas, you’re converting the fire’s energy into action, like spending money from your checking account. In the second situation, without a sufficient internal fire to draw from, you’re digging into reserves, like borrowing from a credit card. One day, that bill will come due.

When your discipline is fed by the fire of tejas, you have focus and clarity. You bring your entire being—body, mind, and soul—to your work. You are not deluded in your thinking, and you have no contradictions within yourself or between your words and your actions. A person with good tejas and high personal discipline has integrity, is honest, and shines like a beacon of truth in our world.

When to tend to your fire

Just like a fire in the real world, you must tend to your tejas regularly. Fire needs fuel and oxygen to burn. You have to use good judgment to know when to add fuel to the fire and when to sit back and let the tejas digest what you’ve already given it. Tejas in the mind can be sufficient, too high, or too low. Like Goldilocks and her porridge, you are seeking to build and maintain a “just right” level of tejas. Here is what each of those looks like:

When tejas is deficient, it manifests as:

• Intolerance to cold
• Lackluster, cloudy eyes
• Confusing speech
• Gullible and confused
• Lack of discrimination, clarity, and focus
• Disingenuity

When tejas gets too high, it presents as:

• Being overly critical/judgmental
• Headaches
• Negativity
• Anger
• Manipulative behavior
• Lack of empathy
• Aggressiveness

When tejas works best

A high [but not excessive] level of tejas leaves you feeling clear-headed, radiant, and filled with aspirations. When tejas is burning well within you, it results in a mind that is clear about what it wants and why. Tejas transforms the experiences of your life into wisdom and intelligence.

When the fire of your mind burns brightly and cleanly, the results are:

• Clear thinking
• High intelligence
• Luster in the eyes
• Clear speech
• Radiance
• Discernment
• Ability to endure cold
• Self-reliant and courageous
• Energy of discipline toward your pursuits, both spiritual and worldly

Here are seven ways to tend to your tejas

1. Be mindful about how much and what kind of information you ingest

You’re not a computer, and you’re not designed to simply store information. Instead, you’re supposed to ingest information the same way you take in food—in proper quantities, at designated times, and with the right intention.

2. Surround yourself by inspiring people/places

You learn from your environment. The more you surround yourself with people who have tejas [and you know it when you see it], the more you cultivate it from within.

3. Focus on strengthening your physical digestion

There is a parallel, supportive relationship between the fire of the body [pitta] and the fire of the mind [tejas]. Where one goes, the other follows. However, since it is easier to see the progress of our physical digestion than it is to notice movement in our mental digestion [at least initially], start with what you can observe. Focus on sustaining a bright, healthy digestive fire [agni], and this will, over time, build a glowing mental fire.

4. Get organized

Your external world reflects your inner world and vice versa. Clear the clutter and confusion in your life. Get specific about goals and intentions. Write things down. Speak clearly about them. By doing these things, you will start to feed your mental fire with the oxygen it needs to thrive, and before you know it, organization and clarity will feel like second nature.

[If you’ve determined your tejas is too high, allow more flexibility in your schedule. Let go of some of your fierce determination and practice spontaneity!]

5. Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness is not only a style of meditation; it’s a way of life. Drop into your five senses and explore your world through what you see, hear, taste, smell, and touch. As you raise your awareness and concentration, you will stoke and steady the fire of your mind.

6. Engage your curiosity

Curiosity is the urge to collect the food [information] our minds need to keep the fire burning. Asking questions and not being too quick to formulate an answer lets the fire linger, rather than raging hot before quickly dying out. It’s important to do curiosity the right way, like a child does, without expectation or judgment. Stay open! No matter your age, there’s more for all of us to learn.

7. Work with a spiritual guide/coach

To help you sort through the clutter and rekindle your fire, it helps to work with someone—whether that person goes by the title of coach, counselor, teacher, or therapist. They can take you through the process of sifting and sorting and building a clear, bright, inviting fire.

Once you raise your tejas, you will know it. You’ll be decisive and direct, without insult or anger. You’ll have clarity and discipline about your future as well as imaginative ways to get you there. You’ll be able to sort through the piles of information that come your way for what matters and what doesn’t. Finally, you’ll notice that people will be drawn to you, inspired by your passion and enthusiasm. From there, perhaps others will also find their own way to greater clarity and higher intellect through the power of tejas. It’s certainly one way to change the world.

The post Tejas: Is your inner fire fueling you or burning you out? appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Now, it can be really confusing when it comes to healthy habits because often, even qualified experts seem to hold opposing opinions sometimes. Yet, despite all the disagreements that exist among the medical community, a number of health tips are backed up by research.

For instance, to determine which healthy habits contribute to a longer and healthier life, researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health analysed data from nearly 73,000 women and more than 38,000 men. All the respondents who were part of the study have been enrolled in previous studies, so, data for women was followed for 34 years, and the men were followed for 28 years. The results of the study concluded that the more of these five healthy habits the respondents had, the longer they lived. Plus, the study suggests that even if they had only one of these habits, the participants lived two years longer compared to those that had none. And, if by the age of 50, the participants practised all of the five habits regularly, women lived an extra 14 years, and men lived an extra 12 years.

Here are five healthy habits based on good science that will help you live a longer, happier and healthier life.

5 healthy habits for a longer, healthier, happier life

1. Eat mostly plants

You’ve definitely heard it before, but that’s because it’s true: you are what you eat! Proper nutrition is the top wellness habit that contributes to a healthy and longer life. Now, good nutrition is often misunderstood by many people who think that following a fad diet is the key to maintaining good health. Yet, adequate nutrition actually means choosing only diverse nutrient-dense foods regularly.

Eating mostly plant-based foods such as freshly cooked vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains has been found to be the best diet for longevity.

Nutrition specialists recommend a healthy diet to contain the following: a full plate should be two-thirds low-glycemic vegetables, and maybe a small amount of starchy vegetables such as potatoes, corn, peas, etc., and one-third protein. On the flip note, you should avoid processed junk food at all costs. These foods are low in fiber, protein, and micronutrients and usually contain high levels of unhealthy ingredients such as added sugar and refined grains. Moreover, these foods are projected to trigger our pleasure centers, which tricks our brains into overeating. That is why we often see food addiction in people who eat junk food consistently.

2. Exercise regularly

Exercising is another key habit of maintaining a healthy life. It can help you avoid numerous health conditions, and it is essential for maintaining bone and muscle health. Now, you don’t have to be a fitness junkie or a superstar athlete to have a healthy physical activity level. In fact, the study from Harvard mentioned above, suggests that at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity every day can have a significant impact on keeping you healthy longer.

However, specialists recommend focusing on variety and diversity when exercising. To be more precise, when working out, you shouldn’t focus entirely on a type of movement or a muscle group. Experts believe that since the body doesn’t work in isolation, and every bone, muscle, and body part has its contribution to movement, the more varied the types of movement and stimuli in your body, the deeper the fitness will be.

So, when exercising, include all types of movements in your workout, including pushing, pulling, walking, and twisting.

3. Maintain the ideal body weight

Weight management is a wellness habit that is strongly backed up by basic science. Another study from Harvard suggests that maintaining a healthy weight is essential for lowering the risk of several health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and even the risk of different types of cancer. Now, weight management is obviously connected with regular exercising and healthy nutrition, especially since weight gain is caused not just by how much you eat but what you eat too. Yet, some people are also genetically predisposed to gain weight more easily than others. So, while being physically active and eating healthy foods remains important , they could try intermittent fasting as a way to lose weight.

4. Manage stress

Dealing with stress is inevitable. We all have stressful deadlines at work or personal problems that affect our mental health quality. Chronic stress can really take a toll on your health from affecting your sleep quality to affecting your immune system, physical health, and, obviously, mental and emotional wellbeing. Now, although it is impossible to live a completely stress-free life, there are a few strategies that can help you manage it. Unfortunately, even with a healthy diet and a habit of exercising regularly, you just can’t avoid stress. Yet, proper nutrition and being physically active can help you manage stress more efficiently.

Moreover, you can also learn to manage stress with mindfulness meditation. It is believed that meditation has plenty of benefits on the human body, from reducing blood pressure and heart rate to reduced brain activity, all thanks to the body’s response to relaxation. You don’t have to be a spiritual guru to manage stress through meditation. All you have to do is find a quiet space, close your eyes to disconnect from what surrounds you, and do some breathing exercises while gently focusing your attention on anything other than what caused you to feel stressed. You can think of a beautiful place where you feel safe, focus on your belly’s movements as you breathe, or even notice the sounds or smells in your environment without passing judgment. With time and practice, it will become a lot easier to manage stressful thoughts and get clarity. [Read How to ease into a daily routine of meditation]

5. Quit smoking now

Smoking is one of the worst habits. Every cigarette reduces your lifespan by 11 minutes. Studies have estimated that smokers die ten years sooner than non-smokers. The chance that someone will live to be 80 is only about 35% for smokers as compared to about 70% for nonsmokers. In other words, a smoker loses about 11 to 12 years of life compared to nonsmokers. Heavy smokers cut their lifespan by 13 years on average. On the other hand, those who kick the habit before age 40 reduce the excess risk of death associated with continued smoking by about 90%, according to the study in New England Journal of Medicine.

In conclusion

Our lifespan is strongly linked to our lifestyle and habits. You may live 100 years, but if you don’t enjoy good health, you are very unlikely to enjoy all this extra time. Indeed, you might actually spend your last decade or so suffering from one or more illnesses. Practising these five habits will not only help you live longer but also minimise the risks of disease as you grow older.

The post 5 healthy habits for a longer, healthier, happier life appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Unfortunately, frontline treatments aren’t always effective in relieving panic attacks. Solutions such as benzodiazepines (known under brand names like Xanax and Valium) may relieve fear in the short term, but they have an extremely high potential for addiction, a notoriously difficult withdrawal and tend to treat the symptom but not the underlying cause.

Having panic attacks on a regular basis can have a severe impact on a person’s ability to enjoy life or even function normally, with some going on to develop co-morbidities such as agoraphobia (usually in an attempt to avoid anything that may trigger a panic attack or fear of not being close enough to “safe” people or areas) or substance misuse disorders.

What does a panic attack feel like?

Panic attacks are not dangerous (in the sense that they won’t cause bodily harm) and they are not the result of something “physically” wrong, but the symptoms can be so acute that people often assume they are having a heart attack, losing their mind, or even dying.

Common symptoms for panic attacks include:

• Shaking
• Sweating
• Intense chest or head pain
• A feeling of unreality
• A sense of impending doom
• Nausea and stomach cramping
• Feeling unable to breathe

It is important to understand that these symptoms aren’t imagined. What people experience in a panic attack is very real — it just isn’t going to cause them any physical harm. Activity in the brain and nervous system creates a physiological response that is indistinguishable from what a person would experience if they were in mortal danger, including a spike in blood pressure and a cascade of stress hormones.

What triggers panic attacks

Through observation and research, we now understand that panic attacks occur due to activity in three aspects of our being — our physical selves (a.k.a our physiology), our psychology and our respiratory system. We know that there is a physical cause as around 60% of panic attack sufferers respond to medication such as SSRI’s, and we can observe the panic response in their brain and nervous system.

The emotional aspect of panic attacks is more complex but no less powerful. Panic attacks can sometimes have emotional triggers, and our emotional response to feelings of panic can also serve to entrench patterns of worry and stress which make panic attacks more likely.

The third factor at the root of panic attacks is the way we breathe. The medical community is becoming more aware of the role our breath (and particularly, disturbed breathing patterns) have on our autonomic nervous system, and how conscious control of our breath may influence the way we feel for the better.

How yoga can help relieve panic attacks

There is a growing wealth of research to suggest that yoga can help people who experience panic attacks due to underlying mental health issues, particularly through the easing of symptoms associated with anxiety disorders and PTSD.  One notable example is a study published in the Frontiers of Psychology, which found “significant improvement in panic symptomatology following both the practice of yoga and the combination of yoga and psychotherapy.”

While there aren’t many studies that investigate panic attacks specifically, yoga therapy is increasingly viewed as a viable adjunct treatment for many of the conditions which include panic attacks in their symptoms. Unfortunately, around 40% of anxiety sufferers prove resistant to primary treatments for anxiety, creating a pressing need amongst health professionals and patients for other efficacious interventions.

The three aspects of yoga that support healing

Yoga therapy offers a sustainable treatment option that patients can continue long-term with their own private practice. Yoga addresses three parts of a person’s being (the breath, body and mind), which holistically supports healing across both the physical and psychological aspects of their illness, while also offering a spiritual framework for life should they wish to engage with it.

1. Breath

Breathing is often disordered in people with panic attacks, which can have a negative impact on their wider nervous system. They may “gulp” air, unconsciously hold their breath, over-breathe or breathe shallowly, and most especially when they begin to feel anxious.

Disordered breathing is something people develop unconsciously and it is often a reactive attempt to control their feelings. Unfortunately, however, it has the opposite effect, putting their nervous system into a state of high alert and culminating in periods of psychological crisis.

Pranayama (the yogic word for breathing exercises) is of increasing interest to anxiety researchers. The relationship between anxiety and our breathing is becoming ever more understood, and learning breath work with a yoga therapist can help people manage their anxiety in an effective and accessible way.

2. Body

A key component of panic attacks and anxiety are the distressing physical symptoms that accompany feelings of fear. People living with acute anxiety often display high levels of physical tension and are extremely sensitive to physical stimuli. For example, a person who regularly has panic attacks may notice and fixate on a passing headache that another person barely registers, and feel increasingly anxious about the pain.

This creates a feedback loop where the pain is amplified by the body’s physical stress response, which goes on to heighten psychological anxiety. This leads to hyper-vigilance and for some can develop into a sense of alienation from their own body.

Yoga asanas offer a gentle method of exercise that helps people connect with their bodies and feel less uncomfortable within themselves. With the help of a yoga therapist, highly anxious people can increase their “window of tolerance” for physical discomfort, learn to breathe correctly under physical strain and increase their resilience to stress.

3. Mind

The psychological aspect of panic attacks is powerful and can impact people’s lives in a profoundly negative way. They may stop taking part in activities they once enjoyed, become convinced they will suffer a heart attack or stroke, avoid spaces that aren’t perceived as safe to them, or become depressed.

Mindfulness and meditation are key components of yoga and can help people to become calmer and more able to cope with negative thoughts and emotions. With regular practice, mindfulness increases people’s capacity to recognise their own stress triggers and gently guide themselves away from detrimental thought patterns and behaviours.

Summary

Experiencing panic attacks can be life-changing for the sufferer, estranging them from the person they thought they were and the life they thought they’d lead. Managing panic attacks and the mental health issues that cause them requires holistic support which sustains people through acutely vulnerable periods of their life. When used alongside talking therapies and medication, yoga therapy can provide another pillar of care on the road to recovery.

The post The beneficial impact of yoga on panic attacks appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Food is shown to help relieve stress levels, to provide pleasure and stimulate production of hormones that make us feel happy. It has been shown, at least in the short term, to be an effective coping tool during high stress moments. This is not something we should try to disconnect from—it is simply a part of being human.

When we treat emotional eating as bad and something we should stop, we create a sense of guilt and shame over these eating experiences. As a result, we can end up with an added burden of even more stressful emotions, often leading us to find a way to cope with these new difficult feelings. And when other coping tools can be more difficult to access, food is often there, again, to help us through these difficult emotions.

How self-compassion can break this cycle

Imagine for a moment that you are experiencing difficult emotions and you turn to food to cope. But rather than feeling an intense sense of guilt and shame, you are aware that this experience is, in fact, a part of being human. You are aware these difficult emotions come from a deeper place and that perhaps there is a more effective way to cope than using food, but this does not mean that food, in itself, is the problem. You are able to reflect on your experience, explore how you feel and ponder if there are other coping tools that might be more helpful in the situation.

When faced with difficult emotions, eating is a normal coping mechanism. But if we rely excessively on food alone, it may not allow us to truly explore the root cause of our emotions. There may be some other coping tools that are more effective and when we practise self-compassion in these moments, we unlock space to explore the deeper issues and broaden our coping toolkit. Let us look at ways to break the pattern of emotional eating with self-compassion.

4 steps to break your emotional eating pattern with self-compassion

1. Letting go of unhelpful self-talk and beliefs about emotional eating

The feeling of failure from emotional eating can feel like a direct consequence from the eating behaviour itself. However, as explored by Dr Albert Ellis and Dr Robert Harper, pioneers of rational-emotive psychotherapy, there’s a middle step: our self-talk. If we change our self-talk, we can change our beliefs about a situation and our feelings and behaviour will follow.

Let’s imagine the eating experience itself: why do we perceive it as bad? A moment of eating in itself is not actually good or bad; however, we are surrounded by messages telling us we “should” eat a certain way and we are bad if we don’t. Having these beliefs surrounding food being good or bad can trigger the unhelpful self-talk that leads to sabotaging behaviours.

Consider your self-talk during these moments. Is it compassionate? Does it allow you to explore where the difficult emotions are coming from and encourage more helpful behaviours? If your self-talk, instead of being helpful, triggers a cascade of unhelpful feelings and behaviours, write down helpful phrases you can say to yourself next time and gently replace your harmful thoughts with more compassionate and helpful thoughts. [Also read » The high cost of beating yourself up habitually]

2. Nourishing your body and soul to strengthen your wellbeing

In today’s busy age, managing a busy career or juggling a hectic social life may feel like important tasks. These might be important and may add to our overall sense of wellbeing but often we end of neglecting our most basic needs in our pursuit of satisfying more complex desires.

One of our most basic needs is food and for this reason we have strong biological and psychological drives to ensure we are nourished with enough, and with satisfying, foods. Dieting can prevent us from properly nourishing our body by creating rules around what food we are allowed to eat or how our bodies should look like. Even if we are eating according to a diet or a meal plan, we may not be getting enough nutrition. In fact, studies have shown dieters are more likely to describe themselves as emotional eaters than non-dieters (Peneau et al. 2013).

The best way to know if you are eating enough is to listen to your body’s own hunger and fullness cues. This can sometimes be challenging if we are used to following external rules. If we have gone through a stage of not eating enough for our body, we may even find we are extra hungry to start with, which can make the process difficult. But, if we consistently listen to our body’s biological signals and nourish it accordingly, we are more likely to satisfy our basic need for food and eating pleasure and, therefore, less likely to turn to food during emotional moments.

3. Practising mindfulness during and after an emotional eating moment

During an emotionally charged moment, we are often in a state of distress known as the fight or flight response. During this stress response we are geared to seek a fast comfort. This is a helpful evolutionary response if we are about to get hit by a car, but when it comes to the more chronic stress that we find ourselves dealing with today, it’s not only unhelpful but often detrimental.

Chronic stress cannot be solved by finding immediate comfort. It requires the more complex regions of our brain to get involved so we can explore and find a long-term solution. These complex regions of the brain are not used during a fight or flight response but we can learn to get them involved so we are better able to explore an enduring approach to managing the underlying drives toward emotional eating.

Practising mindfulness can move us from a place of high stress to a calmer place where we can make these informed decisions. When we feel caught up in an emotional moment, taking a few minutes to practise some deep breathing, noticing the breath moving in and out of our body can bring us to a calmer place. We can also begin to tune into different areas of our body, noticing where we feel sensations that, in turn, can help explore the emotions we are feeling and also discover long-term coping strategies.

4. Broadening our coping toolkit to better cope with emotions

Imagine the tools you use to cope inside a toolkit. What different tools do you have in there? If food is one of only a few tools you use, of course you are going to turn to it more often. There’s nothing innately wrong with this, remember it is a valid coping tool, but we may be missing out on other, more helpful, ways to cope.

As Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch say in Intuitive Eating, “Food can comfort but it won’t solve the problem, you will ultimately still have to deal with that”. A diverse toolkit is important to cope with the diverse range of emotions and the underlying triggers that we experience from time to time. The more diverse our toolkit, the more likely we are to find a tool that will be helpful. As a result, the need to turn to the same short-term tools such as food will be much reduced.

Rather than trying to remove food from your toolkit (because if we remove a coping tool, how can we expect to cope?) we can start to add some new tools in. To do this, start to brainstorm some different behaviours or activities that might be helpful when you feel emotional. Next time you feel a strong emotional drive to eat, practise deep breathing to find a calmer place and then consider trying a new activity from your list. If anything helps, you can move it into your coping toolkit.

The post Emotional eating: 4 steps to break the pattern with self-compassion appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

And it occurred to me that if all the countless available stress “remedies”—books, videos, drugs, audio tapes, aroma therapy, vibrating chairs, relaxation techniques, programs, devices—are so effective, how come everyone is still stressed out?

The answer is simple. While these methods may help to ease your stress—that is, treat its symptoms—most of them do little or nothing to eliminate the causes, to reverse the stressful habits, attitudes and mindsets you’ve developed over the course of your life.

The solutions mentioned here will give you the tools, motivation and attitude changes you need to root out stress at its very source… on the multiple battlefronts of your life.

It’s time to stop the insanity and take back control of your life. Starting today. Starting now.

30 tools to help you take back control of your life

1. Do one thing at a time

Do it mindfully. Do it well. Enjoy the satisfaction. Then go on to the next thing. That’s the way to take back control of your life — one thing at a time. Multitasking might work for computers, but humans have yet to get the hang of it. A growing body of evidence affirms that trying to accomplish several things at once takes up more time overall than doing them sequentially. It consumes an excessive amount of mental energy, too, so you fatigue more quickly. The lack of focus also leads to careless mistakes, shoddy work and unreliable performance. Worst of all, having to do things over. This is no way to live. Give what you’re doing your undivided attention. Take the time to get it right. You’ll be more productive, and less stressed, in the long run. Why make yourself crazy?

2. Throw something out every day

You’ve got too much stuff in your house. Office. Garage. Attic. Useless clutter that’s weighing you down, getting in the way, obscuring the things you really need. Just looking at the stuff is stressful, to the point where physical clutter soon becomes mental clutter. The problem is getting rid of it. It’s a huge job, so you keep putting it off. But the more you put it off, the more clutter you accumulate… making it an even more humongous task to face. Here’s how to break the cycle. Every day, find one thing you don’t need and toss it. Or give it away. Or sell it at a consignment shop. Be realistic. If you’re not going to use it, lose it. Over time, the clutter will begin to vanish and space and order will magically appear in your home… and your life. Stick with this. It really works. Why make yourself crazy?

3. Cut down on competitive stress

Today, we compete for everything: the space around us, to be first to own a new product, to get our kids signed up for programs, to get our viewpoints across, to be faster, smarter, richer, sexier. Our days are filled with stressful competitions. And most are absolutely unnecessary. Because they’re driven by insecurity, fear of being left behind, an ingrained need to always have more or better than the next guy. If you wish to take back control of your life, try to get above all that. If you want to compete, vie to be the one who stays calm and in control, who isn’t easily sucked in by material things, who avoids being caught up in the daily grab-bag that robs people of health and peace of mind. Compete for that and see how pointless all those other competitions become. And how misguided those who partake in them begin to appear. Why make yourself crazy?

4. It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you react

In any given day, you’ll have progress and setbacks, triumphs and failures. That you can bet on. But as good a day as some people have, they’ll manage to find something to fret about. [“It’s just luck, it won’t last, I’m destined for misery.”] And as bad a day as others have, they’ll see the good in it. [“So what? I’m still alive, still kicking and nothing’s going to stop me”] will win over your day? And the next day? And the next? You have control over that: to enjoy your accomplishments without diminishing them; to accept your failures as opportunities to learn. You have the power to make every day a positive outcome. Because it’s not what happens to you, it’s how you react to it. Why make yourself crazy?

5. Eliminate meaningless deadlines

Our lives have become one long game of beat the clock. Crammed with arbitrary and unrealistic time constraints imposed by ourselves and others that serve only to make us more pressured, anxious and stressed out. For no worthwhile reason. Avoid the trap of assigning time frames to everything you do, especially if you have little idea how long it will take. But, you say, I need a deadline or I simply won’t get around to doing it. If that’s the case, it’s not a deadline you need, it’s a goal. Make your goal one of completing a project in a careful, professional, satisfying manner. In other words, as long as it takes to do it right. Or maybe your goal is to make the project more fun and interesting, or to develop a new and more expedient way of doing it. In any case, save your nerves and your energy for the few real deadlines we face… Why make yourself crazy?

6. Leave a cushion of time between events

Scheduling appointments, meetings, projects, luncheons, and events too closely together is a guaranteed stress fest. It leaves you vulnerable to even the slightest delays, which will occur. You’ll always have one eye on the clock and thus be distracted, rushed and prone to miss things and make mistakes. Be smart. Don’t stack up your events like planes on a runway. Life never works out that efficiently. Spread your schedule out. Always leave sufficient in-between time to allow for any unexpected bumps and delays. It will not go to waste. You’ll be glad to have those breaks to answer phone calls and email messages, take care of incidental things, and prepare yourself for your next event. That extra cushion of time will leave you less frazzled, and more productive, in the long run. Why make yourself crazy?

7. Have backups of essential items in place

So that you never run out of critical oft-used household staples like laundry detergent, milk, deodorant, toothpaste, batteries, or bathroom tissue… employ the buy-two-replace-one method. For example, buy two bottles of mouthwash. That way you’ll have an immediate replacement when the first one is used up, which will give you ample time to buy another before you run out of the second. In order to take back control of your life, make a list of those items it would be more than a little stressful to have to go without—there really shouldn’t be many—and see to it you’ve got both the item and its backup on hand. Why make yourself crazy?

8. Don’t get hung up on product features

The more bells and whistles a product has, the more there is to learn and remember, the more complicated it is to use and the more expensive it is to buy. Save yourself the waste and aggravation of overbuying your need. Get a unit that serves your main purpose simply and economically, with maybe one or two extras you’ll definitely use. Loading up on the latest gimmickery will cost you in more ways than one. There’s nothing more annoying than having to reread instructions every time you use something. Why make yourself crazy?

9. Entrust responsibility to responsible people

There are those who always have a convenient excuse for not getting it right, showing up late or botching the job entirely. And there are those who consistently, effectively and unequivocally come through for you. This isn’t luck. It’s responsibility. Not something you’re born with. Something you do. Responsibility takes effort. Concern. Pride. And perseverance. Whom do you want to entrust your children, your home, your finances, and your other important responsibilities to? Lose the whiners and stick with the winners. Why make yourself crazy?

10. Always view yourself as ahead, not behind

This small change in perspective can alter your approach to everything. When you perpetually see yourself behind schedule, never caught up, forever lacking in something… your emphasis is always on need. And that puts unrelenting, unhealthy pressure on you. But view yourself as ahead of the game [and most of us truly are] and the pressure almost immediately eases, and your needs diminish, because you’re grateful for what you already have. You can move forward confidently from a position of strength, rather than struggle from one of weakness. It’s all in the way you look at it. Why make yourself crazy?

11. Don’t over-volunteer

Resist volunteering for more than you can handle, more than your free time allows. Volunteering is great, but heavy involvement can steal important time from your family and relationships. [And it shouldn’t be used as an excuse to avoid more important obligations.] If the work becomes too demanding, simply say no. Nobody else is going to look out for you better than yourself. If we all “volunteered” to spend more time with kids, visit our parents, make loving homes, and carve out special time for ourselves, there wouldn’t be a need for so much volunteering in the first place. Why make yourself crazy?

12. Accept that people think differently than you do

You could spend your entire life trying to win over people to your point of view. The simple truth is, you won’t. At least, not everyone. Even if you present the most logical, rational, airtight arguments, some people will never see it your way. Maybe they’re proud, stubborn, stupid, or in some people will never see it your way. Maybe they’re proud, stubborn, stupid, or in some instances—did you ever stop to think?—right. If you wish to take back control of your life, don’t waste your time trying to convert the diehards. Instead, work with them, live with them, respect their differences, and be thankful the world isn’t full of people exactly like you. Why make yourself crazy?

13. Don’t say it. Do it

Boasting about the wonderful things you’re going to do for yourself and others can actually be your undoing. For one, now you’re expected to do them. Secondly, if you don’t do them you appear weak, unreliable and irresponsible. If you really want to impress people, don’t reveal what you intend to do… but simply do it. They’ll be surprised and pleased with your accomplishment, and even more moved by your modestly. And if for some reason you can’t get it done, no one will be the wiser. Why make yourself crazy?

14.  Always be equipped for an emergency

This is an important step when you wish to take back control of your life. You only need to do this once. In your car, keep a first-aid kit, jumper cables, flares, flashlight, blankets, and a fire extinguisher. Home: a first-aid kit, fire extinguishers, flashlights, candles, and a portable radio. Sports bag: first-aid kit and instant cold packs. Take the time. Make the investment. Do it today. Even if you never use them, the peace of mind alone is worth the effort and expense. Why make yourself crazy?

15. Don’t look at your crazed schedule in its entirety

It’ll freak you out…like looking over the edge of a steep cliff. You’ll swear you’ll never live through it. And stress yourself big time fretting over it. Calm down. Focus only on what you need to accomplish over the next day or so. Deal with each event as it comes. You’ll find that things have a way of sorting themselves out, refreshing breaks do sometimes open up, and other options will present themselves. Your kitchen calendar [or electronic scheduler] can look far more frightening than it really is. One thing at a time. Why make yourself crazy?

16. Be a slug one day a week

Especially if you’re a jackrabbit the other six. Sleep late. Languish in bed with the newspapers. Don’t answer the phone. Go out for brunch. It’s okay. It’s not a crime. In fact, considering how you normally abuse yourself, it’s downright virtuous. Even better, designate a day the whole family can be slugs. No shuttling the kids around frantically. No social calendar to be slave to. One way to take back control of your life is to just let things happen… lazily and naturally. It will leave you more energized and better prepared to tackle the week ahead. Why make yourself crazy?

17. Don’t let routine tasks become urgent ones

Don’t wait until: you’re out of underwear before you do your laundry; the fridge is empty before you go shopping; the cell phone dies before you recharge it. That routine task will quickly become a critical one at a time when you can least afford to deal with it. And saddle you with exasperating stress when none should exist. Keep tabs on what might soon need attention and take care of it before it rears up and bites up. Why make yourself crazy?

18. Be on time

Lateness can signal a lack of respect for those you keep waiting. At least, that’s how they might view it. However acceptable you think lateness has become, you can bet it still grates on those whose time is compromised. Aside from that, constantly running late is a stress factory. It’ll fry your nerves, make you prone to errors and accidents, weaken your immune system, age you prematurely. Get hooked on the relaxed, liberating feeling of being ahead of schedule. All it takes is planning, practice and empathy for others. Everyone wins when you’re on time. Why make yourself crazy?

19. Make the “I’m running late” phone call

When it’s fairly certain you’re not going to arrive on time, make the call. Let others know in advance you’ll be delayed. It accomplishes several things. You’ll experience an immediate unburdening of stress and a sense of relief. You won’t be keeping people hanging, fuming and wondering where you are. Your alert will allow them to alter their plans accordingly. And by the time you arrive, they will have appreciated your courtesy, adjusted to the situation and be more agreeable with you. So don’t just arrive way overdue and try to minimize it with a trite “Sorry I’m late.” Call ahead and let them know you’re delayed. Why make yourself crazy?

20. Don’t expect gratitude

You may get it, but don’t expect it. Accept that a lot of your good efforts will go unacknowledged. [And your kids will never fully appreciate you until they have children of their own!] Today, people mostly take notice when things go wrong… and take the rest for granted. So rather than repeatedly setting yourself up for disappointment, don’t expect accolades. Do it because it’s right, because it pleases you, because your reward should derive from the fruit of your labours, not the arbitrary whim of disinterested recipients. And when that infrequent expression of thanks does come your way, it will be that much sweeter. Why make yourself crazy?

21. Tell people what you expect of them

How else are they going to know what you want? And how to deliver it? When you’re the boss, the customer, the parent, the teacher… you can’t be vague or timid. You have to be clear, firm and decisive. Don’t be shy about giving orders or afraid you’ll ruffle some feathers. And you have every right, indeed obligation, to give it. You can save yourself and others a lot of frustration when you simply take command and let them know what you expect. Why make yourself crazy?

22. Don’t answer your morning emails right away

Read them, but don’t answer them—unless there’s an immediate fire to put out. They’ll sap your time and the mental energy needed for more important tasks. Save them for later when you need a break. Responding will be easier then, too, since your subconscious will be working on them all the while. [Notice how you instantly know what to say when you revisit them.] Personal messages and jokes can be especially insidious and take a big chunk out of your day. They’re like electronic water coolers. And try not to interrupt your workflow every time a new message arrives. Wait till you’ve got a bunch. The objective here: fewer distractions, more focus, less stress. Why make yourself crazy?

23. Leave yourself an extra day at the end of your vacation

Enjoy a day of transition at home to unpack, read your mail, do your laundry, reconnect with others, catch up on things, or simply relax… before heading back to work. Thrusting yourself right into your busy routine without a breather is asking for the same stress you were trying to escape in the first place. That extra day of reentry and re-acclimation can make a huge difference. Take it. Why make yourself crazy?

24. Don’t be so thin-skinned

Why let an off-the-cuff remark or minor criticism rankle you to the degree it leaves you tense, angry and unable to focus on much else? Develop a hide thick enough so that verbal slights bounce right off and get only the minimal attention they deserve. [Sometimes we misconstrue what was said, too.] Overblown reactions create unnecessary stress and negative energy. To what purpose? You can bet the off-putting remark isn’t bothering the person who delivered it! To take back control of your life, don your emotional flak-jacket and accept that you can’t always please everyone. Why make yourself crazy?

25. Lose that jarring morning alarm

If your alarm clock shocks you out of bed each day with a sudden, loud, jangling noise, you could be doing yourself harm—starting the day with a burst of unwanted stress hormones. Try one of those new wake-up clocks that lift you gently out of sleep with natural sounds like ocean surf, birds, rainfall, or babbling brooks. Some even have pleasant chime sequences that gradually increase in volume. Or wake up to an unobtrusive radio station. Set a melodious rather than dissonant note for the day. Why make yourself crazy?

26. Improve your posture

Try not to slouch. Because when you slouch—for example, slunk low in your office chair, hunched over while walking, or ensconced deeply in the cushions of your couch—it impedes the flow of blood, makes breathing more difficult, contributes to a feeling of stressful incapacity that makes it harder to hoist yourself to a task. Snap to it. Sit up straight. Profit from the energy and alertness of a good healthy posture. Why make yourself crazy?

27. Seek professional help for major stress problems

The stress we deal with here is the everyday stress, the retail stress that we more or less bring on ourselves and thus have the power to eliminate ourselves. But sometimes there are major stressful events in our lives we don’t have control over—an illness, death of a loved one, marriage breakup, loss of a job, depression, abusive relationship—that require the help of a professional therapist. In such cases, don’t put off seeking assistance, or believe that casual stress remedies are going to do the trick. There are people out there who can make an extraordinary difference in helping you get through a difficult time. Seek their counsel; they will help you take back control of your life. Why make yourself crazy?

28. Don’t talk so fast

Have you noticed how much faster the pace of normal conversation is becoming? How we rush our words, leaving no openings, anxious to complete a thought before someone else rushes in? Often having to scold our listeners with “let me finish”? It’s a sign of our hurried times. And as much as fast talking is driven by stress, it can cause stress, too. Rapid speech is highly contagious. It’s less effective, hard to follow and easily misconstrued. No matter how fast the other guy is blathering on, slow down, speak deliberately… replace speed with firmness and clarity. You’ll stay more calm and communicate more forcefully. Why make yourself crazy?

29. Set up a stress relief fund

Put aside some money, and stock it away somewhere in your house where it will be available at a moment’s notice. This is not vacation money, not typical fun money and should not be used capriciously. But when things really start cranking up and you’re all but fried…break into your emergency stress fund. Go out and do something totally unplanned and indulgent. Whether it’s a favourite restaurant, store, nightclub, sporting event, whatever… is up to you. But when things are getting too insane, declare yourself a disaster area and send in some aid. Why make yourself crazy?

30. Alternate mental and physical activities

If you work at a desk all day, don’t sit in front of TV all night. Do something active. If your job is physical, or involves being on your feet or running around, relax and exercise your mind [like reading a book] during the off hours. If our work involves both mental and physical aspects, try alternating the two throughout the day. What this does is add balance and vitality to your life. It’s more energizing, stress-reducing and healthier overall. It’s easy to get stuck in a single monotonous mode—like moving from chair to chair all day—and suppress your other self. It’s essential to exercise both your mind and body. Why make yourself crazy?

The post 30 tools to help you take back control of your life appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

When hardship abounds, so does despair. Fortunately, humankind is also capable of experiencing another emotion when faced with adversity that can be cathartic for all concerned—compassion.

Compassion is natural in humans

Compassion, according to Emma Seppala, Science Director of the Centre for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, entails an “emotional response when perceiving suffering” and “an authentic desire to help”.  Though we may be disheartened by global news coverage of our fractious and fragmented world, researchers posit that compassion is innate in animals and humans.

While our species can be callous, contemptuous and cruel, we also harbour a “natural tendency” towards compassion that has contributed to our survival, argues Seppala in a Psychology Today article.

In an experiment, conducted by Elizabeth Dunn and colleagues, participants were given a fixed amount of money. Half were instructed to spend it on themselves, while the other half were asked to spend it on others. Researchers then measured the happiness levels of all the participants. Contrary to what we might expect, the researchers found that people who spent money on others were more content than those who indulged themselves. Seppala argues that compassion benefits us at multiple levels.

Multiple benefits of compassion

Physiologically, people whose happiness stems from having a sense of purpose in life have low levels of cellular inflammation. In contrast, people who derive happiness from hedonistic pursuits exhibit high inflammation levels. Thus, purpose rather than pleasure seems to be conducive to our physical health. Further, lives imbued with purpose or meaning are more often other-directed as opposed to self-directed. Rather than viewing the world through a self-obsessed lens, a feature linked to many psychological problems like depression and anxiety, focussing our attention on others and their problems can widen our perspective.

Additionally, compassion also enhances our longevity, possibly by mitigating our stress levels. Seppala cites a study by Michal Poulin that found that stress is linked to mortality for most people. However, for “those who helped others,” the stress levels did not “predict mortality.”  Apparently, being of service to others nourishes the self.

How to cultivate compassion in times of adversity

In these bleak and uncertain times, are there things you can do to cultivate compassion? Indeed, there are! Let’s discuss a few ways you can cultivate compassion:

Meaningful contributions

In a blog post on PositivePsychology.com, psychologist Heather Lonczak suggests that we engage in acts of altruism. Though most of us may be home-bound, consider ways you can harness your skills and talents to make meaningful contributions, however small.

If you are adept at sewing, you can make masks that can be distributed to needy people.  Or, perhaps you can conduct pro-bono online cooking classes for kids to keep them engaged and occupied while their harried parents catch up on chores or work.

You may reach out to elderly family members to check if you can shop for them. Or consider making a donation to help migrant labourers who have lost their jobs.  In fact, there are opportunities aplenty at this time for you to tap into your altruistic spirit.

Avoiding judgement

Lonczak also exhorts us to avoid judging people through a negative lens. Often, we don’t fully understand the context behind a person’s compunctions. Though we may disapprove of another person’s actions in a particular situation, know that we can’t entirely predict our own reactions to the very same predicament. Instead of harping on the differences between you and the rest, trying to find similarities or areas of common ground can promote compassion.

Being grateful

Being grateful for all that is going well in your life can also make you more compassionate towards those who aren’t as fortunate. Engaging in meditation, specifically the Buddhist practice emphasizing loving-kindness, can increase the ambit of your compassion. And, most importantly, don’t forget to exercise self-compassion.

The key is to practising self-love

Often, we are harshest towards ourselves, especially when it comes to personal failings and inadequacies. But if you wish to cultivate compassion, you need to begin with yourself: stop berating and criticizing yourself. Psychologist Kristen Neff, who has studied self-compassion in depth, identifies three components on the website self-compassion.org:

1. Avoid beating yourself up

First, when we fall short, we may deny our imperfections or judge ourselves harshly. Neff exhorts us to recognise our flaws without disparaging ourselves. Treat yourself with kindness and understanding, just as you would treat a friend.

2. Accept pain as an inevitability

Second, when you suffer, know that pain is part and parcel of the human experience.  Acknowledging your common humanity with others will make you feel less alone during trying periods. Even if those around you seem better off, remind yourself that almost everyone is hit by the vicissitudes of life and your pain too shall pass.

3. Practise mindfulness

Finally, cultivate mindfulness so that you can view your thoughts and feelings from an observer’s point of view without getting unduly mired in them.

Let’s cultivate compassion and make our world richer

If we thus hone our ability to exercise compassion, the world will definitely be richer for it.  While we hope that Covid-19 is curtailed sooner than later, the pandemic has given us a chance to plumb the reservoirs of human compassion.

The post How to cultivate compassion in times of adversity appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Mindful eating simply means that you give your full attention to the food you’re eating. Doing so will help you gain a lot more from your food even as you will likely eat less than usual.

We spend considerable time and effort, not to mention money, on our food. And why not? We want to make sure that we get all the nutrients that our body needs. Many of us engage the services of a nutritionist or a dietician in the hope that they will provide us with the magic diet plan that tells us exactly what we should eat and how much. But, few of us ask how we should be eating. Mindful eating teaches us that.

Why You Should Practice Mindful Eating

You learn to respect and appreciate food

When you eat mindfully, you become aware of the journey that the food has traveled all the way from when the seed was sown, to reach your plate. You also acknowledge the efforts of scores of people who participated in small and big ways to make it happen.

You reconnect with your appetite

Do you rely on your dieticians to tell you the ideal portion size? Or do you determine the quantity of your consumption based on some charts released by the FDA? Perhaps you take a cue from how much other adults eat. By reconnecting you with your body’s instincts, mindful eating will help you to discover your very own appetite.

Your digestion will improve

When you eat mindfully, your whole body relaxes and it release hormones of ‘rest and digest’, as against the hormones of ‘fight and flight’ that your body releases when it is stressed. This improves your overall digestion, assimilation and the elimination process.

You will make optimal food choices

You will know which foods are good for you and which you should avoid. Again, this won’t be based on what the experts say, but on your body’s intrinsic intelligence. Besides, making food choices becomes easier when you are less dependent on others to tell you what to eat.

Your nutrition absorption will be higher

As you eat slowly, take smaller bites and chew your food well, your body will also absorb more nutrients from the food.

You will eat less

As you eat slowly and with awareness, you will feel satiated sooner and therefore naturally eat less.

Steps for Mindful Eating Exercise

If done earnestly and with attention, this little exercise will introduce you to a whole new world of eating mindfully. All you need is a raisin and a few undisturbed minutes. I’m suggesting a raisin but you might choose any other small piece of food like an almond or a cashew or even a small piece of chocolate.

1. Place the raisin in front of you, and just look at it. Now imagine as if this is the first time you have seen a raisin. This will mean that you don’t have any prior experiences of what a raisin looks like or how it feels to touch, you are obviously curious. See it carefully, give it all your attention.
2. Once you’ve looked at it, gently take it in your hands; feel the texture of the raisin as you press it between your thumb and index finger
3. Now bring it close to your nose and notice if has any smell. If you sense any aroma from the raisin, notice any reactions—for instance, is your mouth beginning to salivate slightly?
4. Put it into your mouth but don’t bite yet. Just toss it around and watch if you taste any flavours. Notice how it feels to have a whole raisin in your mouth
5. Now bite into it. Just relish the burst of flavours—even a single raisin can release great amount of flavours
6. Start chewing it slowly. When you have chewed enough, swallow it with your full awareness, noticing as it travels from your mouth to your throat before disappearing into your alimentary canal [food pipe]. Notice that the sweetness still lingers in your mouth even after you’ve swallowed the raisin.

Repeat this exercise from time to time as a gentle reminder about eating mindfully. Of course, I’m not suggesting that from now on you must eat every morsel of food in the same way and at the same pace. That’s not the point. The point is to be aware of food we consume and the raisin exercise helps us realise how we almost always eat without giving any attention to the food or the process of eating. No wonder there are times when, after we finish eating, we are left asking ourselves: “Hey, where did the food on my plate go?”.

8 Tips to Help You Eat Mindfully

1. Keep distractions away. Turn off the TV and keep your phone and laptop away. Don’t even read while eating, even if you are eating alone
2. Take a few moments before you begin eating—to take three deep breaths. This helps to calm your body and prepares the digestive system for a meal. Put everything else on hold as you get ready to enjoy your food
3. Always sit and eat. Don’t eat on the move—even if you’ve just grabbed something from the fridge or kitchen cabinet, don’t walk around the house eating
4. Spare a few seconds to give thanks for the food and bless the food
5. Chew your food slowly and take smaller bites
6. Keep your fork/spoon down between bites
7. Do not discuss stressful/ important issues while eating. Those situations release chemicals in your body that impede, instead of aiding, your digestion
8. As often as you can, ditch the fork/spoon and just use your fingers to eat.

You don’t need to wait for an ideal scenario to practise mindful eating. You can even practise it when you are at a party or are out for lunch with friends or when someone else in the room wants to have the TV on. If fact, those are the times when you probably need to be more attentive about how, what and how much you are eating.

To sum up, eating mindfully can help you reconnect with your nutritional needs, lose weight, improve your digestion and enhance your joy of eating. Worth a shot, you’d agree!

The post The Benefits of Mindful Eating (And How to Do It) appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

The workplace—whether you are a highway worker, an office assistant, a retail clerk, a senior manager or a limo driver—is stressful. Often times there aren’t enough hours in the day to do what’s required of you. The people you work with may be TDO’s [The Difficult Ones] and your boss may be a person who just really enjoys exerting power over others. So, what do you do? You probably can’t quit. Most people need their paycheck. Instead of physically leaving the job, consider mentally approaching the workplace in a different way. Become mindful in the workplace.

What’s mindfulness? According to the The Oxford Mindfulness Centre, “Mindfulness is an aid to enhancing human potential by combining modern science with ancient wisdom.”

In reaction to the stress at the workplace, our bodies change in a negative way. Mindfulness allows us to reset our bodies aiming to a more positive, productive outcome.

But, if you are a limo driver or retail worker, it might not be prudent to start a meditation in the middle of what you are doing just to begin to relieve the stress. Mindfulness in the workplace has to be practical and workable in whatever line of work you do.

Five steps towards greater mindfulness

There are five steps you can take to become more mindful in your daily work activities:

1. Knowing your triggers
2. Becoming aware of your surroundings
3. Listening to and changing your self-talk
4. Learning to breathe
5. Having a variety of tools you can use

Start by recognising what triggers you

Most people don’t know what sets them off and starts the downward stressful cycle. Something happens and you react—but what? Begin to pay attention to what gets you. When does your heart rate go up? When did your palms get clammy? When did you start to clench your teeth? Keep a journal if possible so throughout your day you can begin to note the things that trigger your negativity.

Become more aware of your surroundings and your physical state

Bring your attention back several times a day to how you are sitting, or standing. Focus on how you hold your body. Focus on the people around you and how positive, or negative they are. People move through their day largely unaware of their surroundings and their own physical state so pause several times throughout the day and just take stock of what’s happening. Once you recognise something that is painful or negative, resolve to drop it and move your attention to something more positive.

Watch your self-talk

Recognise the self-talk you give yourself as you react to things throughout the day. Once you know your triggers, and become aware of your surroundings you will probably hear the self-talk that starts up. “I hate my boss.” “This place is the worst.” “I’ll never get all of the things done that she is asking me to do.” “I wish I could win the lottery and give my notice.” The talk you engage in, inside of your own head, is often the most debilitating thing happening throughout the day. Your talk drags you down and keeps you down. Listen to what you are saying and choose to reframe. “Yes, this person I work for can be challenging but I can learn to deal with him/her.” “I am fortunate to be healthy and working and I’ll do the best job I can do each day.” “There is too much to do but I can only do one thing at a time, so let me focus on what’s in front of me.” Your self-talk doesn’t change your conditions, but it can normalise them and give you more strength to deal with them.

Next, learn to breathe

The most amazing thing about deep breathing and its ability to centre you and calm you, is that you can do it anywhere and at any time. Most people never learn to breathe properly and they take rapid breaths in the chest area. Imagine a deflated balloon in your stomach. When you breathe in, fill that balloon with healthy air, when you breathe out empty the balloon of all negativity. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. The mind can’t focus on two things at once so bring your attention to your breath and the other stresses are diminished.

Lastly, build your toolbox

There are a number of things you can do to practise becoming more mindful: Chew your food slowly and thoughtfully; Take a moment before a meal to give thanks; drive your car at the speed limit; slow your walking pace down when you catch yourself rushing; count to 10 before you respond when speaking to someone; keep a smooth stone in your pocket to rub when you begin to experience stress.

The more you practice being mindful in the things you do each day, the easier it will be to be mindful in your workplace.

The post 5 steps to help you be mindful at your workplace appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.