I’ll be the first to admit complete skepticism about this ancient cross-legged activity but through a little reading and practising it’s probably the simplest and most effective way to reduce and/or manage stress in my life currently.

The benefits are numerous and if you don’t have a daily practice established yet, I strongly encourage it based on the following reasons:

During meditation the heart rate and breathing slow down, your blood pressure normalizes, you use oxygen more efficiently, and you sweat less. Also, your adrenal glands produce less cortisol, your mind ages at a slower rate, and your immune function improves. It is also known to help improve creativity (think Steve Martin as the new age Boss in Baby Mama)!

So, now that you know the benefits, you have no excuses to not give it a try?

5 Easy Steps to Meditation:

(more…)

How we spend our time is just as important as how we spend our money. You have a finite amount of both so most of us know that to stay financially well, we need to set a household budget. The same practice can be applied to the game of life where we are juggling multiple roles and we need to schedule our time and allocate that time according to what’s most important to us. Although many commitments you may have are worthy of your time and speak to your goals or ideals, it can be difficult to say no to them. But too many of these commitments can cause unnecessary stress.

Here are 15 questions to consider when examining your own work/life schedule:

(more…)

During times of stress, our health can be severely affected depending on how intense we are feeling by these external stressors. These events can alter our entire body including our appetites, energy levels, breathing quality and especially our sleeping patterns. So what can we do to stay calm during these stressful moments? One of the best things we can do for ourselves is to prepare for these inevitable moments and get a minimum of 7 hours of quality rest each night. If we feel rested, we’re less likely to be exhausted and apprehensive during the day so that we have the energy and clarity to resolve our problems. Here are 4 tips to help you achieve this restful sleep.
(more…)

Does concern for the economy have you tossing and turning? Stress can have a big impact on how well you sleep. It’s often suggested that we need a minimum of 7-8 hours of sleep every night. How many of us can honestly remember getting that much sleep in one night?

To help you reclaim some of those ZZZs, try these suggestions:

1. Do a little yoga before bed to relax and gain balance. A light walk on a treadmill to burn off any negative energy accumulated from the days activities works well too.

2. Lie in bed and breathe slowly, allowing your abdomen and chest muscles to relax. Concentrate on your breathing and you’ll soon find yourself on top of pillow mountain.

3. Read a book. Something light-hearted that doesn’t require you to increase your mental compacity (this is not the time for advanced calculus or newspaper reading as it might make you more tense).

4. Try a warm beverage such as herbal tea (especially chamomile, which helps your body relax), warm milk, or something else you like that doesn’t have too much sugar or caffeine. Green tea can also be consumed at this time even though it has a very modest amount of caffeine compared to regular tea or coffee. It may be helpful to someone trying to ease back their consumption of caffeinated beverages during the day.

5. Adjust your environment by darkening the room, adding some white noise (soothing sounds such as the ocean, rain or crickets) or blocking out noise entirely with earplugs.

For more practical life-extending suggestions, take a look at our review of Suzanne Gudaknst’s The Top Secret Fat Loss Secret program. It is brainlessly simple to follow!

—————————————————————————————

To Find A Fat Loss Program that’s right for you, click the button below:

Rushing to the mall for last minute Christmas gifts, attending parties or functions, cooking holiday dinner are just some of the things that keep us busy and feeling stressed out during the holiday season. It doesn’t sound like much of a holiday does it? Frankly, for most it’s just a continuation of the rest of the year on a schedule that leaves us mentally drained. Remember, the MIND is as important as the BODY so here are five ways to keep holiday stress to a minimum so that you enjoy and get into the holiday spirit:

1. Leave work at work! Last day at the office so why are you bringing your work home with you? It will still be there when you come back so why bother thinking about it? Just don’t!
2. Keep computer and TV time to a minimum (especially at night) and open up that book you have always wanted to read but never had the chance!
3. Spend more time with family – The holidays are suppose to be fun and not about rushing around to try to get everything done. Cut your parties or visits in half and stay at home with the family.
4. Set a calming and relaxing ambiance in your home! Dim the lights down or get some candles burning and throw on some music.
5. Catch up on your sleep! And don’t set the alarm clock!

Happy Holidays to you all and we’ll see you in the new year!

BONUS TIP: Stay away from Walmart and other retails stores (see BestBuy and Futureshop) on Boxing Day! Either go the following week or better yet shop online if you must. Waiting in line in the early hours of the morning for that new TV is just plain silly.

—————————————————————————————

To Find A Fat Loss Program that’s right for you, click the button below: