Me and the mister had a very impromptu the other day, and got to spend some quality time together at the beach. We used to go to the beach every day after work, when we first started dating. Then life started and we took the beach for granted. Not that we don’t go to the beach but it always seems planned. We decided we need to get back to our after work (mind you we are both done working at 2:30) beach time.
Happy Friday!!!
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Stress is emotional and physical strain in response to pressure from the outside world. Any negative situation that causes you to make rapid adjustment, such as arguing with your partner, your child or a friend, will cause stress, as well as positive events, such as moving to a new house, changing jobs or just life in general.
When you are under stress, your body reacts with the fight-or-flight response, your heart rate increases, your blood pressure rises and your breathing can become shallow and rapid. Stress can make you eat and drink too much, and can cause anxiety, depression, insomnia, muscle pain and skin rashes. The list is endless.
The way to bring down your stress levels is to learn to relax and an easy way to do that is to take fifteen to twenty minutes out of your day to decompress: to control your breathing, relax your muscles and focus your mind. In other words, meditate.
Meditation can lower your blood pressure, improve your sleep, reduce chronic pain, calm your mind and leave you mentally alert, with increased energy. There are many different meditation techniques and it is a matter of finding one that is good for you. The following is a little something to get you started. Many people have a hard time with sitting still for fifteen to twenty minutes, so start with five.
1. Find a quiet place to sit, where you won’t be interrupted for the amount of time you start with.
2. Pick a simple word that helps you relax. Select peace, free, quiet, love or any other word that inspires you to let go.
3. Rest your hands on your lap, close your eyes and consciously relax your jaw and other muscles that you notice are tight.
4. Silently repeat your word and keep repeating it. You may notice that your mind drifts off to work, events, family, people and other parts of your life. When you notice those thoughts, just acknowledge them, gently let them go and softly return to your word again. It’s ok if you have many thoughts and spend little time on your word. Just keep bringing yourself back to your word.
5. After your time is done, open your eyes. Take a few minutes to bring yourself back into the present moment by becoming aware of your body and how it feels and the sounds around you. When you are ready, continue with your day, refreshed and revitalized.
Happy practicing.
Namaste
Have you ever wondered why people put lemon, cucumber or any other random garnish in their water? There are actually health benefits to adding fruits, herbs and vegetables to your aqua. I am definitely one of those random people. I love naturally flavored water. The following are three examples of easy-to-grab things from the store, to put in your water;
Lemon: Putting a slice of lemon into a glass of water isn’t just an old restaurant trick. This habit offers your body key nutrients and disease fighting benefits. Lemon strengthens veins and fights high blood pressure, stimulates liver function and helps flush out poisons from your body. Also, lemon is high in potassium.
Drink a glass of water, with lemon, at room temperature, in the morning to clear you digestive track for the day.
Cucumber: Putting cucumber in your water will give you anti-inflammatory and cancer-fighting benefits. Cucumbers contain three lignans (estrogen-like compounds), which have been proven to fight breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers. Also, cucumber provides vitamin C and potassium.
Mint: Adding mint to your water brings nutrition and digestive health. Drinking water with mint, has been a long-standing remedy for digestive problems. Modern research has confirmed that this natural diuretic can help stop colitis and irritable bowel syndrome. Mint water is rich in vitamin A, C and B12, with traces of iron, potassium, selenium and zinc.
There you have it! Start adding your fruits, veggies and herbs to your water, and I can almost guarantee you will start to feeling better.
Trader Joes has a great herb plant right now, that is perfect for a small indoor herb garden.
Buy Persian cucumbers (the small ones), if you have a choice. They always have the best flavored skin, and you want to keep the skin on because that is where all the nutrients are.
Costco offers the best bag of lemons in town. Their large and have lots of flavor. Farmers Market is also a good source.
Adding cucumber and mint, or even lemon and mint together, taste very refreshing.
Goodnewssantabarbara 