Lasting Calm in 16 Minutes (Or Less)

 Frustrated? Worried? Tried breathing exercises but they didn't work? The Buddhist teacher and author of A Path with Heart shows us a few ways to re-find a sense of peace—fast.

By Jack Kornfield

 

 

 

Step One: Shrink the Bundle, Expand Like the Sky (3 minutes)

 

Why do it: The Buddha advises you to "make your mind vast like the sky," because when you lose perspective, your mind contracts into tight patterns of worry and fear. When you open your perspective, calm returns.

How to do it: Picture or imagine putting all your problems in a big package, a huge bundle all wrapped up. Take your time. Let it be as big as it needs to be. Now, picture or imagine that you can slowly shrink the bundle smaller and smaller, until it can fit in the palm of your hand. Place the bundle in the hands of your higher power or whoever is your spiritual support so he/she can help you care for it. Now, with your worries being held, relax. Imagine your mind can open to be vast like the sky. Thoughts and feelings move through the sky like clouds, but you are the sky, open and calm. Even if storms come, the sky remains open and lets them come and go. Rest.

Step Two: Reconnect with Your Best Intention (3 minutes)

Why do it: Your best intention is just another way of describing your heart's wisest and most compassionate motivation. You cannot always control the outcome of events, but you can act with your best intention no matter what. Stress usually evaporates when you know you've done what your best self believes in; there is no reason to regret your choices.

How to do it: Whatever the difficult circumstances, take a minute to stop and reconnect with your best intention. Stop in the middle of that tough conversation, frustrating conflict or troubling email—and pause. Turn away for a moment. Take three breaths. Ask yourself, "What is my best intention?" When your heart gives you the answer, then turn back and respond.

Step Three: Move (5 minutes)

Why do it: Body and mind are connected. Modern neuroscience shows that when the body relaxes, the nervous system can regulate itself, and the mind calms.

How to do it: Find a place where you can move (without looking weird). Stand. Begin to shake your body out, let it move. Really let the tension out. Shake your arms and flap your hands strongly. Move your legs, shake, dance, kick, stomp. Shake your head, flop your shoulders, make faces, make noises like you are a kid. Move until you feel some release (two minutes).

Now find a place to sit down. Close your eyes. Start at the top of your head. Slowly tighten and relax your body, one part at a time. Relax your eyes and face. Squint and release your eyes; loosen your jaw. Roll your head in a circle to relax your neck. Raise and lower your shoulders several times and let them relax. Tighten and release your arms and hands. Move on to relax your chest, belly, back, pelvis, genitals, butt, thighs, legs, ankles and feet. Drink in the relaxation (three minutes).

Step Four: Hold Yourself with Kindness (5 minutes)

Why do it: When a baby is distressed, holding her gently, with kindness, settles her down. In the same way, you can calm your own mind and ease your heart by holding yourself with compassion.

What to do: Sit comfortably. Notice whatever stress and problems you still carry, and how they feel in your mind and body. Instead of struggling against the problems, imagine you are holding them with kindness as if they were crying children. Next, put a hand on your heart. Hold yourself with kindness. With each breath, bring in care for yourself in the midst of struggles and difficulties. Note how your heart eases, your mind quiets, grace and calm return.


Jack Kornfield is the author of A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life and Meditation for Beginners.

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Find-Lasting-Calm/2#ixzz2owhfSLVq

Catalogue January 2014

6 Easy Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure

A staggering one in three American adults has high BP. The key to lowering it may lie in simple activities you can do every day.

By Dr. Mehmet Oz

Pop quiz: What's your blood pressure? If you don't know, you could be among the 78 million American adults who have hypertension. That's not a group you want to belong to: High blood pressure is the number one risk factor for stroke and a major contributor to heart disease. I urge every woman to start tracking her BP now—and that includes young adults; a study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that 19 percent of people ages 24 to 32 had dangerously elevated blood pressure levels. (See the box at right for what's ideal and what's not.) The good news: You can control high BP. Overwhelming research has demonstrated that easy, natural methods for lowering blood pressure really work, and that even small reductions can significantly lower your cardiovascular risk.

Start by incorporating these six habits into your daily life next

 

Get a Grip

The American Heart Association recently reported that simple hand grip exercises may help lower BP by as much as 10 percent. It doesn't take much time to see results: Gripping and releasing a small rubber ball 2 minutes at a time, for up to 15 minutes, three days a week for eight to 12 weeks, can lead to improvements. According to a separate report, the benefits to blood pressure may be greater than those seen with resistance training. Although researchers don't fully understand why this action has such favorable effects, they believe the repetitive motion may improve blood vessel elasticity.

Find Time for Fido

Nothing beats relaxing with my black Lab, Rosie. And the blood-pressure-reducing power of pets has been frequently documented: One study of more than 5,000 people revealed that pet owners had significantly lower systolic blood pressure than the petless, even when owners and nonowners had an almost identical body mass index. The presence of pets may help even when you're in a stressful situation: A study in Psychosomatic Medicine found that when people were asked to complete challenging math problems, those with a pet by their side had smaller spikes in blood pressure—and performed better.

Beet It

A glass of beet juice a day could keep the heart doctor away. A 2013 study showed that drinking eight ounces of beet juice could lower a person's systolic blood pressure by an average of 10.5 points within 24 hours—only a few points lower than the reduction found with some blood pressure meds. Beets contain high levels of nitrate, which the body converts to nitric oxide. In turn, nitric oxide helps improve blood flow.

Pack in Potassium

Countering the effects of salt in your diet, this mineral helps flush sodium out of your system and, as a result, relaxes the walls of your blood vessels. A surprising source of potassium: raisins. A small 2012 study revealed that snacking on a handful of the dried fruit three times a day for 12 weeks lowered pre-hypertensive participants' systolic blood pressure by an average of 4.8 percent.

Breathe Deeply

When people who weren't taking medication for their hypertension practiced deep breathing (six breaths in 30 seconds), they reduced their systolic blood pressure by an average of 9 points for a short period of time, according to a study in Hypertension Research. But scientists think long-term reductions may be possible if you practice it regularly for weeks or months. (Controlled breathing may engage the calming parasympathetic nervous system, which can reduce your heart rate and nudge your blood pressure down.) Start by placing one hand on your belly and inhaling deeply, breathing in until you see your lower belly rise. Then breathe out slowly. Repeat until 30 seconds is up.

Lace Up Your Walking Shoes

Getting your heart pumping is a proven way to lower BP, but new research shows that you don't have to go all out to achieve benefits. A 2013 study compared more than 48,000 people in the National Runners' and National Walkers' health studies, and found that walking 30 to 60 minutes a day led to a 19 percent reduction in hypertension risk—roughly the same result among people who ran 15 to 30 minutes.

DIY Blood Pressure Screening: Read It Right!

These days anyone can measure her BP with a blood pressure cuff and a smartphone. And if going to the doctor seems to make your heart rate jump, you may get more accurate numbers on your own; in one study, women's systolic blood pressure was, on average, 13.5 points higher at the doctor's office. To get the most reliable numbers every time, keep these three rules in mind.

For precise readings, once a month at the same time of the day, measure your blood pressure three times in a row and take the average of those numbers. (Shoot for the time when you're most relaxed.) Fluctuations in BP throughout the day are normal, and consistency will help ensure accuracy.

Don't drink coffee before taking a reading. Studies show that caffeine can temporarily boost your numbers by 3 to 15 points.

Wait 30 minutes after exercising to give your BP a chance to stabilize. During vigorous exercise, systolic blood pressure can shoot up as high as 220 mm Hg.

What Hypertension Does to Your Body

The effects can go well beyond your heart.

Memory Loss
Hypertension can cause blood vessels to narrow or rupture, leading to stroke. But it can have more subtle neurological effects, too, like mild cognitive impairment, including short-term memory lapses.

Blurred Vision
High blood pressure can damage the delicate blood vessels in your eyes, resulting in vision problems.

Libido Issues
Although the link between high blood pressure and sexual dysfunction is more commonly seen in men, researchers now say that elevated BP may be the cause of increased vaginal dryness and a bottomed-out sex drive for some women.

Kidney Trouble
When high BP damages arteries and the tiny blood vessels within your kidneys, dangerous levels of waste can accumulate in your body. Over time, this could lead to kidney failure.

Brittle Bones
Healthy blood pressure helps your body excrete excess calcium. But when BP rises to unsafe levels, you may lose too much, increasing your risk for osteoporosis and broken bones.

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/health/How-to-Lower-Blood-Pressure-Dr-Ozs-BP-advice#ixzz2kQ2MbabQ

Overwhelmed? 5 Ways to Find Peace in Less Than 5 Minutes

When the daily chaos of life gets to be too much, try these fast-acting techniques to stay calm.

By Corrie Pikul

During Rush Hour: Pop a Peppermint

What helps a frustrated, worn-out driver (besides vanishing traffic, of course)? Researchers at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia found that pumping peppermint-scented air into the cars of ticked-off commuters helped decrease anxiety and fatigue. Stash a bag of peppermint candies in your glove compartment to help you keep your cool in honking traffic or during a hectic commute.

While Trying to Get Dinner on the Table: Stop Listening to the 6 p.m News...at 6 p.m.

The oil in your wok has started to smoke, your dog is barking to go out, the vegetables you were planning to stir-fry are too old to be edible—and Brian Williams has nothing but bad news. It's important to stay on top of current events, but you're not helping anyone by catching up during one of the most frantic times of your day—least of all, yourself. Exposure to media coverage of upsetting events can not only spike stress levels, but it can also make you feel worse physically, found a 2012 Israeli study that assessed 55 chronic-pain patients before and after a local three-week missile attack. Participants who watched more television reports of the attack said that their stress was more acute and their pain felt more intense. Your best bet: DVR the news to watch when the kitchen's closed for the night and every last fork is in the dishwasher.

As You Stare Down 3,572* Unread Emails: Remember to Breathe

A few years ago, Linda Stone, a high-tech exec-turned-adviser and consultant, noticed that she was holding her breath whenever she sat down at her computer. She observed more than 200 people using computers and smartphones and found that the vast majority of them were doing the same thing—forgetting to inhale (or taking shallow breaths) after logging on. Stone, who calls this phenomenon "screen apnea," says it can trigger the body's fight-or-flight response, increase anxiety, interfere with digestion and, when doing it day after day (while never really making a dent in those 3,000-plus emails), compromise your overall health and immunity. You can see the value of a technique to stay calm and clear-headed as you file and delete. Stone personally had success with Buteyko, a form of diaphragmatic breathing—which is what Anne Marie Albano, PhD, director of the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders, says is one of the best and most effective stress-management techniques. There are many different types of breathing techniques, but the vast majority of us will benefit from making sure that we simply exhale for twice as long as we inhale. Stone regularly pauses to ask herself if she's breathing, and then she takes a break to inhale, exhale and stretch.

When Researching a New Car Purchase: Snack Like a Hiker

Shoppers spend 16 weeks, on average, researching cars on the Web, reports the trade magazine Wards Auto, and by the end of that time, they're often more confused and overwhelmed than when they started. One way to make the drawn-out process seem less daunting: Eat trail mix while you read reviews and weigh options. Recent experiments have shown that the simple sugar glucose (which is found in raisins) can counteract the negative brain changes wrought by decision fatigue and keep your impulse control (ooh, retractable door umbrellas!) in check.

When You've Got 4 Hours to Finish 41 Tasks: Take the Right Kind of Break

We usually make one of two mistakes when we dash out for a breather, says Susan M. Orsillo, PhD, author of The Mindful Way Through Anxiety: We waste mental energy trying not to think about our to-do list, or we continue to worry about our workload—by complaining to a coworker or calling our spouse to vent. Both types of response effectively cancel out the break, leaving us still frazzled when we return to our desk. Instead, Orsillo suggests taking a meditative break. Leave your phone and your coworker behind, and find a quiet place to stand and actively observe the world around you. "You'll feel renewed and slightly rested in just a few minutes," she says. Trying to be in the moment, as easy as it sounds, can actually be pretty challenging. Orsillo suggests practicing at times when you don't have as much on your plate, and she offers step-by-step audio meditation exercises at mindfulwaythroughanxietybook.com. (If you can't get outside, try the 7-minute Mindfulness of Clouds & Sky meditation at your desk.)

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Find-Peace-of-Mind-Reduce-Anxiety#ixzz2k7v8wAqm

Universal Children Day 20November

5 Moments You're Most Likely to Overspend

 

 

 

 

 

Little things can trigger impulse buys. Knowing these unexpected times when you may be getting spendy can help you keep them in check.

By Candace Braun Davidson

When You're Avoiding the Crowds

You may be tempted to tackle your shopping list at 7 a.m. on a weekday, when Walmart is practically guaranteed to be blessedly empty. But shopping at crowded stores could help your wallet: We're less likely to buy unnecessary items when we're surrounded by swarms of people, a Journal of Consumer Research study found. It's like we go into survival mode, where we immediately think of what we need to get in and get out (and emerge relatively unscathed).

When You've Opened Another Bank Account

It's hard to resist the $50 cash bonus for opening an extra account or starting a "fun" fund to get you through those slogging winter months, but a May 2013 study found that people tend to save more when they have just one place to deposit money. That's because they have a better knowledge of how much is there—and how much they're spending, researchers say. When our income is spread across a few places, we can easily justify a purchase by thinking, "Oh, but I have money in that other account, too."

When You're Buying Something Embarrassing

If you've ever bought some candy, a magazine or a collector's edition Seinfeld DVD box set to deflect from what you really need to pick up (ahem, antifungal foot cream), you're not alone: almost 80 percent of people spend money on unnecessary extras to divert the cashier's and other shoppers' attention, finds a July 2013 study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

If the thought of buying just the item you really need makes you anxious, search for a distraction purchase you'll use, like paper towels or toothpaste. It may even save you a 10 p.m. grocery-store run in a few weeks.

When You Could Use a Little Support

It's no surprise that we're likely to splurge when we're feeling down, but 75 percent of women say they're shopping to treat someone else, finds University of Hertfordshire research. Sadness can make us crave others' support, and buying gifts for those we care about can help us feel more connected to them, explains Sheconomics co-author Karen Pine, PhD, who conducted the study. Plus, when money is tight, it's easier to justify spending on someone other than ourselves.

When You're Reminded of the Time

The clock can rule our schedules, our thoughts and, as it turns out, our bank accounts. When a sign encouraged people to "spend a little time, enjoy C&D's lemonade," they were more likely to stop and buy a drink—and pay 51 percent more for it (compared to a those who saw a sign that asked them to "spend a little money"). Why? In the 2008 study from Stanford University, researchers found that 'spending time' makes us feel more like we're buying an experience, not parting with our hard-earned cash.

The subtle shift is enough to make us feel like we're investing in something to do—which most other research states will make us happier than material possessions—but in essence, it's just stuff masquerading as an experience.

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/money/Moments-Youre-Most-Likely-to-Overspend-How-to-Spend-Less#ixzz2k7N6pVIn

NOVEMBER 2013 LEAFLET

CATALOGUE NOV 2013