Heartfelt Therapies

This is a simple process to help you ask your Authentic Self for guidance, and know when you receive the answer.

1. First you have to feel really good. You can’t get a clear answer if your energy is low. To get what you’re asking for, get your vibrations clear by feeling really, really good. The easiest way to do this is to think of something that makes you happy. Remember a time in the past where you were fully engaged and joyful. Hold that place in your mind for a few moments.
You can’t skip this step and expect to be successful. Anything you receive from asking in a low-energy point, will be skewed.
2. Ask a clear question. You want to know exactly what you’re asking. Vague questions get vague answers. Ask your Authentic Self something specific, preferably focusing on a solution rather than a problem.
Instead of asking, “What do I do about ( problem ),” ask, “What is the next logical step to creating ( desired outcome ).” In asking for a solution, you get a solution. Remember that the Law of Attraction gives you more of what you put your attention to, so if you ask for help on a problem, you will get more problems.
You want to spend a significant amount of time formulating your question. (As much time as you need to, in order to feel comfortable asking it.)
3. 3. Clear your mind. The Authentic Self is quiet. It won’t fight the ego, so the trick is to quiet the ego in the first place. Once you are feeling great, and know the question you want to ask, clear your mind of all thought with meditation.
Many people hate meditation, but this is the quickest way to clear the mind. The other alternative is to flood your mind with positive thought, and when you’re struggling that can be very difficult. Eliminating all thought is much easier than eliminating only negative thoughts, so I highly recommend meditation.
4. 4. Trust what comes. If you follow the above steps, you will find your answer. Trust what it says and follow up with action. Keep in mind that you aren’t necessarily going to receive the exact answer that you predict. Like the saying, “The Lord works in mysterious ways” states, sometimes you get an answer that doesn’t make any sense to you at the time. Follow it anyway and when you receive exactly what you’re asking for, you can look back and see why it needed to happen the way it did.

You will receive what you are asking for via “the path of least resistance,” according to the non-physical beings Abraham (Hicks) and sometimes it doesn’t show up like you want it to. Let go of the how and trust what your Authentic Self tells you.

Need help with any of those steps? Contact me to talk about VIP Coaching or an eCoaching package!

Like this? For more articles, free tips, tools, audios and more! Go to http://www.kimberlyenglot.com

Kimberly Englot is the Authentic-Life Coach, & CEO of Authentic Self Personal Development. Her VIP Coaching and group programs teach you to discover your authentic self and be free to change careers, find relationships, lose weight and pursue greatness! Clear away 6 years of “baggage” in 6 weeks with The Master LIFE Cleanse.

Filed under: Meditation, Spiritual Growth on July 12th, 2010 | No Comments »

The Relaxation Reponse

Many people are living their lives in a stressful state. Our culture rewards this typical Type A personality with admiration and advancement. A free test can be taken on Eli Bay’s website to see how your Type A traits add up: http://www.elibay.com/typeatest.html

If we do not get our heads around how to address this detrimental state of being, we are setting ourselves up for illness, if not life-threatening health issues. First we have to notice when we are personally stressed in order to consciously counteract it (self-analysis test http://www.elibay.com/stresssystemstest.html). The Relaxation Response shuts down the Flight or Fight Response, and goes further to establish decreased muscle tension, lowered heart rate and blood pressure, deeper breathing, calming of the belly, and a peaceful, pleasant mood. The easiest way to bring about the relaxation response is to sit on the beach listening to and watching the ocean. Obviously, beach vacations in our self-created, hectic lifestyles make this natural elicitation a rare event. A purposeful practice is necessary! Unfortunately, such an activity goes against what our day and age considers acceptable behaviour, because it essentially looks and feels like 15 – 20 minutes of doing nothing! How unproductive is that?

Leonard Holmes, former About.com Guide, wrote in his article, “Managing Stress: The Relaxation Response”: If you do incorporate this or any relaxation technique into your life you may notice at least the following four benefits: http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/stressmanagement/a/relresp.htm

• You will gain increased awareness of whether you are tense or relaxed. You will be more “in touch” with your body.
• You will be better able to relax when you become stressed-out.
• You may even reduce the resting level of your autonomic nervous system – walking around more relaxed all the time.
• Your concentration may improve. By repeatedly bringing yourself back to the meditation, you are strengthening the part of your mind that decides what to think about.

Also:

• According to nurse practitioner Peg Baim, MS, clinical director of the Center for Training in Mind/Body Medicine, and a researcher at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine:

When you practice the Relaxation Response, you are actually activating the areas of the brain that have been positively conditioned, rather than those that have been negatively conditioned. “You tend to feel compassion, forgiveness and oneness as opposed to the stress response, where you feel hatred, resentment and [separation]. It is as if we have two different brains.”

http://www.integratedmeditation.com/docs/mind%20body%20in%20modern%20medicine.pdf

There are several ways to achieve the Relaxation Response. Choose what you are comfortable with, so the odds are better for developing it into a valuable habit.  A few techniques are described by the Canadian Mental Health Association:
The Relaxation Response, Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Deep Breathing, Visualization, Meditation, Nature

ALSO:

Body scanning: tuning into body sensations and awareness

Mindfulness: bringing your attention onto the details of the present moment

Repetitive exercise: nurse practitioner Peg Baim, MS, clinical director of the Center for Training in Mind/Body Medicine and a researcher at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine states:

“Exercise is in and of itself an antioxidant, and stress is an oxidant. Stress is wearing and tearing the body down with more inflammatory molecules, and exercise is actually allowing the body to release molecules that will deactivate that inflammation.”

Repetitive prayer: focusing your attention to slow down the thoughts and activity

Yoga, Tai Chi, Qigong: slow motion movement with body/mind awareness, stretching, muscle toning, focused attention, deep breathing, and visualization

*Releasing emotional issues: quiet time free, from the distraction of endless activity, has the tendency to expose personal trauma or self-evaluation. Gently sort through the discontent, or seek help of practitioners to completely purify your energy of negativity and stress.

You may have noticed that few of these beneficial practices will be typically prescribed by your medical practitioner, which means you are responsible for incorporating these life enhancing habits yourself. The authentic affect is not dispensed from bottles. You need to slot space into your daily life for intentional self-care – the RELAXATION RESPONSE!

Filed under: Stress on June 18th, 2010 | No Comments »

I am fascinated with this topic, as I am with all information about how amazingly our bodies function. I can’t imagine anyone not being aware of this topic but it is written with those people in mind; a complete but over-simplified version of what is taking place in our bodies regarding the F&F Response. You really need to be aware of this response if you want to be in control of your health.

Evolution of the human body has brought us a long way, but there is one primitive, built-in, automatic function that has remained operational – the Fight or Flight Response (you can also add Freeze). When a problem shows up, real or imagined (because the mind/body connection does not know the difference), an avalanche of processes are triggered to stimulate the body into a state of preparedness. Obviously, coming face to face with a Tyrannosaurus rex or Sabre-toothed tiger would tend to trigger that, but a life-threatening situation is no longer needed to trigger our fight or flight response. Stress does it! Unfortunately, it seems to take less and less to stress people out.

Many of us harbour anxiety and worry about world problems, personal relationships, job performance, job security, money, social commitments, responsibilities, exams, deadlines, and so on. We feel stress about things that happened in the past (including traumatic experiences of abuse and neglect), or that haven’t happened yet, may never happen, and certainly don’t require the physical readiness that stress hormones were designed to create.

Stress hormones (cortisol, Growth H, norepinephrine, and more) are released into the circulatory system following instructions originating from stimulation of the hypothalamus, a region in the middle of the base of the brain. Among other effects, these hormones engage the sympathetic nervous system, affecting many bodily functions. To keep this post short, you can check out how the body responds to catecholamines hormones for yourself at, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight-or-flight_response.

Ideally, vigorous physical activity would make use of the excess stimulation and metabolize those rampart hormones. Aggressiveness, hypervigilance, and being over-reactive, however, are not socially acceptable behaviours. The result is that most people unknowingly exist in a continuous state of mental and physical arousal (F&F) that takes a toll on our bodies.

The evidence is overwhelming that there is a cumulative build up of stress hormones. If not properly metabolized, the result can manifest itself in chronic disorders of our autonomic nervous system (causing headache, irritable bowel syndrome, high blood pressure and the like), and disorders of our hormonal and immune systems (creating susceptibility to infection, chronic fatigue, depression, and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and allergies).

The first step to recovery is awareness. We need to identify our own signals of being in the F&F Response. Signs of stress may be cognitive, emotional, physical or behavioural.

Do you recognize anything on the following list: poor judgment, a general negative outlook, excessive worry, moodiness, irritability, agitation, inability to relax, feeling lonely, isolated or depressed, aches and pains, diahhrea or constipation, nausea, dizziness, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, eating too much or not enough, sleeping too much or not enough, social withdrawal, procrastination or neglect of responsibilities, increased alcohol, nicotine or drug consumption, and nervous habits such as pacing about or nail-biting, headache, upset stomach, deep sighing or shallow breathing, anxiety, poor concentration, depression, hopelessness, frustration, anger, sadness or fear.

So what do you do when you can now identify yourself operating in the F&F Response Mode? You want to learn what it really means to relax! That is the topic of my next blog. The Relaxation Response.

*Note: refer to my recent post of May 16^th, 2010 “Relaxing Is Not A Given”.

Filed under: Stress on June 3rd, 2010 | No Comments »

The last ten minutes of relaxation in my yoga classes seems to be the favourite time for everyone. About one third of my yoga participants say a desire to relax is their reason for taking part in the eight-week session. I am pleased to see a pronounced difference in the degree of relaxation attained in the first class compared to what is accomplished in the last class.

It intrigues me when I come across someone who is unable to relax. They do not have the physical ability to let go of their tension, and what’s more, they do not realize it. This sad state of affair will show up on the massage table as well. The ‘wet noodle’ test makes it painfully clear. When a client is relaxed, I should be able to lift their arm or leg and it will heavily dangle, swing, or follow my lead. There are those that maintain their control, trying to anticipate the direction I am headed. My heart goes out to them.

So why is relaxing so difficult, when it is so desired?  The act of control is so well-rooted into the subconscious mind, that we cannot shake the habit without a lot of time and effort.  Regardless of what you consciously say you want, if the subconscious holds a different belief pattern, or conditioned behaviour, then you are at its mercy.

A person living with excessive stress and tension is operating within the fight, flight, or freeze response. Stress hormones are constantly in the bloodstream due to worry, overworking, striving to be better, or other upsetting situations. The effect on your body, mind, emotions, and spirit is adversely overwhelming, and eventually life threatening, due to the early onset of illness and disease.

The relaxation response is necessary to switch off the damaging hormone flow, and discover the “flow” similar to what highly trained athletes strive for in their performance referred to as ‘the zone’. Watching television, taking a vacation, or going out with friends to have a couple of drinks is not what this is about! An intentional, wilful retraining to realize how your mind tunes into your body is required. The release I am talking about is internal in nature.

There are many techniques out there; yoga, breathing exercises, visualization, biofeedback, and meditation, but expect the one you choose to take time. The chances of sticking with it are better when you find a style you enjoy. Health is your responsibility, and relaxation is one of the necessary ingredients of stress reduction.

Filed under: Stress on May 16th, 2010 | No Comments »

Ear Candling, sometimes called Auricualar Therapy, is a natural healing art. It’s main purpose is to clean the ears and to bring balance to the ear, nose and throat areas. 100% beeswax candles are placed in the ear and lit. The combustion process produces warmth within the ear causing atmospheric change bringing relief to the sinus cavities and sensation of clearing, release and promotes circulation.

Get the relief you need by booking a session today!
Judy

Filed under: Allergies & Sinus, Uncategorized on April 7th, 2010 | No Comments »