Tag: 7/11 breathing

Posted on by Sandy Sommer
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    • Increase your energy

    It can be easy to forget to take breaks and look after ourselves. We may feel we don’t have time or energy to do something else, even if it’s just self-care. The days are just too long and filled already. Sound familiar? Well, here’s the thing, if we keep giving and providing for others and ignore our own needs we will eventually end up feeling depleted. We can’t give what we don’t have. If everything we do already requires making an effort and we’re low in energy, then perhaps it is time to stop and find a way to increase our energy. Take a break, take a few deep breaths, daydream, stop and smell the roses. There’s alway going to be things on your to-do list. Don’t miss the precious moments, don’t lose yourself in the chores. Take time to nurture yourself.

    There are many way to increase your energy. One way is to ‘cut your spending’. Less is more. Is every single chore really a top priority? Can anything wait or can you get someone to help you? Remember the saying “Life’s too short…” don’t get bogged down with the details, stop being a perfectionist. Just think for a moment, are these small things that take up so much of your time and energy still going to look important in a year from now?

    One of the biggest things that take away our energy is negative emotions. We keep thinking about the past, are angry at people, events or even the weather and worry about the future. No wonder we feel low in energy. Learn techniques to let these thoughts and feelings go. This may be something as simple as writing things down in a journal so you don’t have to think about them anymore, do a breathing exercise, use EFT tapping to let things go or any other method that you find helpful. Or even just looking how easy it is for nature to let things go by watching the autumn leaves being released by the trees around us this time of the year.

    Finally, a great way to increase your energy is to have an energy healing session, such as Reiki healing. The word Reiki is Japanese and means ‘Universal Life Force Energy’. A Reiki practitioner has been attuned by a Reiki Master and is therefore able to channel this specific universal healing energy and pass it on to the client which then activates their self-healing powers, creates balance and rejuvenates the person receiving it.

    If you feel you don’t have the time to go to regular sessions, why not just spend one single weekend learning how it works and then you have a life time to recharge your own batteries with Reiki energy for self-healing whenever you need it. In fact, I’m running a Reiki training for self-healing next weekend in Eastbourne. If you’re in the area, feel free to sign up or register your interest for the next one: www.emotionalbalance.co.uk/events/
    sandy@emotionalbalance.co.uk

    Reiki Eastbourne

    In summary, the best ways to increase your energy is to do less of what’s taking up your energy and is not important, to let go of energy robbing thoughts, feelings and patterns and do things that nuture you and help you feel good, such as daydreaming, enjoying moments in nature, hugging someone or count your blessings.

    Thanks for reading. I hope you’ve found this helpful. Big hug, love and angel blessings.

    Sandy x

    Posted on by Sandy Sommer
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    • How to reduce anxiety in less than 5 minutes

    Stress and anxiety are buzz words nowadays. Everyone is just rushing around, being busy with being busy and having a million things on the to-do list. Many have not enough time to relax and look after themselves, especially women who always seem to care and look after everyone else and don’t get enough time for themselves. Yet just like a car can’t run at 100 miles an hour all the time without stopping to refuel, so do we need to stop regularly and look after (refuel) ourselves. People who don’t take time to look after their health will HAVE TO take time later to look after their illness. Which way are you heading?

    relax-stress

    The good news is that refueling doesn’t have to take ages. A day at the Spa sounds very appealing but many have neither the time nor the money for such a treat. Here is a very simple tool that you can surely fit even into the busiest schedule and you can do it anytime, anywhere. It is a breathing technique called 7/11 breathing. This is how it works: take a deep slow breath in while counting to 7, fill your belly and lungs with air, then breathe out even more slowly while counting to 11, notice how your belly and chest slowly release the air. Repeat several times: breathe in to 7 and out to the count of 11. If 7 and 11 feel too long, adjust the numbers to your own pace and capacity. The important part is to breathe more slowly and to breathe out for at least 2 counts longer than you breathe in. Doing this for a few minutes switches your body from the sympathetic nervous system (stress mode) to the parasympathetic nervous system (relax mode). Seriously try it right now for at least 2-3 minutes and watch your anxiety melt away…

    breath

    This techniques puts you back in touch with your body. The counting engages your mind and the combination of counting and watching your breath helps you become present and be in the moment. Too often we spend too much time thinking about the past or planning our future. Right in this moment, we are ok, right now we don’t have to find a solution to all of our problems. Just for this short moment we can start anew as in every breath there is a new opportunity. Once we calm down and release the stress we get access to our intuition, can think more clearly and often become aware of the most amazing ideas and solutions that have been in us all along. All it takes is a bit of breathing, allowing your body and mind to relax. Do this regularly and see what happens. I recommend doing this exercise several times a day, even if it’s just for a minute or two each time. It reduces stress and anxiety, quietens the mind, helps you sleep better, provides your brain with more oxygen, cuts off the constant noise in our head, especially that critical voice that many of us have and puts us back in touch with our own resources. Enjoy!

    breath-tiger

    If you found this helpful, please share and/or leave a comment. If you’re interested in finding out more about this topic, join my next workshop on 25th March in Brighton:

    Release stress and anxiety2