Tag: relaxation

Posted on by Sandy Sommer
  • Leave a comment

    • How to improve your mental health

    We all know how important it is to follow a regular fitness routine in order to stay fit and healthy. But what about our mental health? Isn’t it equally important to stay emotionally balanced? What are you doing to achieve good mental health? Do you have a daily self-care routine? It can be as simple as doing a regular short relaxation , writing a gratitude list, a 5-minute breathing or tapping exercise or being mindful of your mind’s focus. Remember: energy flows where attention goes. Make time to count your blessings and focus on being calm and feeling safe and grounded.

    For many of you, this winter period has been difficult, with so many media messages of fear, hartship and chaos in the world, that can create anxiety and extra worries. It can sometimes almost feel like good mental health and inner peace is a luxury or a privilege that only some people have. It’s easy to feel like that, but there is a lot you can do to help yourself. The first step is becoming aware of how you’re feeling and then intervene if necessary.

    For example, one great tool that I use myself is a worry box. I know it sounds bizarre, but I actually schedule my worry time and then write each individual worrying thought down on a seperate post-it note and then I put it into my worry box while affirming “I release this worry now”. Then, every now and then I take my worry box and look at al those worrying thought I had this month and luckily realise that the saying is true: 90% of what we worry about never happens anyway”. Over time this process has helped me to worry less, feel calmer and reduce anxiety.

    If you’ve worked with me in the past, you know that I offer effective solutions to help people feel more emotionally balanced and create a good mental health routine. You can check out my tapping and breathing videos and visualisations.

    Finally, in order to be able to help more people, I’m in the process of creating a brand new online course to help people who suffer from panic, anxiety and overwhelm, especially those who have had a panic or anxiety attack. I used to suffer from those and am using my personal experience and the tools that helped me best to manage my panic, anxiety and overwhelm in this online course. It’s going to be ready soon! To register your interest, email: sandy@emotionalbalance.co.uk Also, please follow me on Facebook: facebook.com/Sandyemotionalbalance/ and / or Instagram: www.instagram.com/sandyemotionalbalance/

    My goal is to help more and more people feel balanced, safe, strong and perhaps even as light and carefree as a feather floating around in the air, without any emotional burden or stress or at least giving them the tools to manage whatever life throws at us. Isn’t that the dream?

    It is crucial to take care of ourselves and work on our emotional balance and mental health, because it is our greatest asset! So stop, breath and smile right now. Think of what little step you can integrate into your daily life to reduce stress and feel more balanced!
    Contact me sandy@emotionalbalance.co.uk to book a session or register your interest in my upcoming new online course. I look forward to hearing from you.

    Take care. Happy Tuesday vibes, love and light,

    Sandy x

    Posted on by Sandy Sommer
  • Leave a comment

    • Autumn lessons

    Isn’t autumn beautiful? The tree leaves change gradually into vibrant colours that look like golden-orange flames in the sun. The trees show their beauty and then when they’re ready, they’re letting go of those beautiful leaves. No tree will struggle with this, no tree will try to hold on to their leaves, they embrace the change and know it’s the most natural thing. For us autumn is also a great time for personal change and transformation. Let nature inspire you. See how easy and natural change and letting go can be. If you need any support with this, feel free to get in touch: sandy@emotionalbalance.co.uk

    In the newsletter of my favourite ‘angel guy’ Kyle Gray, I received this message this week and thought I’d share it: “There’s an old saying, “I’ll believe it when I see it,” but one of the greatest spiritual secrets is the opposite: we’ll see it when we believe it. What we believe in our inner world has a lot to with what we’ll see, or experience, in our outer world. That means all of our inner dialogues and beliefs are in some way impacting the world we are experiencing.” I totally agree and know from personal experience that we first have to believe that change is possible. We need to create an internal image, feeling and dialogue that supports the new version of us that we want to create. When you believe it then you’ll see it. A great way to look at change. I know it’s not always easy, but hey there are so many wonderful tools to use, such as guided visualisations, hypnotherapy, EFT tapping or Reiki healing. I offer all of these as they have made such a difference in my life. So please don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help.

    As mentioned above, autumn is a great time for change, healing and transformation. Why not learn a wonderfully gentle self-healing technique to empower yourself and help you make the changes you need. Last weekend of October, I’ll be running, possibly the last Reiki Level 1 training this year. I’ve only got 2 spaces left. If this feel right or you’d like to find out more, go to: https://www.emotionalbalance.co.uk/event/reikitraining/

    I hope you’r enjoying this beautiful time of the year. I’m here for you if you need any help or support.
    Take care. Lots of love, light and angel blessings.

    Sandy x

    Posted on by Sandy Sommer
  • Leave a comment

    • End of summer reflections

    Summer is coming to an end. Autumn is around the corner. For many Sepember stands for new beginnings, a new school year, a new cycle. This might be a good time to look back at what we have achieved so far this year and to set new intentions and goals for the remainder of the year. If there’s something you’d like to work towards, make a plan, otherwise it’s just a wish.

    What steps do you need to take to achieve your desired outcomes? Then schedule specific actions and put them into your diary. Also, be clear about the reason why this goal matters, this is a powerful motivation booster.

    When looking back at the last few months, I noticed a few positive changes in my dog Charly. He seemed happier almost as if it had finally dawned on this lovely rescue pooch that he has really found his forever home. Somehow our bond is now even stronger. On 26th August is National Dog Day, so we went to celebrate and I donated to the Charity that rescued and brought us our Charly.

    Finally, going back to setting intentions, taking actions and schedule them, I’ve done this and have scheduled my next two Reiki trainings in Eastbourne:
    Reiki Level I takes place on 3rd-4th September and Reiki Level 2 Practitioner training takes place from 24th-25th September. If you’re interested, please get in touch.

    Wishing you all a lovely bank holiday weekend. I hope you use the time for your own end of summer reflections and set intentions for the rest of the year.

    Love,
    Sandy

    Posted on by Sandy Sommer
  • Leave a comment

    • Mental health awareness month

    In May there’s the official mental health awareness week (9th-15th) and most people view May as a whole month to raise awareness. So do I. This year’s theme is ‘Let’s connect’
    We’ve all had moments of feeling lonely at some point but if consistent it can influence our #mentalhealth negatively and we might then tend to isolate ourselves thereby making it worse. Let’s break that cycle and connect. Reach out to a friend, neighbour, family member or therapist. Together we’re stronger! You’re not alone!

    If you feel lonely, my heart goes out to you. Let’s talk about it, reflect together and find solutions how to move beyond it. You are #notalone 
    Know that behind the clouds the sun is still shining.

    Yet also remember this month that if you have a friend or family member who you feel is pulling back and not in touch so much anymore, reach out to them. Tell them they’re important to you and offer a hug, positive vibes or just an ear to listen to how they’re feeling. Let’s reconnect with each other. Reach out to the people in your life. Everyone needs a hug every now and then. Reconnect! You’re not alone, let others know that they’re not alone. Together we’re stronger!

    If you do feel like you could do with some support, please get in touch. I offer a free 15min phone consultation as well as online sessions if you’re not in the area (I’m based in Eastbourne). My emails are: sandy@bodymindhealing.co.uk and sandy@emotionalbalance.co.uk

    Take care. Big hug.

    Sandy

    Posted on by Sandy Sommer
  • Leave a comment

    • 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
  • Leave a comment

    • Seize the moment

    Life is made up of lots of moments, if you miss the moments, you miss life! Sometimes we just have to take a break, step back and breathe. Give yourself permission to relax! You’ll get much more done after you’ve relaxed a bit.

    Whatever situation you’re in, in five years time all those little daily worries won’t matter, so why not let them go? We may have the tendency to get caught up in the nitty gritty but is it really worth all that stress? Every now and then step back and focus on the bigger picture. Look back at the last five years, have you had more joyful or more stressful moments? Tip your balance in favour of joy.

    Make a decision to enjoy the little things, smile more, go to the beach or nearby park, play with your kids or pets. Seize the moment! You only have one life and you’re meant to enjoy it. Let go of fears and judgements, accept who you are and enjoy yourself. The rest will fall into place. If you need help or support on your journey to balance and happiness, I’m here for you.

    Take care, Sandy

    Posted on by Sandy Sommer
  • Leave a comment

    • The Art of Achieving Good Mental Health

    We all know how important it is to follow a regular fitness routine in order to stay fit and healthy. But what about our mental health? Isn’t it equally important to stay emotionally balanced? What are you doing to achieve good mental health? It can be as simple as having a regular relaxation routine, a gratitude list, make time for a 5-minute breathing or tapping exercise or being mindful of your mind’s focus. Remember: energy flows where attention goes. Make time to count your blessings and focus on what makes you happy.

    For many of you, this winter lockdown period has been difficult. In fact, for me too. With so many messages of fear and anxiety in the media, stories of hartship and chaos in the world, it can almost feel like good mental health and inner peace is a luxury or a privilege that only some people have. It’s easy to feel like that, but there is a lot you can do to help yourself.

    If you’ve worked with me in the past, you know that I offer effective solutions to help you achieve emotional balance and good mental health. You can check out my freebies and resources.

    Remember to use my free relaxation recording on a regular basis (which you received a little while ago). It will help you stay relaxed and calm. If you like more variety, need a reminder of the 7/11 breathing or fancy a tapping video, then check out my products and special offers.

    My goal is to help you feel balanced, safe, strong and perhaps even as light and carefree as a feather floating around in the air, without any emotional burden or stress. Isn’t that the dream?

    Perhaps you’re interested in a 1-2-1 session. I offer them online and from 12th April (hopefully) face-to-face again. As I live in Eastbourne now, I’m only offering sessions in Brighton on Mondays and Tuesdays or anytime online.

    Also, from April my prices are going up. Everything is becoming more expensive and I have been in the same price range for over 7 years now! However, any sessions booked and paid for until end of March will still be at the old price (£70 for one session or £180 for 3 sessions) even if they are taking place in April or May, so ACT NOW and BOOK YOUR SESSION. Just send a quick email to sandy@emotionalbalance.co.uk and we’ll sort out a day and time that’s convenient for you. And as a bonus, I’ll throw in a free download worth up to £15 from my online shop, so that’s a free audio recording or a free tapping video. This offer is only valid if booked and paid by 31st March. The actual sessions can be in April or May.

    If you know anyone who you feel would benefit from working with me, feel free to forward my blog post or contact details to them. 

    It is crucial to take care of yourself and work on your emotional balance and mental health, because it is your greatest asset!
    Contact me sandy@emotionalbalance.co.uk to make sure you get your session(s) at the old rate and your free download. I look forward to hearing from you.

    Take care. Happy Monday vibes, love and light,

    Sandy x

    Posted on by Sandy Sommer
  • Leave a comment

    • How to get out of the lockdown blues

    Yet another lockdown has been announced and I can almost hear all the many desperate voices saying “Oh no, not again!” Even though I expected this announcement, I admit that I noticed an immediate blow to my mood, a sinking feeling, worries coming up regarding my business, my clients and loved ones and I just needed a day or so to gather my thoughts and process upcoming feelings.

    I’ve recently noticed that I’m not my usual happy self and feel a bit out of balance, so now I’m making an extra effort to look after myself, my mental health and emotional balance. Luckily, I’ve got all the knowledge and tools to help myself and others and have, in fact, been teaching them for years. Now, that I’m feeling much better, I thought I’d share a few tips that helped me to get out of the lockdown blues! Perhaps this will help you too!
    Try my alphabetic ABCDEFGHIJ approach! Here is the short version of my favourite ten tips:

    1. Acceptance is the key! Denial, distraction or ignoring a situation and especially our feelings towards it is not going to help. My motto is ”accept what you can’t change and change what you can’t accept!”. So, I can’t change this lockdown but I CAN change how I feel about it. After allowing myself a bit of time to accept, acknowledge and feel the feeling, I then move on, tap or dance it away.

    2. Deep focused breathing is one of the best ways to regain calmness and balance. I love 7-11 breathing and heart-centred breathing. These wonderful exercises certainly help me feel better whenever I’m not at ease. If you’re not familiar with them, then just take a few minutes and focus on your breath, perhaps count to five or six with each in- and outbreath and observe the movement of your body. Most negative feelings put us into fight or flight, which means we can’t think clearly and might tend to catastrophise. Yet calm deep breathing takes us out of this cycle, helps us relax and get our positive brain power back. Do this regularly or whenever you feel anxious, sad or stressed.

    3. Reach out and connect to others. A sense of connection is an innate basic need that we all have because we are social beings. This is not the time to crawl into a cave and wait until this is all over. You’re not alone and not meant to be. Let us all reach out to one another, talk to our loved ones, set up video calling, a WhatsApp group and share precious moments even if it’s in a socially distant or digital way.

    4. Dance all your worries away! Nothing lifts my mood as much as putting on some of my favourite music and dance around my living room, normally only when I’m alone. I know it sounds crazy and it might take a few minutes to get into it but try it and perhaps get the whole family involved. I have friends who’d make a zoom party out of this.

    5. Use EFT tapping! I love using EFT to tap on any negative feelings and released them. So, I label the feeling, focus on where it sits in my body, I measure its intensity on a scale from 1-10 to get clarity and then I say out loud “Even though this situation makes me feel …., I accept how I feel right now” and I tap through the points until I feel better.

    6. Have some fun! I know it’s hard when you’re feeling a bit down but think of the things you enjoyed as a child. Be creative, use your imagination! It could be as simple as dressing up as someone else, find your old skipping rope, make a collage, watch your favourite film, eat your favourite food, bake a cake, write a story, dye your hair, repot your plants, dance in your living room…. The list is endless!

    7. Focus on gratitude and count your blessings! If you get caught up in negative thinking, just say “stop!” Thoughts can spiral but we have the power to intervene. We can choose our thoughts consciously. By counting your blessings or naming at least five things you’re grateful for, you can shift your thinking from negative to positive. Start a gratitude list and add more items every day, put it on your fridge or above your desk and read it often to remind yourself of all the good things in your life.

    8. Have a hug! The lack of human touch can have such a negative impact on our mental health. I know we need to accept the social distancing rules but if you have people in your household or social bubble, make sure you hug them and receive one in return, provided it feels safe! If it doesn’t hug yourself, hug a cushion or a teddy bear and close your eyes while imagining it’s a loved one or offer to take a neighbours dog out for a walk and pet the dog and play with him.

    9. Use your imagination! Our minds are more powerful than we know. We can conjure up positive and negative images which then affect our mood. So why not use the lockdown to engage in some daydreaming or imagine a few wonderful scenarios that will make you happy. The aim is to feel good!

    10. Do more of what brings you joy. This is in line with number six above. We can’t change the past, we don’t know what the future will bring, we just have this moment right now, so why not conjure up a few moments of joy, even if it’s just sharing your favourite anecdotes or jokes with someone or your diary.

    Just to let you know, I’m at your service and love to help and inspire others. I’m available for online sessions and have a number of online products available. Feel free to get in touch.

    Lots of love,

    Sandy x

    Posted on by Sandy Sommer
  • Leave a comment

    • Autumn wisdom and special offers

    The lovely autumn season has arrived, and we can witness how wonderful change can be and how easy it is to let go. I love going for walks in autumn, reflect on things, ponder on what changes to embrace in my own life and if there’s anything I need to let go.

    The change of seasons is a great time to make changes, it almost feels natural, like working hand in hand with nature. Getting ready to put old unhelpful thought patterns and habits to sleep. I guess this is also what this month’s Stoptober is about, don’t you think?

    Well, if you’re ready to make a change or let go of something, here’s a very special one-time only offer for you. Get a whopping £20 discount on your next 1-2-1 session and only pay £50 instead of £70. Valid for any 1-2-1 session with me booked before 31st October. Book now as I have limited availability. I do sessions online (Skype or Zoom) as well as face-to-face in Brighton and Eastbourne.

    Finally a word on fear. These are difficult times for a lot of people. Feeling afraid and restricted almost seems to have become the new normal of 2020. Yet know that we can’t be afraid and happy at the same time. If you’re afraid you’re making yourself more vulnerable as fear has a detrimental effect on our immune system. So please take regular breaks from the news and negativity around and make it your mission to do something nice instead, either for yourself or somebody else. Look after your emotional needs, watch something funny, talk to a beloved friend or family member, do a breathing or tapping exercise and count your blessings. There’s always something to be grateful for. Being relaxed and grateful is much better for your health as being afraid. So be cautious, of course, but take time to laugh and play. You have choice! Give every day the chance to be the best of your life!

    Happy Halloween, if you celebrate it. Take care. Love, light and angel blessings.
    Sandy

    Posted on by Sandy Sommer
  • Leave a comment

    • Understanding and managing chronic pain

    According to the NHS and the British Pain Society, almost half (43%) of the population in the UK suffer from chronic pain, that’s about 28 million people! This year (2020) is likely to see a rise in numbers, due to changes in circumstances since Covid, like working from home, self-isolating, lack of exercise and reduction in pain service provision.

    Having suffered from chronic pain myself for several years in the past, this topic is important and personal and one of the reasons I changed profession to become a holistic health practitioner after having found alleviation and healing from my condition. In this article, I’d like to help you understand why we may suffer from chronic pain, what factors influences the pain level and explain how to manage and alleviate it.

    Let’s start by trying to understand why we experience pain. Pain is a symptom which the body uses to communicate with us, telling us something is not right. Pain is feedback, similar to the engine light in your car signalling something is wrong. Acute pain should never be ignored and if treated appropriately in most cases, long term pain can be avoided. Yet what if you are already suffering from chronic pain and doctors can’t help?

    My view is that chronic pain happens for a reason, often subconscious psychological reasons that we are not aware of, yet if we can find them, deal with them and make a conscious shift, we may find that the pain changes too, becomes more bearable, manageable and even starts healing. The body usually has a natural ability to heal itself. If you cut your finger, you heal the wound, put a plaster on and it heals. If you break a bone and stabilize the body part, the bone grows back together. People recover from accidents, surgery, falls, injuries, etc. So, in my view, if you’re suffering from chronic pain it means, there’s something holding the condition in place, either physical or psychological.

    One factor is that, the body can change and adapt. While most of our physical bodies naturally strive for health, they can only heal themselves if they’re given the opportunity to do so. Stress puts the body in fight or flight mode, where the main concern is survival. It’s a natural biological response which we’ve inherited from our ancestors. Therefore, constant stress can prevent the body from healing as it only feels ‘safe enough’ to heal and recuperate when we’re calm and relaxed. To allow the body to heal, watch your stress level!

    In addition, sometimes one problem can cause another, such as when someone has sprained their ancle or hurt their knee, they put more weight on the healthy one which might then also start hurting if this continues for long enough. The body will change and adapt to any circumstances, doing the best it can to lower pressure and find balance. So be mindful of how you’re using your body.

    Pain is subjective, some people can tolerate more than others. Ever wondered why that is? A number of factors influence how we experience pain: our beliefs play a role, past (pain) experiences, our current stress level or even how we see ourselves. Did you know that your current stress level will influence the degree of pain you feel? Stress triggers a number of physical reactions, such as increased blood flow which means more blood also flows through the painful body part, increasing the sensation of pain. Therefore, another effective way to manage your pain level is to learn to relax. There’s a wide variety of relaxation methods available, so why not try to find one that suits you? I’m happy to give you my FREE guided relaxtion visualisation. It’s a 10 minute audio relaxation to help you feel more balanced https://www.emotionalbalance.co.uk/freebies/

    Yet another effective way to manage your pain is to befriend your body and listen to the communication it is offering. As mentioned above pain is feedback. Many see their body as their enemy “Why is my body doing this to me?” Try a new approach, take time to listen, go inside and search for reasons and emotions behind the pain. Once you understand the message, your body might not need to “shout so loud” anymore. Send positive thoughts and mental messages to your body. It’s doing the best it can given the position it is in. Give yourself of painful body part a hug, apply an appropriate lotion, heat or cold pack, breath into the pain and practice acceptance rather than resistance. Resistance fuels stress, acceptance allows healing. Create the best conditions to allow your body and mind to heal.

    There’s plenty more to be said about this topic. If you’re suffering from chronic pain and would like to learn more about how to manage it, you’re invited to join my next live 2-hour workshop on 17th October in Brighton! Numbers are limited, so make sure you book your place asap! To find out more:

    https://www.emotionalbalance.co.uk/event/releasechronicpain/

    To book your place, send an email with your name and telephone number to sandy@emotionalbalance.co.uk

    I hope you found this article informative and helpful. If you know anyone who suffers from chronic pain, feel free to share it with them. My mission is to help as many people as possible as I know from personal experience how limiting life with chronic pain can be.

    Sending love, light and healing.

    Sandy