Hello there!

Well it has been a while since I was on here that is for sure. I can’t believe that almost a year has passed since I last wrote! I figured it was time to touch base quickly and let you all know what is happening in this part of the world.

Life has been a bit all over the place with work I have to say. I have been majorly re-evaluating everything and trying to decide the best way forward; both for the business and life. This blog was obviously one thing that slipped and some of you who are subscribed to my newsletter may have noticed that I have not sent any out for a while – or maybe not :). Things were just beginning to feel a bit forced and creating content wasn’t really bringing me joy anymore. It was beginning to feel more and more like a challenge and one that I didn’t see the point in. Letting go of posting blogs and sending newsletters, along with the guilt I felt at first, was the start of wee changes with regards to my business and my mindset.

Enjoying some time out in nature with the dogs

So many of my endeavours have begun with me projecting in the future, out into the ether rather than focusing on the here and now. The newsletter in particular was one of those; I began it hoping that it would reach millions, sky-rocketing my business into an online success, never mind that I didn’t really have an online business to match. I also began it because I felt I had to and that it was expected of me but that gets exhausting after a while. It felt like it was time to give myself a break. Coming to that realization has been liberating and challenging in equal measure. I want to share the knowledge I have because I really believe it can help others and make a positive difference to their lives, I’m just not 100% sure how most days. Is putting energy into online content better or those face to face interactions?

So many ‘signs’ and ‘messages’ have come to me lately, from many different places, about being in the present moment and doing things because they feel right that I figure it may be time to listen. So, I’m trying to live a bit more in the now rather than my usual racing into what may come. I’m taking some time out, re-evaluating life in general and making some space. I am also working on doing things because they feel right and are life affirming rather than because they are expected or that they may bring me validation in some way. Everyone likes being validated I know and I’m no different but I could feel that what began in my head as something good to do for others quickly turned into something that may bring me validation or praise. This was even before I had put the project into practice.

The first of my updated books on Smashwords

I have still been teaching at the local Woman’s Centre which I always love and also , taking some time to cultivate a few skills. I have been working on connecting more with people despite my natural introvert tendencies, listening more and talking less. In my bid to do stay in the moment with positive action I have been giving away some of the print versions of my books to people I have worked with. It has felt good hearing the need and then gifting the books to people who will use them. The extra space on my bookshelf is very nice too. In doing so though it also highlighted some errors that were in the text, missed edits that needed rectifying. So I have begun updating my e-books which I created so long ago to ensure that the best copy of them is available online. It has been its own validation of sorts as I read the words over and realize that I wouldn’t change the content even 7 years later.

It has also made me see that the time has come to combine all this knowledge, in my e-books and in my head, into one. I can see that reflexology was a little ‘light’ on the ground in those earlier e-books due to my feelings of not being good enough so now it is time to add it in. Combining all my e-books and some extra information which I teach on my ‘Balancing Life’ course is my mission at the moment work wise, that and having my regular reflexology clients. It is a slow start and I’m yet to make a deadline for myself however everyday I am carving a little space for it. Wish me luck and hopefully I’ll be posting about its release before the year is out!

Arohanui

Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz

Winter Wellness – Part 4 – Lose the stress

This week I am gearing up to do my first 3 hour exam in over 20 years and I am feeling the stress creeping in with each day moving me closer to it.   It is amazing how sly stress can be! Honestly, just when I think that I’m on top of things and have this study thing sorted life gets on top of me and before I know it, I’m feeling that tension throughout my body.  

Thankfully we have lots of nature to get out into and de-stress

The bus isn’t the easiest place to study I have to say, apparently if you can be seen you must be spoken to :), and when you’re in a small town there aren’t that many quiet places to head off to either. So, I’m trying my best to get out of the stress loop by using the tools in my kete (basket) that I know work for me.  I figured that in a culture which too often rates your ability to cope under stress as an indicator of people’s success, others may like to try some of these little beauties to remove some of that stress naturally rather than having to ‘cope’ with it.

Get moving.  Exercise (aerobic especially) is proven to help relieve stress and other negative emotions such as depression.  When we move our bodies, it helps loosen and work all those muscles that you may be holding in tension, it gets you changing your focus, in increases oxygen to the brain and best of all those ‘feel good’ hormones get released.  Any kind of movement is good so pick one that you love and try and get out in nature with it to increase the benefits. 

Have a laugh.  Laughing creates a euphoric effect that will instantly release any tension you have. It can trigger the release of endorphins (the body’s natural pain killers and feel good hormone) which helps you to feel better all over and to relax.  Laughter yoga is now offered in many places and can be a great way to connect with new people however failing that it may just be a good excuse to watch those comedies, silly youtube clips and share all those jokes you have!

Count to 10.  Taking deep breathes and a wee bit of time out is an age old classic that costs nothing and is very effective. The key to this is breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth as this helps relax the whole body … it is hard to keep tension in your body with your mouth open.  Research also shows that deep breathing helps trigger the vagus nerve (a cranial nerve which helps regulate the heart, digestion and lungs) and works with the parasympathic nervous system to bring us into that ‘rest and digest’ state of being rather than stuck in ‘fight/flight or freeze’ state of being. 

Meditate.  Even 5 mins a day of meditation will help stress levels though of course the longer you meditate the greater the benefits. This doesn’t have to be a big deal just find a quite spot, close your eyes (or look downwards, relaxing your gaze) and clear your mind of as much as you can.  First thing in the morning to ‘set you up’ for the day or last thing at night to help you unwind and get a good sleep can be really effective times.  There are loads of apps out there now which can help you get into the right headspace.

Essential oils.  Scent has a powerful impact on our bodies and can bring up memories and emotions easily. This is in part due to the fact that the olfactory nerve (whose nerve fibres in the nose allow us smell) are connected to the limbic system in the brain, rather than going through the cerebral cortex (our thinking part) which triggers these ‘primitive’ responses to what we are smelling.  Lavender is the most popular relaxant but there are plenty others to try.  This link may help you to begin your experimentation with scent.

Stretch.  A good stretch can help with the physical symptoms of stress.  Like exercise it gets you moving those muscles that may have been held in tension. Try a class of yoga which will combine breathing, stretching and exercise for a real stress reliever or even a basic stretch at your desk and see how good it feels. Here is a link to a few suggestions.

Bach Flower Remedies.  As many of you know I love Bach Flower Remedies and I’m a big believer that emotions dictate our health unless we intervene.  Bach Flowers are designed to work on emotions and can target the source of your negative emotions helping to increase the positive.  White Chestnut is a classic for those who continue with ‘mental conversations and/or internal arguments’, whereas Agrimony can help those who hide their stress behind a smile.  If you want to learn more and try a treatment bottle then check out my FREE quiz to find your remedies (don’t worry you don’t have to sign up to anything) and e-mail me to make you up a bottle. Otherwise you can find out more about Bach Flowers and have your own guide by checking out my book ‘Finding Calm and Balance’ which is on sale at a special price for the next week or so, along with my other e-books.

Only 99c (US) at the moment along with my other books

Hope this finds you a little calmer, a little less tense and enjoying the life you have.

Arohanui

Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz

Winter Wellness – Part 2 – EFT

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is one of the healing tools I have in my kete (basket) which I have to admit was a bit out of my comfort zone the first time I tried it.  That was over a decade ago now and since then it has become an invaluable which never fails to make a positive difference in how I feel.  I regulary use it for relieving syptoms of discomfort and illness, with great results, so I thought you may like to try it too.

Tapping on the karate chop point

As you may know, I believe that all our health and well-being, yes all of it, comes down to our emotions.  Our emotions dictate how we interact with the world and what we do in it.  If we are feeling safe, we are more able to make good choices in our life as we operate in more of a ‘rest and digest’ state of being. If we are feeling stressed, worried or scared a different part of our nervous system kicks in and we operate out of a ‘flight or fight or freeze’ survival mode where our decisions are based on what we think we need at that moment to survive.  Obviously, there are bugs out there that can make us sick however when we are operating in ‘survival mode’ due to us feeling stressed, worried, angry etc then our immune system is impaired which make that fact, bugs will make us sick, all the more likely to occur.

Our bodies can’t heal or fight disease in our bodies if we think our safety is compromised as it is too busy worrying about survival, which is where EFT can help.  Tapping (another name for EFT) works by tapping on meridian points, which studies have shown helps calm the amygdala (a part of the brain which plays a key role in processing emotions) and thereby helps clear emotional blocks within our system. While you tap you also say statements about the issue or how you are feeling – focusing on the negative to start with and then moving to the positive – which also helps to bring the body back to that all importance place of calm and balance.  In a nutshell EFT/Tapping assists you to move through the negative (sickness, emotions or pain) by combining tapping on certain points in the body and saying how we feel about the issue we have, simple as that!   It honestly is that easy, yet it is so effective and you don’t need to get ‘tied up’ about what to say either, rather just say how you are honestly feeling.

The tapping points as portrayed by an amazing artist 🙂

Now at this point you may be saying ‘but a cold is physical, it has nothing to do with emotions’ and that is true to a point. There are two things that bring it back to the emotional though …. one, when we are stressed/angry/worried or rushing all the time our bodies go into survival mode which lowers our immune system, so allowing bugs in a little easier and two, everything we experience has an emotion attached to it.  So when we get that cold we may begin to wallow in how sick we feel, get angry about still having to do jobs, feel frustrated that being sick stops us from doing something and all of these emotions end up making us feel worse.  Tapping helps clear that emotional aspect which allows you to feel brighter and more able to cope.

Tapping/EFT is really easy to do and best of all you don’t even have to leave your bed to do it!  Even if you feel a bit silly to start with, tapping under your arm especially, after a few rounds it will help you to feel better.  There are loads of tap along videos on youtube ( I’ve listed a few below to try) however if you want a little one page quick guide, by yours truly, then here is a PDF to help you along.  If you want a more detailed look at EFT and how you can reduce your stress then try out my book ‘Take it Easy’ which you can purchased at Amazon, Smashwords and other online bookstores.  I will say though that while tapping at home and using youtube videos is great for relieving minor issues I do suggest that if anything comes up for you and you feel you have deeper work to do then please seek out a professional practitioner.

Try out my e-book for a more detailed guide on reducing stress to improve health.

Cold and congestion tap along with Nivedita Mehta

Cold tap along with Beth Tuttle

Healing tap along with Brad Yates

Cold and flu tap along with Julie Schiffman

Hope this finds you getting a bit of relief and feeling healthier each day.

Arohanui
Y
www.becominghealthy.co.nz

A Freebie!

Yes…. you read correctly a great FREEBIE for all you lovely people who are supporting and following me.  Without you I don’t think I would have such enthusiasm to still be writing! So as a thank you I thought I would share my latest e-book with you for free.

Finally after much procrastination (around 1 year’s worth!) I have finish Magnificent Mamas – A Guide to creating the Life the you Want.  It is a 12 week step by step programme, in e-book format,  filled with lots of life-coaching tips, practical steps, life-changing tools and techniques for creating the life you want all for FREE!  Magnificent Mamas e-book contains a combination of life-coaching tools and practical techniques I use with clients and also as the basis of a course, which I will be teaching next month, so I’m really excited to be able to now share it with you all via an e-book.

 

 

During Magnificent Mama’s 12 week course you learn about:

– Creating Balance in your life

– Creating space for you within your day

– Goal setting

– EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)

– Why self care is so important

– Bach Flower Remedies

– Overcoming your fears

– Defining what is important to you

– Finding ways to live your life in line with these values

For those of you who follow for the food posts I do, I apologise – fingers crossed next week for another recipe I have in the pipe line. 🙂  However you never know you may still enjoy this awesome, life changer or you may know someone who could use it, so share it with them.

I will be putting the price up to .99c (US) in around a week so make the most of the free download now!

Hope this finds you enjoying the life you have or creating the life you want.

Arohanui

Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz

Make the most of the influence you have

Since we are either just arrived or nearly arrived home after a long weekend away I thought I would schedule this blog and share with you a great blog post from Joshua Becker at Becoming Minimalist.  Apologies to those of you who get both blogs….. then again maybe not as this is a message that we need reminding of everyday.

Influence. You Already Have It.

Posted: 25 Aug 2015 by Becoming Minimalist 

“You don’t have to be a ‘person of influence’ to be influential. In fact, the most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they’ve taught me.” —Scott Adams

Our lives matter. This is indeed life-giving news to each of us.

We all want to live lives of significance—lives that make a difference in the world around us. We were designed to live for something greater than ourselves. And each of us were born with an ingrained desire to accomplish that.

As a result, our world cares deeply about influence. We pay for it, fight for it, and study how to get more of it. Our world measures it, ranks it, and ascribes it to people for foolish reasons. But in our constant struggle to attain influence, we often miss out on one very important truth:

We already have it! Each of us is already an influencer of others.

To live is to influence. Whenever and wherever our lives interact with others (at home, at work, on-line, or in our community), we have influence. We change lives. We affect people every single day with the words we say, the looks on our face, the actions we choose, and the decisions we make.

It would be wise for us to stop always asking how to acquire more and instead, start asking what to do with the influence we already have.

The interactions we have in this world offer both a great and challenging opportunity. They can be positive or negative. They can add value to the lives of others or they can take value away. Our opportunity for influence can become an important agent for change or it can further cement the status quo. It can make our world a better place to be or a crummier place to endure. There are no neutral contributors in this world.

Every day, whether we interact with 5 people, 50 people, or 500, our lives matter and produce a ripple effect that extends far beyond us. Let’s model integrity, celebrate growth, encourage strength, and push for positive change.

If we’re not doing well with the influence we already have, why do we think the world would benefit if we had more?

Many thanks to Joshua Becker of Becoming Minimalist for this post.

Hope this finds you appreciating and making the most of the influence you have.

Arohanui

Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz

Creating a Vivacious You

Ok, so I admit it! This is a bit of shameless promotion.  I can’t help it though, really :), it is just that I am so amazed that I actually, finally formatted one of my booklets into an e-book. Yes, a real, find-it-on-the-Internet e-book!

My first FREE e-book

I was originally aiming at getting another e-course into an e-book but the procrastination was so strong and the weight of looking at it always sitting on my ‘to do’ list was so great that I decided to begin a little smaller.  So here is my first e-book offering folks –  ‘Creating a Vivacious You – a guide to weight loss and health.   You can now find it FREE on Smashwords, Paper Plus  and Barnes and Noble  . Hopefully it will be other places very soon.

I wrote  ‘Creating a Vivacious You – a guide to weight loss and health.   as a quick and easy read to remind us all that actually becoming healthy and losing weight (if you need to) doesn’t have to be a complicated or expensive thing.  In the past I have got caught up in the hype of ‘diet’ plans and/or ‘exercise’ plans only to realise that they are either very expensive or completely unrealistic to continue with long term.  Most can’t fit into a normal life easily which makes them even harder to stick to. The result for me, and I’m guessing many of you, was a spiral of lapses in the plan and continual guilt.

That is when I decided that I would get ‘back to basics’, listen to my body more and explore why I felt I had to change the way I looked in the first place and why I ate the items and amounts I did.  Feeling great doesn’t have to be complicated or cost lots of money. Becoming Healthy is available to us all which is why I wanted to share what I have learnt, used and continue to use along my journey of health.

Anyway, I’d love for you to check out Creating a Vivacious You!  It is FREE so make the most of it for yourself or someone else you think would enjoy it.  If you think it is good then I’d be so grateful for a review or a share and if you think it is less than good I’d love some feedback as to how I can improve it.

Hope this finds you enjoying life to the fullest

Arohanui

Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz