Tag Archives: breath

Pay Attention To Your Daily Transitions

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Think about all the transitions you go through in a typical day…. Transitioning from sleep to getting ready for your day… transitioning from home to work, school or other activities… transitioning back to your home and family life… transitioning from all the various roles you take on in one day… transitioning between projects, phone calls, meetings, classes, clients, patients, etc….
Sometimes do you transition from one activity or role to another without even slowing down? Do you just rush from one activity to the next without ever stopping to take a break? Do you “take your work home with you”? Do you drag your home life frustrations into your work life or vice versa? Do you feel like all your daily activities just kinda slide into one another?
Instead, how about if you create some ritual or activity that helps you be more present in each current activity/role throughout your day? Here are a few suggestions – and feel free to make up your own and share them with me! 
 
1) Between activities, take a Five Breath “Breathing Break” to get yourself centered, leaving the activity you just completed and moving fully into the next activity.
2) Stretch and move your body for a One-Minute “Stretch Break” (Hint: You can do this simultaneously with your “Breathing Break”!)
3) Give yourself a double thumbs-up and say (out loud if possible <grin>), “I’m done with that. I did my best. I’m moving on.”
4) Say a short prayer, offering up what you just completed and seeking guidance and direction for your next activity.
 
What other ones do you come up with? 
 
Try these for today and notice the difference they make in your day, OK? 
 
Let me know how this worked for you!
 

Simplify Your Life

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“Summer Break” is here, yet sometimes with the extra activities of vacations, kids/grandkids home from school, lawn care, catching up on home projects and a multitude of possible activities, you may feel you need a break from Summer Break ;-).

Check out my RealQuickTip “Simplify Your Life” below as you get into your summer activities!

Cheri’s RealQuickTip: Simplify Your Life!! 
Our lives become so busy, so complicated, so hectic! Do you sometimes just want to” get off the ride”, catch your breath, and get away from the busy-ness for a while? Do you want to holler “Re-do!!” like when you were playing a game with friends when you were little?
You know, it’s not gonna spontaneously happen all on it’s own and some gracious benefactor is not likely to come along and say “You’re too busy. Let me handle everything for you… forever… for free.” (or if they do come along, send ’em to me too!! heehee!!)…
But the good news is, you can simplify your life! Everything doesn’t have to come to a screeching halt, but you can slooow down a bit and choose what you want to spend your time and energy on.
Sure, it takes some discipline and commitment, but you can do it! And remember, it’s your life – you get to decide!
So, look at your schedule… look at your stuff… look at your habits… and just start where you are to identify specific areas you can begin to simplify now. Stick with it – you can do it!
Imagine (see it and feel it) what a simpler version of your life will feel like, then take your first step toward it!

“Train Your Mind Like A Puppy!”

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Do you tend to think (or obsess or regret) about things in the past? Do you tend to think (or worry) about things in the future?
How much of your thinking time is either in the past (stuff that’s already happened) or in the future (stuff that hasn’t happened yet)? 
It seems a common ailment that we do not spend much time truly focused on the present moment, the present task, the people we are with at this very moment.
Instead, we are jumping back into the past and dredging up things or we are leaping into the future wishing for things or looking forward to things or even worrying about things that haven’t happened yet.
While there’s nothing wrong with visiting the past or the future, do you tend to live in those places much more than you do the present moment of your life? Do you miss what is happening right now because you’ve traded it for thinking about something that’s already happened or something that hasn’t happened yet? What beauty are you forgoing right now?
Would you believe that training your mind like a puppy will help you live more and appreciate more in the present moment? Several years ago, I read this tip about meditation and share it in all my meditation classes and workshops. Here’s the scoop:
This requires you to stop regularly throughout your day and think about what you are thinking about! :-)
If you realize that your mind has run off into the past, call it back to the present moment – just like you call back a little puppy that dashes off. If you realize that your thoughts have run off to dwell on something in your future, call your thoughts back to the here and now.
You understand how the concept works when you are training a little puppy. It wants to run and wander and explore constantly and you have to call it back to your side. Same with your mind. While it’s ok to wander and explore sometimes, you must train your mind to come back to the present and focus on the task, the beauty, the person, the conversation, etc. that’s happening right here, right now. 
So, your challenge for today is to observe your own mind and your own thoughts throughout your day. When you find your mind wandering off to the past or the future, call it back  to the present moment, just like training a little puppy.
Notice what is happening right now. Really explore this moment of your life… this breath… it’s really all that truly exists. 
 

Autumn Says It’s Time To Let Go

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Well, it’s Fall (or Autumn if you prefer) and what a beautiful season!! Fall is a time for vibrant colors and also a time to let go. 
 

Below are excerpts from two previous newsletters regarding lessons we can learn from Fall.

I hope you enjoy the short articles!

Tip Of The Month: Learn From Autumn
(from October 2008 Newsletter)

This time of year is a time of change in nature. Learn from nature and let this be a time of change for you too. There is a cleanness and crispness to the air. The leaves change colors and show their vibrancy and beauty. The leaves eventually fall off and provide a beautiful carpet for the earth. The trees stand tall and prepare for a period of stillness even though there is a lot unseen going on to prepare for the new life in the Spring.

Let’s breathe into this season and use it to be bold and bright and vibrant in our daily lives. Let’s let go of some things (what do you need to let go of?) in order to create a stillness and a space within us for something new and beautiful to arrive in our lives soon!! Release. Rejuvenate. Renew!!

Cheri’s RealTip: Learn From Autumn – It’s Time To Let Go!
(from October 2011 Newsletter)
Who is with me and loves this season?! Ready to enjoy the cooler temperatures… the bright blue skies… the crisp air…  then a bit later, the colorful leaves – beau-ti-ful!… then when it’s the right time, the trees release those leaves. 
That’s the lesson I want us to think about… releasing things from our lives at the right time. What would happen if the trees that are supposed to release their leaves never let go? I’m thinking that would not be a healthy tree for long. 
Take a look at your schedule. What are you continuing to hold on to in your daily/weekly/monthly/yearly schedule that you no longer enjoy or that is just too much? Is it the right time to let go? We don’t want to just start releasing stuff willy-nilly, but if it no longer serves your highest good and it’s the right time, release it!
In yoga class, we do breathing exercises. We focus on the inhale and we focus on the exhale. Both are needed… bringing the breath in during the inhale and also releasing the breath during the exhale. If we decided we liked drawing breath in so much that we just tried to hold onto the inhale way past the time that it had served it’s purpose or way longer than it was healthy for us, we’d be in trouble! We need the exhale… the release. 
 
So what things in your schedule, or in your house, or in your project list, or in your relationships is it the right time to release? 
Just like the trees, when we let go, it creates the opportunity for new life to come again. What is ready to bless your life, just waiting for you to let go and make space for it?