Happy Living Tip 3: One Sip Awareness

Are you busy? I sure am. Do the days rush past, giving you hardly any time to actually realise what is happening? No worries you are not alone. Many of us are in the same boat and to be honest it’s not new either. So it’s not surpising that there is a well known trick to make you less stressed and more at peace with yourself and your busy day. This trick doesn’t take any extra time after you practise it a few times. It’s really simple. By focusing on something small, in this case taking a sip of water from a glass, you bring awareness to what you are actually doing right that moment. By doing this your body calms down and you become less stressed. It also works on your mind. By focusing completely on this one action there is no room for anything else. So for one sip you mind is quite. And you have the choice of doing it as often as you like. One sip or ten. Whatever you feel you need.


Get a glass of water

One Sip Awareness

All you need is a glass of water (or another non-alcoholic drink)

Be ready to grab your glass and take a sip, here we go:
Reach for the glass and look at your hand reaching for the glass
See your fingers wrapping around the glass
How does it feels to your touch?
Pick up the glass
What is the weight like and can you feel your muscles respond?
Bring the glass towards your lips
Is there a shift in sensation in your mouth as you are about to drink?
Does it feel dry or is there more salavating now that you know you are about to take a sip?
Place the glass on your lips and sip
How does the drink feel? Warm, cold, cool, smooth, textured?
Taste the liquid in you mouth and be aware of the sensations
Swallow and feel the throat constrict
Can you feel it go down?
Return the attention back to your mouth
Is it the same?
Are you still thristy?
Do you want to drink more?
If so how do you know? How does your body tell you?

Finish your drink in peace. Bring awareness to however many sips you feel comfortable with. Even if that means only once every drink or even twice a day. There is no wrong or right.

The idea of drink awareness is well known to help become more in tune with youself and your surroundings. Oprah has an audio version of this excersise on her website connected to her 'A New Earth' Class. It's free and very helpfull! Please make sure to check it out.

Happy Living Tip 2: Heart breathing

Have we lost touch with our heart? Being generous, kind and compassionate seems a hard thing now a days. We are always in a hurry and get upset when someone doesn’t move out of our way fast enough (whilst walking or in traffic). More and more we react with anger and feel insulted by the other persons lack of understanding/respect for your situation. Surely they can see you are in a hurry? And why would they block the road like that in the first place: can’t they think!! Sounds familiar. Well don’t worry you are not the only one. Today lots of people are stress and rushed. And all you need to do is go back to your heart! The Institure of Heartmath has discovered that focussing on your heart takes stress levels down by leaps and bounds. So to help you create some breathing space in your life. You feel peacefull and joyfull which makes you a kinder person without any hard work. Infact it’s a feel good excersise.



Heart breathing

You can do this excersise a few times a day. Sit, stand or lay down (depending on where you are and how you feel) and breathe deelpy three times, slightly pauzing after the inbreath before starting on the outbreath. Now focus on your heart space. Imagine the breath going through the heart: each inbreath is filling it up with energy and oxygen and each outbreath disposes of waste products (negativity and/or carbon dioxide). Whilst continuing breathing through the heart space and keeping part of your focus there, think of something that makes you happy. This can be anything: a beautiful place, the love for your child, a nice piece of music... whatever you choose makes sure it’s a good thing. It can be a human, and object, a place, sound or even the idea of being in tune with the universe. Feel the feelings that come with the thought and how it opens up your heart. Focus on your breathing again for three more breaths to finish of the excersise. Now go out into the world and be happy, peacefull and open!

Happy Living Tip 1: Flowerfeet

The first tip is about connecting to your body (in this case your feet) and the earth. Gardeners know we are all connected to the planet, because they see how it works, year after year. Everything you do in the garden effects so many things. Crop rotation, composting, watering, feeding these are the steps with a major impact. But what about smaller things, like the bees that furtalise our crops and flower gardens. Only in the last few years with CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder) have we realised how important bees are. Without them we would not eat as they are responsible for pollanating lots of our basic foods. We depend on these tiny little creatures and they depend on flowers who depend on the earth.



Flowerfeet

Sit in a comfortable position with both feet flat on the ground. Imagine a flower growing into being underneath both soles of your feet. It's a type flower you like and it is slowly opens when in touch with the warmth of the earth. Feel how your feet seem to feel connected with the earth like the flower. Your feet seem to open up and the connection with the earth feels warm and natural. Feel what happens. Does energy seem to flow from the earth into your feet or is it the other way around. Are you in need of energy or are you releasing stress? No matter what is happening, let it be. Feel when it is enough and imagine the flower closing slowly. Wiggle your feet about and pay attention to how your feet feel now.

Back to Basics

We live in a very thought-orientated world. We sit at our desks and work with our minds. We study and discuss, read and write. We live in thoughts when reading papers and watching telly. We have an opinion on everything, because that is what we think makes us unique and who we are. We are always busy planning and solving problems in our heads. In fact we are now so busy thinking all the time, we seem to have lost our ability to give ourselves a break. In fact we seem to fear it, as if we stop being who we are if we let go off all those imagined important issues and just Exsist.

It happens by accident sometimes. When we see a beautiful sunset over a fantastic landscape, so awe inspiring it takes our breath away and our thinking. You just seem to BE as the splendor unfolds in front of your eyes. For that brief moment there is no thought, and still you are there. One with the earth and her beauty for those few heartbeats.


Sunset at the Secret Beach

Besides not being in touch with what usually happens around us, because we are living in our heads, we also seem to forget our bodies. Sometimes we manage to fit in a gym session or a walk, but that is about it. But even then we are not really feeling what is going on inside, we are planning the day or thinking of what happend with so and so yesterday. Our body has become a tool to a means and we see (and feel) it less and less as a part of us. It has been proven that body awareness prevents stress and other modern diseases like migraines and psychological issues. Being in touch with your body is a very natural state of being which is why it is used in meditation. Every single cell has life and all these cells give you form.

So to give your mind a break I'll be posting Happy Living Tips from now on. These are meant to give you fun idea's and take you back to basics. So let it all go for a few moments and use a Happy Living Tip...