Winding Down The Brain – Part 3

If excellent wellbeing is important to you, looking at the different aspects of how you live is necessary. To move closer to optimal health it is key to understand your individual inspiration. Discover WHY you want to live your best life, it may be to witness significant milestones in your loved one’s life or kicking personal/professional goals. Whatever it may be, be crystal clear of why it’s meaningful to you. Your deep and honest ‘why’ will motivate and keep you on track, consciously and consistently come back to that powerful driving force.

We all know what makes a wholesome lifestyle, yet it can be beneficial to be reminded. Here are some supportive reminders:

• Connection is key, build an uplifting social network – a strong sense of community and belonging is often underrated
• Move your body every day and invest in good rest
• Challenge your mind and find a creative outlet
• Manage your finances
• Be hydrated, consume wholesome foods and beverages without the strong attachment or obsession to do so
• Floss, brush, and see a dentist regularly. Protect your sight, hearing and general health
• Be sure to get enough vitamin D and sunshine in your life

Another factor we wish to address in further detail is calming the mind. For some that may come naturally, for others it may be excruciating challenging, however it is essential for calming down your nervous system, allowing your body to regenerate and heal.

Some folk shy away from meditation as they think it is about religion or enlightenment, created only for yogis and gurus on mountains or beaches, yet this couldn’t be further from the truth. Meditation is an incredible tool to nurture your mental and emotional health. Many thriving people credit meditation for their razor-sharp focus, enviable level of productivity and bountiful amounts of creative juice. Below are some different types of meditation worthy of consideration:

• Guided imagery
• Body scan or progressive relaxation
• Breath on breath
• Sensory deprivation tanks
• Yoga Nidra
• Kundalini yoga
• Zen meditation
• Transcendental meditation

Meditation offers an opportunity for renewal and heightened awareness in a stressful world where our senses are often dulled. However if you have honestly and openly given numerous types of meditations a red-hot-go and it is in no way shape or form your thing, relax and know you can ‘meditate’ without meditating. 

If you have zero time to meditate or the concept of sitting in stillness is more daunting than restful, implementing a conscious, informal practice within your daily habits (without changing your routine all that much) is possible: All it takes is awareness and adjusting your focus to the present moment.

Informal practices are ones in which you pay close attention to your reality. Engaging fully in these every day occurrences without distractions, provides the chance to tune into what is happening right here and right now. 

Whenever you step out of the noise of thinking, that is meditation and a different state of consciousness arises. Even one conscious breathe in and out is a mini meditation. When you act out of present-moment awareness whatever you do becomes imbued with a sense of quality and care, even the simplest action.

Here are some basic activities which may easily act like meditation in disguise:

1. Cleaning (strange I know, yet some people are in their transcended element while cleaning)
2. Taking a shower, swimming or just being in water or nature in general.
3. Going for a run (also strange I know but some weird and wonderful folk find Zen while smashing the pavements)
4. Taking a stroll down memory lane
5. Listening to music
6. Drinking your morning coffee without distraction or rush
7. Anything creative that brings you joy; cooking, journaling, painting, gardening, dancing, singing etc
8. The simple act of doing something for another

Running mental movies or holding onto past grievances fuels discontentment, anxiety and takes you out of the present moment.  Focusing wholeheartedly on the task or space in front of you will make your life indirectly yet profoundly Zen. Practising consistent, conscious awareness anchors you in the present moment whilst strengthening the immune system and the body’s ability to heal itself. 

If you are struggling and need help with lifestyle factors be strong and reach out. Whatever reality you’re experiencing it may be difficult to sort through on your own. This is where mentors, counsellors, Chiropractors, doctors, personal trainers and other health professionals can come in and render assistance. Take courageous action, situations can improve. No one wins alone and in some varying degree we all need support. Do yourself (and those around you) a solid – seek help where required.  
Plus it goes without saying but to live your best and healthiest life continue reading our Back In Line Chiropractic monthly newsletters. 😉

Recommended Content
The 100 Year Lifestyle by Dr Eric Plasker
Heal documentary – A film about the power of the mind
Making Space by Thich Nhat Hanh
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
10% Happier by Dan Harris
Out of your Mind by Alan Watts
Not Always So by Shunryu Suzuki
There you are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Meditation in Action by Chogyam Trungpa