Author: egallagher713

Practicing mindfulness meditation involves directing your complete attention to sights, sounds, smells, sensations and thoughts.  Concentrate on senses that you do not notice on a daily basis.  Paying attention to your breathing in meditation helps you focus your attention  instead of letting your mind take over and control you.

Breathing is essential to successful meditation.  Sit comfortably in a chair or lie down.  You can also stand in a controlled position.  Close your eyes when you first start this process so you can concentrate.  Observe and feel the rise and fall of your abdomen and notice the inhale and exhale at a slower rate.  Make note of your sensations as you inhale and exhale.  Feel your diaphragm expand with each inhalation and deflate with each exhalation.  At first, it is natural for your attention to wander off and this may happen often during the first few attempts at this.

When first starting on this mindfulness meditation journey, tune in to your breath at random times of the day and observe your abdomen rising and falling through three or four breath cycles.  Pay extra attention to your thoughts and bodily sensations.

During times of stress, visualization meditation may help relieve anxiety.  Think of your mind as a large body of water.  Imagine riding waves of stressful thoughts and then allowing them to flow away from you.  Allow them to flow away without dwelling on them. Constant conscious deliberation and acceptance of stressful events helps your mind open up to new opportunities.  You will begin to notice the change in yourself as you continue to practice meditation and move away from the feelings of self-pity, jealousy, anger or sadness.  Mindfulness helps us achieve more contentment with our lives.  We accept consequences and explore opportunities instead of being in denial.

By meditating just 15 minutes a day you will see a change in the way you focus on the world around you.  You may see a change in your level of patience and take your day more slowly and comfortably.  This will help you to continue to become less stressed in your daily life.  When feeling successful and letting your mind go, you will take this to other areas of your life.  If you are in a meeting at work instead of getting stressed about an impending deadline you may instead decide to take some deep breaths and plan a step by step solution so that you are not anxiety ridden.

Also, this may bring about a complete change in your workout routine.  Meditation and mindfulness practice will make you more aware of your workouts.  You will notice more concentration in your Pilates or Yoga classes and less thoughts of the outside world stresses during your every day workouts.  This will make your workouts even more beneficial, not just physically but also improving your emotional well-being.

I hope that these suggestions have been helpful and that you will find solutions in some mindfulness meditation practices and your everyday fitness and wellness goals.  I would love to hear some of your stories……

If you are like me, the last few days of the year are spent organizing, cleaning and planning for a new year that will be better than the last.  All of us come to New Year’s with a new hope, dreams of a more successful and peaceful year and we make lists of what we want to accomplish.

So instead of stating my resolutions, my hopes and dreams, and promises for 2019, I have decided to make a list of what I am going to do to have less stress in my life.  Namely, let’s take the U out of stress for 2019.

1. Plan A Time Out for Every Day

Whether it is first thing in the morning or after dinner cleanup at night (whatever time works better for you), plan on spending 5 to 10 minutes with no thoughts in your mind.  Sit  quietly and remove any technology within your reach.  Close your eyes and breath deeply and slowly.  When you exhale, let all the stress of the day just leave your body and give you a new feeling of calm and relaxation.  This may take awhile to perfect but it’s one day at a time and we can only work to make our lives better just one day at a time.

2. Learn How to Say NO

Practice saying No over and over again…no, no, no , no….until it becomes an acceptable word coming out of your mouth with no regrets.  I am not telling you to say “no” all the time but rather when you don’t want to do something or you don’t have time to help or go somewhere, say it loud and clear:  NO!!!! You can, of course, say “Although I wish I could I have to say No because……”  Practice with minor requests.  Try not to over obligate yourself this year.  Spend  quality time with family and friends without doing three different things in one day!!

3. Play Your Music Loud

Whether you have Amazon Music, Alexa Echo or Google Home, do not hesitate to request a feel good song when you are in the mood or a very traditional soul-searching tune when you are thinking about chores, jobs and commitments.  Let music become more a part of your life.  We often talk about all the music we love and often we do not listen to it as often as we should.  Music can change a blah mood to a dancing, happy feeling.  Perhaps there are certain times of the day where you need an uplift or boost.  Or maybe just to sing while you are cooking.  While doing menial tasks like cleaning, cooking or paying bills, add some of your favorite tunes to ease you through.

4.  Sip slowly

At the end of the day or in the middle of a work at home project, make yourself a cup of chamomile tea or hot chocolate.  When relaxing after a long day at work pour yourself a crisp Merlot or fruity Malbec to take some tension away.  Sit there sipping and just release all of the anxiety of the day.  Sip while making dinner.  Sip while in the bathtub.  Sip while on the phone with an old friend.  Sipping slowly adds to destressing that we all need.  Once the holidays pass us and we are back on our routines, we often need to remind ourselves that we need to recharge our batteries and just relax.  And yes, sometimes the calories are fine.

5. Work It Out

Whether you enjoy a Zumba class, some yoga or Pilates or simply walking the treadmill, moving your body releases stress buildup.  We often need to push ourselves after a long day of work to go to the gym or meet a friend at an exercise class, but once you get there you will reap many benefits.  Your heart will be pumping, you will burn calories and stress will leave your body.  The hardest part is always getting there but once done we feel rejuvenated and feel like anything can be accomplished.  Working out builds self-esteem and heart health, as well as add to our emotional well-being.  So no more excuses this year.

6. Talk to A Friend

At the end of the day your spirits can be lifted just by chatting with a friend and catching up on life besides work.  You get to re-establish your connection to each other and also realize that the rest of the world has the same kind of day that you do. Hearing that familiar, non-judgmental voice at the end of the phone boosts your ego and spirit.  This is a refreshing end to a long, hard day.  Often, we get so busy and make excuses to not be connected.  Make it a priority this year!!

7. Remind Yourself How Important You Are

Every day when getting ready for work, go over the day in your mind and remind yourself why you are important part of this day and what you want to accomplish.  Remind yourself of your qualifications, your dreams and what you see yourself doing a year from now.  Smile at your reflection in the mirror and then you will smile at whoever you run into during the course of a day.  Forget that it’s Monday.  It’s just another day to be grateful for and live to the fullest.

So many of us will go on and on with resolutions but think about you this year.  Less stress, more devotion to important parts of your life, and more dedication to taking care of you this year.  I wish all of you a Happy and Healthy 2019.  May you find your inner strength to grow this year and to appreciate yourself and all that you are grateful for.

Read my review on Wopet Pet Booster Seat (Visit wopet.com for more information to order)

Pet Booster seat

Classic-Rock-Mornings-Koral-Dawn (1)

Hello everyone! I’m Koral Dawn, a social media manager and marketing professional from Washington, USA. No, not Washington, DC; the other Washington on the west coast by California! You can find my blog here. But if you prefer to find me elsewhere, my Instagram is where I spend most of my time: @willowedawn

I’ve been recently going through some rough times with depression and anxiety after being laid off from my job that I moved 2800 miles away from home for. I had less than 24 hours’ notice that I didn’t have a job, and my manager didn’t even know until I did, about 10 minutes before. I think you’d be a little off if you were in my situation as well. Things could be worse… we all say that. 

To make this story even more unfortunate, the following day, we were supposed to have our inspection of our new home that we had put an offer in on and actually won. We had to back out of everything. No more house, no more mortgage approval, almost lost our earnest money we had put down because we really wanted that home… nothing. Everything was gone, and we had to make a decision to stop the home buying because we didn’t know where we were going to be in a week, let alone 3 months. 

Most days we spent it in bed after this happened. Laying there. Tired, unable to move. No motivation to really get up and do anything for a good solid 2 weeks. We didn’t know what to do. We had a planned vacation back home to PA coming up in 3 weeks, and no one was going to want to hire us if we were leaving for almost 2 weeks to spend with family. We were going to have to wait until we came back from that to really start the hunt for jobs. At that point, I was the most miserable person of myself that I have ever been.

Fast forward to now, I have not landed a job yet with an employer, however, my fiancé has. He finally got a call for a job interview and is now selling cars at the Ford dealer a few towns over and is so far winning at it. So the good news is we can stay in WA for now… and hopefully buy a home next year instead. It’s a little more complicated since we’ll be married by then but that’s okay – we’ll work it out! 

So, what I’ve done is compiled a playlist that helps me wake up on Sunday mornings when I’ve had a rough week or even just a rough day: Classic Rock all the way! Now, I wasn’t born in the 70’s or 80’s but my mom lived through it, and this is the music I grew up listening to day in and day out and it reminds me of the good old days with no worries, no responsibilities and no problems to care about except what to wear to school the next day. (Don’t we all wish that could be the main problem in our lives now? Adulting sucks.) I hope you enjoy it and can find some relaxation/good memories in the songs as well. 

For those of you that have Apple Music – I’ve made my playlist shareable so you can download to your iPhone and listen along with me Sunday Mornings. Find it here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/sunday-morning-classic-rock/pl.u-2aoqq0eUVppqNV

Pin Expo

Saturday, November 3, 2018  10a.m.-3 p.m.

Life Skills House – Southern Houston, TX

Another mimosa please!!!  Life Skills House in Southern Houston is using mimosas and yoga to bring single moms together to feel part of a community and blossom.   The Pin Expo features local businesses and vendors for all things decor, fitness, self-care, cooking, style, and crafts. Get inspired by the Make-And-Take classes, show off your DIY skills, or learn some new ones, and browse the gorgeous, authentic booths sprawled across the lawn and indoor shopping area as your Pinterest boards come to life. The goal of this event is to make each and every one of their group feel like they are moving forward in their life dreams while overcoming some obstacles.  It will be held on Saturday, November 3, 2018 from 10 am-3 pm. Outdoor Yoga provided by Beatnik Studios begins at 9:30 am.  Bring your yoga mat!  

Life Skills House was founded as a Texas not for profit organization  that provides transitional housing and Christian based life skills training for up to two years for multicultural young women, including but not limited to, those who were victims of human trafficking, those who are pregnant and single mothers from economically challenged backgrounds, ages 15-25, who are serious about breaking free from a lifestyle of impoverishment. They will offer assistance to young women as they move from dependent, often abusive relationships, into independent self-sufficient lifestyles.  They can also provide housing for the young children of the mothers residing at the facility. 

Also on staff is a Biblical counselor that will help the residents receive spiritual and emotional healing from their painful past to be set free and embrace their future. Their belief is that it is imperative to portray Christianity as a lifestyle in a family oriented atmosphere. They are committed to help these women become successful and productive citizens while overcoming present day obstacles.

Come early and join us for outdoor yoga by Beatnik Studios at 9:30 AM. All you need is water and your mat! Grab coffee from Grounded Roasterie’s coffee bar, a homemade brunch from our food lounge, and be sure to stop by Surfin‘ Rita’s on-site Mimosa Bar to sip while you stroll the magnificent grounds.

Events cater to young moms and their children in Brazaria County and the Greater Houston area.  At each event, there is childcare provided to make it accessible for those with young children with no babysitting options. 

Visit LifeSkillsHouse.org/events to purchase tickets for this life-changing event. General admission is $8.  Children ages 3-17 are $2 (under 3 are free).  

Do you find yourself totally exhausted every night? Now that you are back to a routine after summer leisure, do you often feel as if it is Friday on Tuesday? Most of us can answer yes to these two questions.

It is so important at this time of the year, before all the holidays start rolling in and the temperature changes, to feel as if your body is working at its peak. We must make an extra effort to eat healthy, take vitamins, rest whenever possible and have some moments of nothingness to regain strength.

Taking a moment or two at the end of the day to reflect on the happenings of the day, making mental notes of what you have to do tomorrow and just relishing in a quick cup of coffee or tea, will revitalize you. This will prevent you from losing patience with someone who has nothing to do with the your stress levels. Take that exercise class, go for a walk, call your mom, and just breathe deeply.

If we do this relaxation exercise for 15 minutes every day we will see a big improvement in our overall wellbeing. We will be ready to take that exercise class, cook dinner for the family, take a walk with the dog, and just refuel your body and melt the stress away.

Taking time for yourself will not only benefit you, but your family and friends as well. They will see you as a happier person who is content and ready to take on the challenges of each day. Breathe deeply, be mindful and take care of your own wellbeing.