Stress Awareness Month

Today I became aware of the fact that April is Stress Awareness Month. This reminded me that the last chapter of my book offers a variety of simple healing and relaxation tools from the complementary and integrative modalities. I thought I'd share a couple of simple methods to help you relax and de-stress here today:

I. Hold each of the five fingers, using your dominant hand, one at a time, for about 3 to 5 minutes each. This method of relaxation comes out of the acupressure system called Jinshin Jyutsu in Japanese, and helps to relax a person immediately. The following are the emotions you can help release by holding each finger: Insecurity with the thumb, fear with the index finger, anger with the middle finger, grief & sorrow with the ring finger, and denial and confusion with the pinky. You will likely notice that after holding each finger for a few minutes you will start yawning and become drowsy -- so be careful when and where you do this exercise!

II. Using essential oils, especially ones like lavender, cedarwood, sandalwood, ylang ylang, myrrh, frankincense, bergamot, Peace & Calming (a Young Living blend), etc. can help you relax and feel rejuvenated. Inhaling deeply and directly is a good way, using a cool diffuser with them in your room, placing a few drops of one or more of the oils on the hand and fingers can be good, or simply rubbing these high frequency oils on the bottoms of the feet or on the forehead when you're ready to relax or just before you go to sleep. A friend of mine who loves the YL oils said her little boy got so he wouldn't go to sleep without putting a few drops of Peace & Calming on the bottoms of his feet!

III. There are breathing techniques and simple guided meditations that can be used to destress and get centered, too. Here's a simple meditation for busy people that can be done in only five minutes:

a. Use a mind-sweeper to clear your thoughts. Sweep away all negative, fearful, or unforgiving thoughts. (one minute)

b. Relax your body through and through. Start at the top of your head and let relaxation flow down over your body in a stream of white light or sunshine. (one min.)

c. Let yourself feel the Love of God that is within you until Love fills your whole being. Envision yourself embraced by Divine Love. (with practice, takes only an instant)

d. Be still and KNOW that you are in the presence of God. See every cell of your body glow with pure Love and Light. (two minutes)

Now take the thoughts and feelings of this experience with you as you go about your daily activities. When you practice clearing your mind, relaxing your body, feeling God's Love and Light, and listening in the quiet several times each day, you are building a heightened awareness of Who You Really Are. You will look around and see how beautiful and full of Love the world truly is. You will hold the true nature of your fellow sojourners along life's way!

Blessings of Peace and Wellness, Dancing heart~~~

p.s. If you wish to order any of the Young Living oils, you can do so on the Young Living website by using my membership #: 705841.