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Showing results for tags 'making time for YOU!'.
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Over this weekend, I enjoyed a full spa treatment routine. While under-going the royal bliss of such, I thought about "How often do you get to REALLY relax?" I spent 4.5 hours getting pampered-foot massage, body scrub, coconut milk bath, relaxing massage, etc. Real VIP treatment! (Cheeva Spa in Chiang Mai shows the various things I got to enjoy) We have all read/heard about the effects of stress. Thou I do feel some "gurus" over do it with "stress will kill you....blah,blah,blah" I do feel we are under tremendous stress far in excess of what our ancestors used to deal with. Today, it is almost 24/7 stress and this prolonged level of stress will lead to breakdowns in our health. So, what do you do to relax? Turn-off the old thinker...... Meditation? Yoga? Treat yourself to a nice massage? If not, you should really consider the side-effects to prolonged/excessive stress. When under stress, we release some hormones that are designed to allow us to survive the stress event. Cortisol is a major player. However, if the stress is ongoing, the hormone continues to remain high to a point. Cortisol is catabolic-that is it breaks things down (like your body!!!). Over time, various normal functions are sacrificed to maintain a heighten-alert status. Liver detoxification (see Tankguys post on glutathione), thyroid metabolism, fat utilization, higher brain function, immunity all start to decline. Joints can remain painful. Digestion can act-up. And the list goes on. So part of your overall health plan, MUST include a time for total relaxation. Turn-off the brain! The Chinese understood this long ago with the saying, "Don't think! But if you must think, you must act". In other words, STOP WORRYING about things (like the RV and Oakies predictions!). Stop the hamster wheel in your mind. Take time for YOU. Here, I can get 1 hour massage for 3 bucks! Believe me, I take advantage of the cheaper wages found locally, however, many things you can do for free-just need to make time for it. Qi Gong is easy to learn (hard to practice, however). Tai chi has tremendous benefits. Doing ZERO for a few minutes a day is FREE. I do Qi Gong daily. I am up to 5 minutes (yeah, big effing deal), however, the relaxation I feel even after that short period really helps. We are genetically designed to handle stress EVENTS. We are NOT designed to handle stress LIFE-LONG. There is a big difference. I hope all can get some relaxation in, so when the RV does happen, you can get all excited and ENJOY your life! Cheers