by Mary Claybon | Jan 17, 2010 | Health and Wellness |
Last night I had a hard time sleeping. That is not unusual
for me. I am a menopausal woman and need to go to the bathroom at least once in
the middle of the night. And my
mind doesn’t seem to stop just because it’s bedtime. My mind is working all day
long and often has the most clarity when I am lying in bed in the middle of the
night. Rather than focus on how many hours of sleep I am getting, I focus on
how many hours of rest my body and mind are getting. Thinking that I need x
amount of hours of sleep and then looking at the clock and panicking because I
SHOULD be sleeping just creates anxiety. Instead I lie there and relax.
Sometimes I count up to 100 forward and then back down to 1, while focusing on
my breath. That little exercise often does not get finished. Somewhere around
the 35 on the way backward, I am fast asleep. Sometimes I listen to tranquil music on my I-Touch as I
count or meditate. Other times that doesn’t work. If I am still partially
awake, I close my eyes and pray. Sometimes during those prayers, I may ask for
clarity with a question on my mind. I am a dreamer, so inevitably my dreams
give me messages. I dream almost every night. There are mornings I wake up and
feel like I have been busy all night. I used to record my dreams and have a year
of dreams journalled. Other times I actually will keep my regular journal by my
bedside and journal insights at night. Although, sometimes the next morning these notes may make no sense, like the comic below of Confucius in the Morning. Other times my notes can be quite inspiring.
Anyway, I guess what I want to say is to relax about not
sleeping. You will do your body and mind more good if you think of nighttime as
a time when wonderful things can happen while you relax. By letting go of the
stress of making sleep happen, just relax and pray, or listen to quiet music,
or focus on your breath, or journal until you are too tired to write, or read a
chapter of the book at your bedside. I don’t recommend watching television, for
a couple of reasons. First of all, there is usually nothing all that
inspirational on in the middle of the night, and you are likely to fall asleep
with the television on and wake up again with the noise or reminder to turn it
off.
Think of bedtime as relaxation time. The whole purpose of
sleep is to rest your body and mind after a day’s activities. The goal is rest,
relaxation, and release of tension.
It is best to be in bed at the same time each night, and to
wake up refreshed each day. Instead of counting the hours of sleep, count the
hours you actually were able to release tension and relax.
Two hours of meditation and relaxation is better than eight
hours of restless sleep.
When I woke up this morning, after a night of using several
of the ideas I suggested, a small but mighty voice said to me “Focus on helping
more people.”
I hope this was helpful to you,
Mary
by Mary Claybon | Jan 12, 2010 | Health and Wellness |
Do you have nature deficit disorder?
One of my favorite places to walk, contemplate, and be in a
natural setting is Sharon Woods. Sharon Woods is a 35 acre park with a lake near my home. It is billions of
years old and full of fossils and natural streams and waterfalls. When my
children were little we would go there to play on the swings and slides and
feed the ducks in the lake. When my youngest child was three, I started back to
work part time. My assistant and I became friends and started walking at 6:00
in the morning around the lake. That was twenty three years ago. We worked
together for three years and stayed friends. She and I still walk at Sharon
Woods. We no longer walk at 6:00 AM, but meet sporadically when our schedules
gel. When weather permits (anything over 30 degrees) I either walk by myself or
find a friend, but Sharon Woods is always my favorite place to bond with
nature. In the winter, many of the trees are bare and the ground may be covered
with snow, but the lake glistens and the ducks are more sedate. There are small
animals joining me on the path and occasionally I will spot a deer. I enjoy all
the seasons at Sharon Woods, but at this time of the year, I often miss going
there because it is too cold or the paths have not been cleared of snow. My
soul yearns for the quite path in nature. There is something about the air, the
subtle noises, and the brief nod or smile to others who share the path with me.
Recently in an editorial, I saw the term “nature deficit
disorder.” I found out that this term comes from a book by Richard Louv called A Child in the Woods. Nature Deficit Disorder does not only affect children but adults too. I feel I have some of the symptoms like an increased feeling of stress and restlessness, trouble paying attention, and a feeling of not being rooted. I miss my contemplative walks in nature and look forward to the sun coming out this week and temperatures rising. Nature is calling me.
by Mary Claybon | Dec 8, 2009 | Health and Wellness |
(This is me chilling out(notice the snowman cup) I stayed in my PJs and worked the rest of the day)
CHILL OUT and Enjoy the Holidays
Preparing for the holidays can be mind boggling and stressful, or a time to remember what really matters, chill out, relax and enjoy the season.
A couple of years ago, my husband and I were returning from a November vacation and as I was thinking about all I had to do for the holidays, and about life in general, I put on my headphones to watch the in-flight
movie Evening, a wonderful film about a woman on her deathbed
going in and out of consciousness while looking back at her life and wondering
if she had made a mistake in her love life. Her best friend comes to visit
during her last hours. They reminisce about their memories and shed some mutual
tears. The dying woman’s daughter asks the friend if her mother was perhaps
reliving something in her life that was a mistake or regret. The friend says “We
are mysterious creatures, aren’t we? And at the end, so much of it turns out
not to matter.” On her deathbed the mother reassures her daughter by saying,
“there are no mistakes.” Both of these quotes suggest that perhaps we take life
too seriously and just need to CHILL OUT.
Chill out means to relax. There is
a whole genre of Chill Out music to help us along. I own a set of CDs called Chillout I and II. Songs like Instant Relieve, Transparency, Madhouse,
Cosmic Dance, and Holy Mountain are
some of the titles.
Listening to this music makes me want to dance and sway my
stress away.
The holidays can be a time of joy
if we remember to CHILL OUT. When you are stressing about buying the perfect
gift or equaling all of your children’s piles under the tree, take a look at
what you are doing and laugh. The perfect gift is your loving thoughts and the
warmth of being around someone who can be a symbol of peace at this time of the
year. And if you are in a baking frenzy trying to make the hundreds of cookies
you do each year, relax and make less, enjoy baking those cookies more and
smile. Buy the dessert this year and spend the baking time with your family and
friends. If the house is just not clean enough, who cares? It’s the warmth of
the home and not its spotlessness that welcomes the glee of the season.
In this short human life, think
about what matters most. This is a time to focus on relationships, enjoy the
season, every snowflake and wind chill. I love the quote from A Course in Miracles that says, “It’s
all a silly mad idea, don’t forget to laugh.” Tis the season to be jolly, not
jostled. Have fun and smile more this year.
Below is a photo of some of the cookies baked in my kitchen this year.
by Mary Claybon | Dec 4, 2009 | Health and Wellness |
Famous failures – More magazine
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by Mary Claybon | Nov 22, 2009 | Health and Wellness |
I had an interesting experience
this week. I walked into a health food store while visiting my sister in the
southwest Chicago suburbs. While purchasing my vitamins, there was an Asian guy
asking if we wanted our aura read. I was with my sister, her daughter and my
niece. We all decided to participate. You put your hands on the metal outline
of two hands and a body with the colors of your aura would appear on a computer
screen.
The reading revealed the colors of
your energy and indicated your brain and body energy. My energy was fairly
balanced and the colors indicated a degree of inner healing, however I did have
some stuck energy and areas of tension according the guy doing the reading. My
niece and sister had their’s done and the reading was accurate for their state
of stress and health at the moment. The young man gave us a brochure about his
healing venue called Dahn Yoga.
It turns out he had a class on
Saturday, so my niece and I decided to go. We soon learned that this was more
than your typical yoga class. The sign on the outside read Dahn Yoga, Brain
Respiration. Interesting! We walked in and were soon told that we both needed a
full healing and the Thanksgiving special offered 50% off so we decided this
would not only be an interesting experience, but also beneficial – if it was
valid.
My healing experience was with the
young man who was doing the aura reading at the health food store. This is not
my first experience with healing techniques. I have practiced traditional forms
of yoga for years. I also had my own classes. I have also participated in Tai
Chi and Qigong classes. I enjoy massage therapy and have also had acupuncture
several times. This reminded me of Shiatsu massage.
My niece and I had separate
experiences. Her healer was a young Korean woman. The private healing rooms
were furnished with a bamboo mat, soft pillow, and a burning candle. It was
very relaxing, with lights dimmed and the reminder to simply experience and
focus on the body sensations that came up.
As in all holistic healing
modalities I was reminded to focus on deep relaxing breaths. My healer spent a
lot of time massaging the abdominal area, tapping on the area just over the
heart, and tapping on the head. I let myself simply experience whatever came
up. I really felt very little until he stopped his movement and massage. Then I
felt a warmth and tingly sensation mostly in my upper body.
After the bodywork, we sat and
talked and he seemed very knowledgeable about energy balance as it relates to
the body, mind and spirit. We also discussed some of my emotional stuck areas and I felt his insights were
very affirming and helpful.
My niece said her healer did more
massage of her back and feet, but overall her experience felt good and
positive.
I went in knowing nothing about
Dahn Yoga. We never took a class so I had no idea what a Dahn Yoga class would
be like. I left feeling I had gotten my money’s worth at half price and the
experience was overall a positive one.
We
did enjoy the private healing and were not pressured to join, but they did
offer information and brochures on workshops and training.
Since
returning home, I have done some on line research and found everything from
positive testimonials of healing to negative accusations of cult behavior and
lawsuits.
Having
fallen into the trap of following “Gurus” in my past, I will count this as one
positive experience along the journey, and best leave it as over for now.
Have you experienced Dahn Yoga or other
brain healing modalities?
What has been your experience?
by Mary Claybon | Nov 22, 2009 | Health and Wellness |
What is your definition of wealth? What is your definition of health? You have to plan for both for true holistic living and that plan depends on our definitions; you philosophy of life; your needs; your standard of living.
Taking care of the body, mind and spirit and keeping all of these aspects of yourself in balance will support your dreams. Listen to me on Blog Talk Radio and gain some incites to help you think about the topic of:
What Good Is Your Wealth Without Your Health?.
