What's Holding You Back From Achieving Well-being?

/

At different points throughout your life, you’re going to feel great, then not so great. Just like you’ll have healthier periods than other. But all in all, it’s often best to aim for feeling great and being healthy most of the time. It’s only realistic to expect that you’re going to have some off days and down periods. But it’s way more important to find yourself on the best possible track in life, so that your well-being is cared for the majority of the time. If you find that you’re making life choices that are affecting your health and well-being, then it may be time to take a step back and work on that.

Here are five different things that you could find are holding you back right now.

1. Your Job

First of all, there’s work. Now, for most of us, work can be the main catalyst for stress and that really is only a natural thing. If you think that you’re more stressed than you should be right now, first take a look at your career and workload. If you’re spending more time stressed out about work and getting things done than you are enjoying it, it’s time to make a change. Sometimes, you will need to change careers or company, but sometimes you may just need to balance out your busy day job with more downtime outside of work.

2. Toxic Relationships

From here, if you find that you’re unhappy in your relationship, then it’s also time to do something about it. There are lots of different signs that you’re in a toxic relationship as https://www.prevention.com can show you. If you think that this sounds like your relationship, or any relationship that you have, it may be time to walk away. If it’s breaking you down mentally and physically, it will be the best for you in the long run.

3. A Bad Lifestyle

From here, if you know that you are living unhealthily, then it could be time to start making a change to your habits too. If you’re drinking too much, suffering from addiction, not sleeping, or just eating junk all of the time, it will impact on your overall well-being. So make the right decision today to benefit your health in the future.

4. Embarrassing Health Problems

Then, there are health problems themselves. And getting the flu can be annoying, but if you’re dealing with embarrassing health problems, then you need to get a specialist, such as https://www.urologygeorgia.com, to correct them for you. It’s so important that you can deal with poor health, even if you’re embarrassed, if you want to improve your well-being.

5. YOU

But have you ever thought that it could be you yourself that’s in the way of you living a happy and healthy life? Sometimes, we can’t even see that we’re the problem! If you’re making poor choices over and over again, if you’re not taking control of your life, if you’re thinking negatively all of the time - something's got to give. It’s hard and it will take time, but once you decide that you want to make a change and you want to be happy and healthy, then taking steps in the right direction could really turn things around for you.

LETS GET SOCIAL...

From Yoga to Yogi: Advanced Yoga Made Basic

/

Something simple can quickly become over-complicated; especially when it’s trending and Instagrammers all over the world are crawling into complicated postures, preaching veganism, and attending hour-long meditations in the depths of forests. They seem to get through entire sun salutations entirely on their head, everything they eat is green, and their yoga outfits were last seen on a catwalk a couple of weeks ago.

Some of us would just like to practice in peace. If social media has taken the funk out of your favorite exercise and you’ve positively fallen out of love with your mat, it’s time to get back to basics.

Find comfort in the fact that yoga is more than 5000 years old and simply sniffs at all the hype around it these days. You can practice without having to be perfect - and enjoy its simplicity to the fullest.

Yoga as a way of life

For the best results, you should roll your mat out every day. It’s one of the things that makes yoga so difficult to grasp for those who have barely done it; while a lot of people go for a jog once a day, not everyone is able to incorporate meditation and breathing techniques while they’re at it. Yoga Karmasu Kaushalam means that yoga is perfection in action - one that has practiced for years already will strive towards perfection in their everyday activities, a calm and steady mind throughout the hustle of any week day.

This is perhaps the reason that so many people have been caught up in the hype lately. It is used as a counterbalance to the stressful lives we lead and a way to find peace in the midst of chaos. If this is what you’re looking for, you need to switch off your mind and find peace on your mat for at least half an hour everyday.

It doesn’t help to be inspired to perform an intricate dancer-pose because you saw someone do it and it looked amazing; you’ll just be bringing your expectations with you to the mat. Switch everything off and enjoy perfecting your own postures - if a yogi strives towards anything, it is to fall deeper into each pose and achieve her own goals of perfection.

The Sun and the Moon - Surya Namaskar and Chandra Namaskar

Did you know that there is a moon salutation as well as a sun salutation? While the latter is better known, the moon salutation aims to calm down the body and mind, preparing it for the evening. It is yin and yang where the moon is the yin, and the sun is the yang - energizing and preparing you for a day of activities.

The sun salutation is, of course, the perfect way to warm up before your practice. You might see these two different versions of namaskar as opposites or even independent; the truth is that, just like the sun and the moon, they rely on each other for balance and so should you.

Use the moon salutation to cool down at the end of a long session and as a calm, meditative exercise at the end of a long day.  

Every posture in the sun sequence is made to open your chest, close it up again, and stretch your way to deeper breathing. When you bend forward, your chest is closed; open it up in cobra, and close it again in downward facing dog. It makes sense, right?

The best way to embark on your path to yoga is incorporating at least a couple of sun salutations every day. Although most sessions should be about sixty to ninety minutes, including a warm-up, twists, standing poses, sitting poses, a few inversions, as well as ten minutes of meditation, it’s understandable that few of us are able to devote this much time every day. 

Do a couple of sun sequences on the days you’re a bit busier - and save the longer workouts for when you have the time and attention for it. Whatever you do, don’t rush your session. 

What should I wear?

From yoga pants to bodysuits, the active wear fashion has spread all the way over to our mats - unsurprisingly, perhaps. You should wear something you’re comfortable in, first of all, and avoid anything that’s too loose. 

If you prefer to go to a yoga studio, you’ll quickly notice how the rest of the class have a full view of your sports bra when you’re in an inversion - and you’ll most likely notice it already in downward facing dog. Even if you prefer to exercise at home, that loose-hanging fabric will tickle your nose and be a nuisance in general. 

Choose something tighter; if not to be sexy, then at least to be comfortable. 

Needless to say, you’re not going to be in better shape just by purchasing expensive outfits to exercise in. On the other hand, nice and soft clothes to slip into before your practice is a great way to boost your motivation and will make you feel a lot better than when you’re pulling that old top over your head, yet again. 

A good idea is to look for something discounted, such as the yoga stuff they have at DontPayFull.com so that you can sweat all over your new clothes without feeling bad about it. Find your yoga mat and something cozy to wear, first of all, and forget about the rest of the props; you don’t really need it.

That’s the great thing about yoga. Wherever you go, you’ll be able to enjoy your routine as all you really need is a healthy body. Use the lawn as a mat when you’re away, do it naked if you’re not in public, and love the feeling of not being in need of anything at all.

Breathing Techniques - Pranayama

What most people love about this exercise is that it is holistic. It incorporates your mind as well as your body, in other words, and the breathing techniques can remind a bit about those a therapist would recommend if you struggle with anxiety. Breathing is the single most important thing we do to keep ourselves alive - while we can go days without water and weeks without food, we can barely go a few minutes without breathing.

You should practice this together with a yoga teacher, first of all, and read more about it in yogajournal.com. The basic idea is that, to cool down your mind and stop the train wreck of racing thoughts, you need to bring attention back to the way you are breathing.

Start by lying flat on your back, knees bent, and your hands resting comfortably on your stomach. Breathe in slowly, give it a little pause, and exhale slowly again. Try to notice how the air flows through your body, and feel how your increased attention makes you breathe a bit deeper.

When you practice yoga, every movement should have a breath. It sounds odd when you’re holding a static pose, but the mindset will help you to stretch a bit further when you inhale - and fall deeper into the pose as you exhale. Your entire attention is focused on the pose you’re in, the exact moment you’re breathing in, stretching towards - and release.

The end of your session should include a bit of meditation. It can be as simple as just lying on your back, spine curled naturally and not pressed against the floor, focusing on your breathing, and feeling the calmness of a body that’s been well-exercised.

 

Sit in a few minutes of peace or even stand there if you like, and namaste - the moment is yours.

LETS GET SOCIAL....