“When you shoot,” my friend Jim, a hockey player, once told me, “you never want to look at the goalie. Look at the space around him. Where your eyes go, the puck goes.” A white-water kayaker warned me, “Look at the water, not at the rocks. Where your eyes go, the boat goes.” My riding instructor shouted, “Look where you want to go, not where you don’t. Where your eyes go, the horse goes.”

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Fall flat on your face if you must, but please, for the sake of us all, do not stop. Map your own life.

For the preceding part of this wonderful article by Elizabeth Gilbert, go HERE

There was a time when I thought such small-scale enjoyment, in a world so filled with suffering, was a crime in itself. It was hard to take a bite of my overabundant food, hug my healthy children, or drive one fossil-fueled mile without pangs of guilt. The only moral thing to do, I believed, was to sustain an attentive misery, honoring the pain and danger in this world. But over the years, as I’ve seen what leads to positive change and what doesn’t, I’ve become a sort of joy hound. I now agree with the poet Jack Gilbert: “We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world.” This isn’t narcissistic pleasure-seeking. It’s the way to make your own life work and give your best to the world.

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‘I’ve come to understand vocation not as a goal to be achieved but as a gift to be received—the treasure of true self I already possess. Vocation doesn’t come from a voice “out there” calling me to become something I’m not. It comes from a voice “in here” calling me to be the person I was born to be.’

The full article you can read HERE

For example, a study in the American Journal of Hypertension found that it helps lower your blood pressure. The same study also showed a 23% decrease in the use of antihypertensive drugs among people who practiced focused breathing (1). Another study in the British Medical Journal found that mind-body relaxation techniques significantly reduce the risk of heart attacks (2). While a Harvard study concluded that focused breathing can reduce pain and the production of the stress hormone, cortisol (3). That’s important because increased levels of cortisol are associated with abnormal aging.

How
• Find a quiet comfortable place to sit. Rest your hands in your lap and close your eyes.
• For the first few minutes, focus on the natural rhythm of your breath. Start by inhaling through your nose – holding your breath for a moment – and then exhaling through your mouth. While you’re doing this, feel your muscles starting to unwind and visualize these simple words: I’m letting go.
• As you continue to breathe slowly, focus your concentration on the muscles of your eyes. As you breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, imagine this feeling of comfort moving from your eyes up towards your brow, around your ears and over your head. As your face starts to relax, bring the corners of your mouth up into a gentle smile.
• Allow yourself to release everything you may be holding on to (fear, worry, constriction). Not by pushing them away, but by letting go of them a bit, with every exhale. If your attention drifts to other things redirect it to your breath.

Once a day
Try focused breathing at least once a day. Twice a day is even better. You’ll find that it not only improves your mental and emotional health, but it also improves your overall sense of well-being.

(Source: newsletter Al Sears, MD)

1 Schneider R.H., et al., “A randomized controlled trial of stress reduction in the treatment of hypertension in African Americans during one year,” American Journal of Hypertension 2005;18(1):88-98
2 Patel C, Marmot M.G., Terry D.J., et al., “Trial of relaxation in reducing coronary risk: four year follow up,” Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1985 Apr 13;290(6475):1103–6
3 Nidich S, et al., “A randomized controlled trial on effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on blood pressure, psychological distress, and coping in young adults,” Am J Hypertens. 2009 Dec;22(12):1326-31

“Shortly after World War II, executives at Japan’s Toyota Motor Company made a decision from which, I believe, we all can benefit. They decided to make cars the way they’d make, say, sushi. Unlike most manufacturers, which bought and stored massive stockpiles of supplies, Toyota began ordering just enough parts to keep their lines moving, just when those parts were needed. This made them spectacularly productive, and turned the phrase “just in time” into business legend.

I know of the Toyota case because in my former life as an academic, I taught international business management. My students and I had some rousing discussions about just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing, as well as its alternative, which is known as just-in-case (JIC) inventory. These students were the first people who hired me as a life coach (perhaps because I could never resist applying business theory to everyday life). When we discussed JIT versus JIC management as a lifestyle strategy, we concluded that Toyota’s business innovation could positively impact all of our lives. If you feel overburdened, overstressed, and anxious, I’m betting the same is true for you.”

The rest of the article you can find HERE

Afronding

• Zet je voeten iets breder dan heupbreedte en buig je knieën ietsjes. Houd je schouders laag.
• Leg één hand op je buik, de andere hand op dezelfde hoogte op je onderrug. Houd je schouders laag.
• Blijf een poosje zo staan, met gesloten ogen. Adem rustig in en uit.