Relax

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When was the last time you fully relaxed?  When you allowed yourself to just let go?

Have you ever had the experience of pausing and being in your body so completely, connecting to your life so fully that you felt no fear, no anxiety, no thoughts?  This state, especially in today's society, can be very difficult to achieve.  Mitigating commotion in our daily life requires learning how to relax.  Relaxation is not gained by watching TV or going to the spa rather it is about a daily recalibration of your nervous system.  Your nervous system is the operating system of your body, it receives, interprets, sends messages and fires them off throughout your entire body via your nerves. 

Unfortunately when the nervous system becomes weak through traumatic events and everyday stresses, energy can become stuck and NERVEousness prevails, taking over our body and mind.  This can take the form of not being able to sleep at night, experiencing a mind that is never free of thoughts, dealing with physical pain and paralyzing anxiety.  Liberating your nervous system requires daily practice and ongoing commitment.  Ultimately you want to choose techniques or modalities that help you access a state of ease not just when you lay down but as you go through life.  Here are the top 4 things that have helped me to live in a relaxed state.  I have also incorporated classes I teach or recommend as you experiment with what works best for you.

  1. Kundalini Yoga and Meditation - This ancient form of yoga has been my personal practice for 15 years and what I have been teaching for 10 years.  It can reduce stress, soothe and strengthen our nervous system, and calms and elevates our mind to a place of neutrality.  After practicing and teaching KY & M  I feel balanced and whole.  Ladies, join us every Friday (10:00am - 11:30am at Soul Body Ojai).

  2. Gong Relaxation - A gong produces a spectrum of harmonics and is used to help one access relaxation and transformation through sound and vibration. Consider how your attitude can change when you are listening to certain music. You fall into the frequency of the vibration of the music.  The same concept holds true with the gong.  The vibrations of the gong become their own sound current.  This sound helps to remove subconscious pains, blocks, and memories that have been stored in our body and mind. (See Gong Classes)

  3. Gong Yoga Nidra-  Yoga Nidra means yogic sleep.  I love both practicing and teaching this restful yet transformational practice.  It is a technology that incorporates both a guided meditation and the sounds of the gong.  It creates relaxation, enhances healing, enables self-diagnosis, and helps us to integrate change by accessing the subconscious. It is a tool for initiating deep change and root causes of physical, emotional and psychological imbalances that result from stress.  It's so yummy!  I invite you to try a class!

  4. Exercise - Exercise in its many forms stimulates the nervous system and releases a variety of chemicals to the brain, it has been scientifically proven to help with anxiety and depression.  It can also be fun and a wonderful way to unleash your creative expression.  Some of my favorite forms of exercise are dancing, hiking and biking.