Tai Chi - have you joined the movement?

Greetings friends!
I'm sure by now you will have noticed that I'm posting this weeks chapter on Tuesday!?
From this week on, Tuesday will be my posting night (my weekly schedule has changed as of this week, with no real prior warning)    > v <
Change is as good as a holiday, they say.

In celebration of my return to active Aikido training this week after many months away, I wanted to talk about another activity I love and spent years practicing - Tai Chi.

Have you ever had a go?

Tai Chi in its core essence is a Martial Art, like Kung Fu, Karate or Tae Kwon Do. Just like Karate practices 'kata', Tai Chi focuses on movement sequences.

There are still streams of combative Tai Chi around, but they are nowhere near so common as pure practice of the movements.


Years ago, while living in Western Australia, I had the pleasure of practicing Taoist Tai Chi for 4 years. Taoist Tai Chi is a branch form of Tai Chi developed by Master Moy Lin-shin. Building from his experience of several different arts, he developed this branch of Tai Chi to promote the health benefits that could be felt from each art he'd previously learnt. What he developed was a 108 move sequence of Tai Chi movements that benefited me and many of my friends who I practiced with.


Core Tai Chi is usually unarmed movement. However, there are also weapon sequences that are very beautiful to watch, and feel exquisite to practice.

During the time I was practicing I also learnt a sequence using a Sabre sword. I loved the open handed 108 move sequence, but I could feel such power intertwined in the Sabre set movements that it quickened my heart in delight every time I thought about moving through the sequence. I still have my sabre tucked away in the cupboard, awaiting the day I pull it out again to recommence practice.

Other weapons that have sequences available (depending the branch of Tai Chi) include the Chinese sword, fan, and spear.


Now, why I really wanted to talk about this was to awaken your curiosity about Tai Chi. Tai Chi seems have developed a public image in Australia (and I imagine lots of other western hemisphere counties) that it is [and should] only practiced by older people!?

Having practiced it for 4 years through my mid-twenties, I really don't understand how that reputation occurred. It is brilliant to gain body balance and strength. For older people, better strength and balance means better health and fewer falls. But that also translates directly to younger people too.

Some people may consider Tai Chi boring due to practicing slow sequences of movement. Personally I never found it boring, even coming into it from a dynamic and intensive Aikido training schedule. Having now had a go at Yoga, I see lots of parallels between the form of Tai Chi I practiced, and Yoga. The slow, controlled moves can take a great deal of body control to complete a pattern.

Allow me  to offer you an example: A standard set of 108 Taoist Tai Chi moves would take approximately 12-15 minutes to complete.

I had the honour of being a set leader for quite a while as I practiced in WA - the set leader gets to select the pace for everyone in the group to practice the set. While leading, I would stretch the 108 move set out to take a full 20 minutes or so. By the end of the set, the first few time I ever pushed it out to 20 minutes, my whole body shook from the effort of it, and I felt fabulous. The slow movement had awoken a body full of muscles that I hadn't really I'd had, because I'd never slowed down enough to find them!

I could also push through and complete the 108 moves in roughly 5 minutes. Everyone would be dripping sweat and laughing by the end of that one - it's a lot of moves to work through for a big group in such a short space of time.


I can't think of a single session of Tai Chi I ever completed where I didn't feel absolutely brilliant at the end. It is great fun and great company. Some of my most precious friends I met in WA where Tai Chi friends - I love their presence in my life, even if I don't live in the same state anymore!


So! If you are game, I highly recommend you have a look around for a Tai Chi troupe near you. If you find one and it works with your healthy life schedule, give it a go, you might love it!

Annd if you have previously, or are currently practicing Tai Chi, which variety of Tai Chi are you practicing? I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences from practice!



And with that, have a delightful week my beautiful friends. Until next week.

In love and light, be peaceful.

Annalise

p.s. If I can find any photos of me back when I was practicing the Tai Chi or Sabre sets, I'll share them in a special post for you, but its been a while now, not if I still have any.

The Music Box – A Journey in Love and Healing

Welcome back my joyful, relaxed friends! Have you been making a point of allowing yourself the odd special moment to relax and daydream?

Looking back over all the blog topics I’ve posted so far, we’ve come a long way together already. And I have touched upon some really profound topics for joy and healing.

As promised when I started this blog, each topic has been something that has had a truly profound effect on my approach to life. And each topic is much more than a “I’ve read it once, so that’s everything it had to offer me” subject.  I have only touched on the foundations of these GEMS, but each has worked for me again and again, like peeling layers gently back from an onion.

Now, while I prefer not to delve into the past as my joy is in the present, today I’d like to offer you a slightly deeper peak into my personal journey so you may better understand what I mean by the ‘layers of healing’. From this, I hope it will help you more easily contemplate your own happy steps to even greater joy.

So, let’s get straight into it - the layers of healing, joy and clarity. I have selected a story from my Feng Shui healing, as it’s a fresh topic for us here, and this was quite interesting  to experience.

As I alluded to in last week’s post [Feng Shu-what?!], cleaning up my home following Feng Shui principals completely changed the energy flow in my home to something bright, vibrant and beautiful. It also helped me feel brighter, more vibrant and more beautiful within myself.

While reading Karen’s book I initially started my decluttering with the obvious items. I got rid of clothes I’d never worn, never liked, would never wear again or that didn’t fit. I threw out anything in the kitchen pantry that was out of date or that was something I would never deliberately feed myself again. I organised cupboards and found logical homes for items I had purchased that had just drifted around the surfaces of my home and had never been given a real place to live.

I did two rounds of such 'superficial' tidying up. Each round left me feeling lighter and more joyful in mysterious ways.

In the second round I also let go of some old furniture whose energy no longer belonged with me. If the furniture had no use here, or energetic baggage, it had to go. One item of particular interest was the old bed of a deceased, beloved relative.  It was amazing how much courage it took for me to let it go. I’d kept wondering if I didn’t need someone else’s permission to make such a choice. When I realised how absurd that line of thinking was, I let go of any misguided guilt, and just let the bed go – I donated it to charity.

I thought I would be done after all that, but I’d had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that there was something else here that didn’t belong. I opened by bedroom cupboard one day and suddenly saw it. Hidden in plain sight, just below eye level in the cupboard by my bed, was an old, broken music box. I hadn’t even seen it in any of my prior cleans, so deeply was its energy embedded within me.

This music box had been a gift from a precious family member, who died not long after giving it to me. Before she passed away, I accidentally dropped the music box from my bedside table and chipped it slightly. We were all devastated at the minor accident because it was a high quality music box. Years later, it fell off a table again and broke a little bit more. Several years later I’d dropped it again, and all but completely broken it. Every time I’d damaged the music box, my heart would hurt, and it had felt like I’d lost my family member all over again. And somehow, I’d collected all the broken pieces of the music box and kept them together, with me, for many more years.

 In essence, I’d kept a broken music box, filled with memories of love and gratitude, but mostly grief and GUILT, for over 20 years…

The bed that I gave away had also originally belonged to the same relative that gave me the music box. Despite having cleaned that very cupboard at least twice, I never even ‘saw’ that old, broken music box until the bed was gone. It was like the real energy sticking point only became visible once the big, obvious energy diversion was removed.

Where I’m leading with that story is that life, and healing, is always a journey. Every step is profound, but if you stop there, you may be stopping short of freeing yourself from something that truly needs healing.

I feel so much more peaceful now about my deceased family member, and all my still-living relatives and friends. Letting go of that old music box was like giving myself the permission to let go of the grief and guilt I’d been hanging onto. Once I’d let the heavy feelings go, all that remained was love, and happy memories.

Everyone’s journey is different, and the GEMS that will resonate with you may differ from those that have helped me. You’ll know within yourself if a topic resonates with you or not. If ever you are curious about something I have written about, I’d love to hear from you – post your questions and comments below this post. And if you’ve discovered something stress relief and relaxation related  that you are interested in and would like me to write about, please tell me about it and your question. It would be my absolute delight to explore completely new topics together with you!

Have a beautiful week.  In love and light, be peaceful.

Annalise

Feng Shu-what...?!

It’s Ma-ma-ma-ma-Monday! Hello!

Last week I made an allusion to energetic clutter in what crowds our media these days, and that got me thinking. “Clutter…!”

A few months ago I discovered an awesome book called “Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui” by Karen Kingston. I want to share a bit about her teachings here today, but first, lets check your foundations!

While Feng Shui is a reasonably commonly used term these days, I still wanted to check you’re familiar with what it actually is. So here is a dandy definition for you (from Google)! J

(in Chinese thought) a system of laws considered to govern spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to the flow of energy (chi), and whose favourable or unfavourable effects are taken into account when siting and designing buildings.

So basically, if you strategically design the layout and positions of objects in your home,  according to the rules of Feng Shui, the energy in the space flows better. And as the energy in your home represents the energy in you, good, clear, free flowing energy in your home means the same for your body/mind/soul! Sounds good, eh?!

Below is a diagram of the basic bagua (each cell). This grid is roughly how Feng Shui works. This grid can be applied to your whole property, to the home structure itself, and to each individual room. It is possible that the more cluttered some corners/bagua of your home are, the more likely that area of your life is cluttered too.

Karen's basic bagua grid is ever so slightly different to the one pictured above, but it is 90% the same too!

Reading Karen’s book was fascinating for me.  On commencing the book, I’d considered my home to be reasonably tidy (though potential guests always had to call ahead to enable me to get the living areas ready for public presentation!). But as I read the book, I started to get itchy fingers, because I suddenly understood there were some things in my home that really didn’t energetically belong here anymore. It’s hard to explain the feeling, but it was very clear in how it affected me.

So I took 2 carloads of old clothes to a donation bin, gave away an old bed, sold a cupboard, and rearranged some stuff. Interestingly enough, once I was clear about what I really wanted (getting these things out of my house), it was the easiest and most satisfying cleaning I have ever done. I honestly enjoyed it. And the way my home felt afterwards was incredible!

Imagine walking into a dark, dank building that just has this oppressive energy. Now imagine walking into a bright, well ventilated, airy space – the sort of place that just uplifts your energy by standing in it.

That is roughly how drastically the energy in my home changed after this round of cleaning. My home had never been oppressive in feeling, but it just felt so brilliant afterwards that I wanted to sing and dance around my home (and did I ever!).

Amusingly, I did this big clean up a couple of months ago. Sitting here, writing this blog post, and imagining how great I felt tidying each bagua of my home – I’m suddenly wanting to do another round! It felt THAT good! And so much has changed for me and my life since that last clean out, perhaps the time is right?!

I do have one CAUTION for this recommended reading though. As you read the book and get more and more motivated, you may end up cleaning into the night. I know of a few people who have read this book (yes, including me) and then gone hard-core (in delight, of course), in cleaning their homes, until the wee hours of the morning...

I’m a big advocate for plenty of rest – so make sure you don’t clean ALL NIGHT! J

Have you ever tried looked into Feng Shui? Karen Kingston’s ‘Clear Your Clutter’ is a brilliant first step into a fascinating art, and its fun, easy reading.  If you are at all interested, I totally recommend finding yourself a copy to read. And she doesn’t just talk about clutter in terms of dust collecting objects in your house, but you’ll have to read her book to find out the rest!

And with that, I wish you a delightful, joyful week, full of love and laughter.

In love and light, be peaceful

Annalise

Freedom to Dream

Hello my beloved friends!

Guess what?! This week marks my 21^st Monday post in this blog! And we’re still going strong! Woohoo!

Thank you for your ongoing support in reading this blog, I love and appreciate the time you commit to reading each post that interests you. And I enjoy the dream that some of my own gems of wisdom are helping you realise your own beautiful gems on this journey!

So to celebrate the landmark, let’s mix things up a bit this week – and start with the GEM!

Give yourself permission to dream :)

So often these days we fill up our time so much that we don’t allow ourselves the time to sit back and have a daydream. Do you ever manage a lazy Sunday morning anymore?

Too often now, when a dream manages to slip through the cracks in our stress and emerge into our conscious mind, we immediately begin squashing the idea with words like “impossible”, “impractical” or “improbable” so "it’s not worth the time thinking about it".

But did you know? Happiness and health is all about letting go of your perceived ‘reality’ and just looking for joy in the moment! In the world where media is now full of sensationalised topics designed to stress us, playing and dreaming are great ways to get away from all that unhappy, energetic clutter. Of course life is all about a healthy balance between dreaming and doing. Doing is very important too.

I think of it a little like this:

Doing/Being is food for the present, as you do what needs to be done in the moment for your own happiness (and by flow-on affect, for the happiness of those around you).

Dreaming is food for the future. Our future is a delightfully blank canvas, and we alone are the painters of our destiny, so why not deliberately start painting an easy-going, happy picture?

My premise is based from the Law of Attraction. If we spend all of our time focused on our present reality, that’s all we’ll ever know because we’ll just keep attracting the same experiences. If we allow ourselves to stretch our mind to all the delightful things that we would like to happen in the future, we create doorways and windows from where those delightful dreamt experiences may enter our lives!

And remember, being humble in your dreams is not necessary. If you can dream it, you can achieve it. The only ‘hurdle’ in the way is that first you need to truly believe in your own worthiness. And yes, you are absolutely worthy!

Ultimately, you have nothing to lose by taking a moment here or there to sit back in a patch of warm sunshine, close your eyes and daydream about something nice. The feeling of wellbeing that will come from that moment will be enough to make that moment worthwhile!

My one caution with this is that you start with daydreams that are easy and enjoyable. For instance, if you are struggling to pay the bills, dreaming of unlimited finance is fantastic, but only if it doesn’t stir up fear or stress in you. The key of this exercise is making sure you feel JOY. Starting light is easiest. Imagine some ‘everyday’ thing that you delight in, like walking in a beautiful garden, watching an Aurora, a butterfly landing on your outstretched finger, or whatever delightful moments pop into your mind. Just sit back and enjoy a delicious, guilt free moment of joy. :)

And if you still need some more convincing that you are worthy of your little and big dreams, then turn face to face with the person who can help you with that – yourself. Jump back in front of a mirror, or any time you see a mirror, and allow yourself to feel love and gratitude for the beautiful person that you are. Tell yourself how much you love yourself. How grateful you are for this life. How grateful you are for all your skills, talents and gifts. And that you believe in yourself.

If you are new to this blog, and are not familiar with mirror work, please read my early post titled “Inner Dialogue – What Do You Say To You”. In there I introduce Louise L. Hay and her revolutionary ‘mirror work’.

In happy and easy going dreams, and joyful day to day actions, have a delightful week.

In love and light, be peaceful.

Annalise

Standing Around....?

Hello!

Guess what?! It’s Monday! What an awesome day! J

Did I manage to pique your interest in Yoga last week? And really, who doesn’t want to be able to refer to themselves as a “Yogi”?!   *LOL*

Let’s continue on our exploration of physical activity for stress relief and physical balance. This week, I want to address standing desks/workstations.

Have you ever tried standing at your desk for any expended period of time? How did it go?

About 16 months ago I tweaked my back very effectively, and sitting all day at my desk became intolerable in my old office chair. In desperation I elevated my entire computer workstation on massive boxes and liked it so much I've worked standing up ever since. Impressively, despite working on them for >6 months, the boxes held up well, but such constant contact on cardboard really dried out the skin on my hands and arms! Early this year I finally managed to talk my office into buying me a VARIDESK (the boxes had reached their limit), and I’ve never looked back.

I am the only person in this office that stands at the computer, and I am regularly asked, “How can you stand up all day, don’t you get tired?”

Getting physically tired is actually the BEST thing about this style of work. Back in the days when I was trapped in my head and consumed in a world of stress (and sitting at a computer all day), I would go home at night with my brain bleeding out my eyeballs, only to have to go to the gym to thrash out all the physical energy that had built up as stress and tension through the day. Sound familiar…?

The very first thing I noticed after I made the shift to standing, was when I went home at night after having stood all day, my fatigue felt more…. Natural. I was now both physically and mentally tired at night, and all of a sudden my sleep patterns changed. I could fall asleep more easily because there was a healthy balance of physical and mental fatigue! It also kept my metabolism more active throughout the day, awesome benefit!

As a brief, shameless plug for a product that I have really learnt to love, the VARIDESK is a great invention. It is fully height adjustable, so if you feel a bit under the weather one day, you can easily lever your workstation back to desk level and sit down (rather than juggle everything as you pull all those boxes out from underneath!). The only thing is that there is no space on the VARIDESK for anything other than your computer, so make sure you have another surface at standing height that you can write on if needs be. J

Now, when talking about standing in the same spot for an extended period of time, there are some considerations you are wise to address.

1.       What you stand on.

2.       How you hold your posture.

3.       What you wear on your feet.

4.       How much you move around as you stand (keep on movin'!).

5.       What height you set your keyboard and monitor(s).

Working at a fabulously makeshift workstation for so long, I got to experiment with all of these points in weird and interesting ways.  By the end of last year I was wearing sneakers to work every day and standing on a ‘fatigue’ mat. I also did some research about ideal monitor keyboard heights for optimised comfort and safety. I won’t go into the full details of that ergonomic spectrum here, as I am (as usual!) more interested in the feet! J

Standing all day being mindful of posture, and in what I considered to be quality supportive shoes, I got by most of last year. Until one day a few months ago I decided to allow myself to look a bit rougher in the office, and I kicked off my shoes and socks completely. And now I never want to go back!

All modern shoes have additional padding beneath the heel, so the toes are always sloping down slightly. What I have found is that this slight angle causes a fatigue in my leg muscles and feet that can be quite acute and I end up yearning to sit down.

However, no matter how uncomfortable I allow my legs to become while wearing shoes (even top of the range runners like Kayano’s), the pain and fatigue evaporates in minutes when I take my shoes off and go barefoot.  Cool huh? No wonder so many public figures go barefoot on stage!

I attribute it back to the ideas behind what is making minimalist (nude) running shoes like Vibrams so popular.  See my old Special Post about ‘Minimalist Shoes’ if you are curious about my last exploration of this topic.

Now, the message and GEM I actually want to share with you this week, is to encourage you to think outside the box and explore standing at your workstation if you find yourself sitting all day every business day. I hope that by writing about my personal experience and giving you a specific testimonial, you may consider it more seriously.

Also, there is more and more research being released about the physical and mental benefits of standing rather than sitting as you work. Google knows (almost) all, so if you’re curious, have a little look!

So give it a go. Particularly if you find yourself struggling to quiet your hyperactive thoughts when you want to be sleeping, this might be a really great step in a positive direction for you? Certainly can’t hurt to try! J

Until next week, in love and light, be peaceful.

Annalise

Musings of a beginner Yogi

Greetings again my delightful friends (from a snow covered southern island)!

How are you going with all the Gems that have been tumbling from my treasure cave so far – have any resonated with you? I hope you are giving yourself permission to enjoy every day, regardless of what is going on, and reminding yourself every time you glance in the mirror of just how special, worthy and loved you are – so very much!

Continuing down the path of Stress Relief and Relaxation, physical movement is a key part of a balanced lifestyle, and what could be more balancing than something like Yoga? Not to mention that it is primarily practiced indoors. Australia is now in the deep throws of winter so its great to find something to keep moving with indoors. And for my beautiful northern hemisphere readers, this isn’t only a winter exercise – and hey, you may even be able to practice this under the shade of a tree in a beautiful grassy park?!

About 6 weeks ago, on a whim I purchased a Yoga DVD for home practice. I had no idea about Yoga, though people from all spectrums of my life have been singing it’s praises to me for years. As a happy martial artist, and a former Tai Chi mover, I always avoided Yoga for some reason… And at the time, that was perfect, but suddenly the timing felt perfect for me the day I bought this DVD, so here’s my take on Yoga.

The short summary – it is awesome!

I picked the DVD up because I have been fairly inactive lately. I have barely done any martial arts since surgery last year, and through winter I have struggled to find the motivation to go walking. “There were so many other wonderful things I could distract myself with like starting my reflexology business and studying”.

But! Ultimately, strength of body means strength of heart/soul, and vice versa. A balanced life is not really sitting at a computer (or a book) all the time. Our beautiful, intelligent bodies like to move around, and remind us of just how incredible they are!

Now – did you know there are different types of Yoga? I didn’t. As luck would have it, the DVD I picked up (the cover is pictured above) was practicing the Vinyasa style of Yoga. Vinyasa is all about moving with the breath, so is more dynamic than other forms of Yoga. And with deep breathing, it doesn’t feel rushed between poses, and it frees you from having to hold challenging static positions for uncomfortably long times when you are a Beginner Yogi. As your physical strength and balance increases, holding poses becomes much easier.

From my very first attempt at this DVD I could feel my metabolism kick up several gears. I could feel energy coursing through my body that had been dormant for a while, and I felt wonderfully alive. All from doing a short, 30 minute sequence of stretches on my lounge room floor!

Needless to say, I was surprised and impressed.

I don’t practice every day, and often I do just a 10 minute sequence before breakfast to activate my body for my day at work. Days at home I try to step it up and do a 20 or 30 minute session.

I am rapidly falling in love with Vinyasa Yoga, and as I become more confident in the movements and stronger in my core balancing muscles again, I plan to find a class and make this a social experience as well.

That’s actually the really sweet deal with Yoga. If you are a private personality you can gently practice in the comfort of your own home, as often or rarely as you like. If you’re a really social person, nearly every city in this country (might I be so bold as to say the developed world, even?) would offer at least one Yoga class you could attend, then you benefit from that beautiful group energy as well!

While I am revelling in the beautiful energy that Yoga gives me, I won’t be so specific with my GEM this week as to suggest you take it up. It is brilliant and totally worth it, but if it doesn’t ring any bells for you then perhaps going to the gym or walking to dog will suit you far better!?

The real GEM in this is just to remind us all that exercise can seem unappetising when we have been stagnant for a while. But with very little effort, our body will thrive with movement, and momentum can build from there. Going from stagnant to intensive exercises isn’t the only way J

As I say just about every week, be sure that you are first and foremost listening to, and loving your body. But if you have been feeling a bit stagnant lately, be open to trying new things! Who knows, you may find a new passion?!

Until we meet again next week, have a joyful, easy going week.

In love and light, be peaceful.

Annalise

Perception Exercise - What Do You See?

Yay! It’s Monday again! Welcome back!

Have you had a joyful, fun week?

Over time in this blog so far I have talked a bit about different types of stress, with “Perceived stress” being a pivotal factor in a happy, healthy life. I want to revisit perception this week, from a different vantage point.

But first. Look at the image below. What do you see? J

What was the part that really caught and held your focus?

1.       The black dot?

2.       The white space around the dot?

99% of people will only see the black dot on that paper. The tiny imperfection present. Isn’t that fascinating?!

By the way, did you know that 67.53876% of statistics are made up?

Yep, I made both these statistics up, but I’m more confident in the first one than this second one J

Ehem…. Back on topic. So the vast majority of people will only see that black dot. Why, might you wonder? Now, the following discussion is my own personal theory and musing, but yeah, it makes sense to me!

My theory is that we notice the flaw, the contrast, primarily because of two reasons.

1.       Instinct

2.       Training/programming

Instinct. We are natural hunters – our eyes point forward (like raptors)! Through our evolution we have learnt to spot anything out of place in the long grass. ‘Might that be dinner hiding in the grass over there?’ ‘Ooh, that plant is edible!’

Humans have survived and evolved by having a keen sense of sight. We needed to be able to spot catchable game animals, and we needed to be able to forage and find special roots, nuts and vegetables to nourish ourselves. Thanks to this, our eyes feel naturally drawn to the contrast in a situation.

Training also has a big part to play in our daily perceptions. We’ve been taught to have the same beliefs and expectations from life as those who educated us.  If you had a loved one following you around constantly dusting that stray hair off your shoulder or smoothing your clothing, you become very aware of outward appearance after a while. And because you are so self-conscious of your own presentation, you may inadvertently become aware of the presentation of others around you.

So putting together these two factors of instinct and education, suddenly seeing just the black dot is quite logical. But let’s challenge the paradigm now.

If stress is getting caught in a perception of something that is not serving for your greatest happiness, how can you change your focus away from that perceived black dot?

We can do it by stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. Of that picture above, how much of the space is actually taken up by that black dot? Less than 1%? That means that more than 99% of that image is happy, wide open, white space.

But let’s not pick on that beautiful little black dot. Thanks to that black dot, the white space becomes more meaningful and interesting, because we have contrast. If everything is exactly the same there is nothing of interest. The same goes for life.

So out of this fun little rant I have had this week, my GEM is this: Life is fun BECAUSE of the contrast. We know we love to holiday because we work. We know we love to work because we holiday. J

We know we love to be with others because of time alone. Likewise, we love to be alone because of time we spend with others.

And stress is a wonderful contrast in life too. Or rather, the original thing that caused the perceived stress is. Seeing it for what it is, appreciating it for what it is and accepting it without needing to feel stressed is the happiest route.

And now, take a deep breath in……. and out….. and smile!

And get up and do a spazzy fun dance – it’s Monday!

And just because I love fractals so much, and we're having such a beautiful winter down in Australia, here is a snowflake, just for you!

And with that little bit of mischief, and lots of love – have a delightful, fun week.

In love and light, be peaceful.

Annalise

Appreciation. Looking to the lighter side

Hello!!!!!! 

How are you going? I trust you’ve had a beautiful, joyful week?

Many moons ago I posted a topic called “Want to stretch your mind? Start with you toes!”

This week I want to revisit the paradigm of foot reading, but in the intention of shifting your perspective to a more positive slant.

8 years ago, while sitting all day in a cold Canberran house studying for my final exams at university, I developed the most incredible set of chilblains. I had numerous chilblains on every single one of my toes… Oops!

Of course, I had no idea what they were, what was causing them, or what was happening to me, so I eventually went to a Doctor. The doc just looked at my toes, looked at me and said “have you ever heard of chilblains? Go buy some more socks!”  ROFL!!! Very helpful.

What I was also led to believe at the time, was that once you’ve had chilblains, the tissue is slightly scarred, so you keep getting them easily thereafter. And I did. I’ve had them every winter since, without fail.

But! This year, with the new knowledge I have in how my feet talk to me, and taking it further, how my body talks to me, I see things quite differently.

Instead of just seeing a chilblain appear and go “Ugh! How did this happen, I’ve been keeping my feet warm!?”

I’m now like “Ooh, that’s on my ‘past feelings’ toe. I’ve been working through emotional stuff lately, awesome! My beautiful toes are helping me let it go by bringing it to the surface for healing!”

Now, our beautiful, intelligent bodies (not just our feet!) are helping us out all the time. The question is how observant we are to this help, and how appreciative we are. The diagram below roughly sketches out how the vertical zones work on our feet. These same 5 zones exist as horizontal zones across the feet as well, but for now, let’s focus on the vertical zones. J

For those of you familiar with Chakra, they work in much the same way.

Our big toes (purple) represent the top 3 chakra (Crown, Third Eye, Throat). This toe can represent ‘Knowledge and thought patterns’.

Our second toes (green) represent our Heart Chakra: representing ‘Feelings’.

The third toe (yellow) is our Solar Plexus Chakra: it’s all about ‘action and our sense of worth’.

The fourth toe (orange) matches with our Sacral Chakra, and is all about ‘communication’.

Our beautiful little toes (red) resonate with our Root Chakra and thus can represent our relationships to ‘family and society’.

There is also meaning to one side of the body to the other. 

The Left side of our body represents the “Present” (the Now), and can also represent our inner feminine nature.

The Right side of our body represent the “Past”, and also our inner masculine nature.

I’ve been doing a lot of emotional and spiritual development work lately, and nearly every time I’ve had a big epiphany regarding my healing, my body has given me a parallel physical experience. For instance, I’ve had waves of chilblains this year – amusingly – as my feet have been kept the warmest they’ve been in years of late. But they haven’t been caused by the cold this time. And hey, even if they had, they’ve given me even more excuses (though I don’t need them), to soak my feet in delicious, therapeutic aromatherapy baths!

Just to clarify though, these are my specific experiences in my personal journey. Not everyone has physical manifestations on their bodies when there is stuff coming and going from their emotional lives, but I believe this information is worth knowing. Any tool we can provide ourselves with to look for the positive side to something we would normally complain about is only ever going to help us out.

It’s like looking for the silver lining of those clouds. Though to be fair to clouds, they are so beautiful in their own right they don’t need any more silver lining than they naturally have!

So my GEM for you this week – look for the silver lining. I’ve covered this gem in different posts before, but its so beautiful and important that here it is again. Plus, ‘tis the season to forget how much our body loves us, and how it is always working to keep us in a state of delightful wellness.

·       *   If you catch a cold – be grateful for the rest your body is encouraging you to take. Be grateful for the opportunity to snot out whatever it is your body wants out! XD Be grateful for the further opportunity to strengthen your immune system!

·        *  If you get chilblains – do as I do. Look where they are located and be grateful for them helping you release some old block you’re ready to let go of.

·        *  If you stub your toe – which toe was it? Are you getting in your own way somehow? Or going in a direction you’re not actually comfortable with?

Recognise the brilliance of your body, and learn to love and appreciate it, just a little bit more than you already do!

And hey, if my perspective above on looking for meaning in body parts is a bit far-out for you, I totally respect and encourage that! To run parallel for you, just remember that positive delusion is one of the best kept secrets for successful people, in life and business. Think about what you want. Believe it. Truly believe it is already yours. And all of a sudden, easily, it’s yours!

In love and light, have a peaceful, joyful week.

Annalise

Reflexology 101: Neck and Shoulders!

Hello again my dear friends!

How have you been keeping this week? And how are you going at being kind to yourselves, and increasing the value and importance you place on your own happiness?

I know valuing your own happiness can feel strangely ‘selfish’ if you’re not used to it – but it’s worth it in the long run, because you’ll be happier and healthier, with all of that to share!

But do remember, doing things that make you feel ‘good’ won’t truly feel good, if what you’re doing is hurting someone else in the process. There is always a happy medium – lots of happy mediums, in fact! So much freedom and choice!

This week I want to change it up a bit! This blog has been so deep in my own spiritual journey lately that I want to bring it all back to the tangible for a bit. So! How about another reflexology lesson, just for you?!

Last time I did a lesson on this I taught the hand reflexes for our Central Nervous System (back/spine and brain reflexes), cause that is just so gosh darned important. As well as my favourite gentle pinch and pull of the finger webbing to pump that lymphatic fluid around our bodies, keeping us fresh and healthy. Have you been remembering to do this every so often? Its super good for you, and feels great!

This week I’ll pick up another group of reflexes that are super important and relevant – particularly to people working and/or living in stressful environments.

Do your neck and shoulders carry a lot of tension? There was a period in my life when I was so tense that I was seeing a masseur weekly just to function, and I’d be in pain again within 24 of the massage. But no more!  Anytime I start to feel that tension building again, I get straight onto these reflexes and then it’s happy, easy moving days again!

And where are these incredible reflexes, you ask?

Why, here of course! J

Ahahaha, don’t you love my classy drawings?

All these descriptions below are relevant for BOTH hands

Firstly, acquaint yourselves with the whole pad of your hand below the fingers (area circled in Green). Gently massage this whole area regularly – it contains all the reflexes for your shoulder muscles and shoulder joint and just feels fabulous to massage!

It’s a great habit when massaging your hands to gently work up along bones. All the Orange lines on this sketch are recommending you gently work up the sides and centres (not drawn) of each finger. Our fingers hold reflexes for our head and neck, and again, a gentle rub regularly along your fingers will help keep your neck nice and comfortable.

I’ve put lots of Orange lines all over the thumb because the whole surface of the thumb is super awesome and important, and has reflexes for the whole head and neck – so give it lots of gentle love!

I also want to share a little secret reflex with you this week; you’re just so special to me. This is one of my favourites. The blue star at the base of the index finger is a reflex to a very important muscle – the trapezius. For me personally this one is where most of my tension settled. And after some exploration, I have found a great spot at the base of my index finger that gets a little knot under the skin. Gently working this area does wonders for my whole shoulder region. By relaxing this muscle!

Gently!

There are enough sources of pain in the world without deliberately inflicting physical pain upon ourselves!

 You may have noticed I used the word “Gently” a lot in my descriptions above. I’m serious about this. Reflexology does NOT need to hurt to work really well. Gently massaging and rubbing your hands is an awesome thing to do. Deliberately picking a spot and drilling it until it hurts or beyond will certainly not help you, and I strongly suggest you do not attempt it.

As always, please just be kind to your beautiful self, and your beautiful hands. If it hurts, don’t keep doing it. And even if you don’t know what you’re doing, or where you’re working, a gentle hand massage with some cream or oil is blissful and beneficial.

We handle our lives with our hands, so handle life, and your hands with love!

J

If you have any questions about these reflexes, or another part of the body you would like to learn about the reflexes for, message me below, on Facebook or via email and I’ll see what I can do. I’d love to hear how you are going with all the various GEMS I have described so far. Has anything in particular resonated with you? Do you have a question forming that I may be able to help answer? I love questions, so don’t be shy!

And with that, have a delightful, joy filled, relaxed week!

In love and light, be peaceful

Annalise

Abundance: Puzzling it out

Hello everyone! Welcome back!

I want to touch lightly on the concept of abundance this week, and whether we encourage or discourage an abundant mindset.

A lot of stress these days comes from feelings of unworthiness, and lack of something we think we need to be less stressed and happier.

I’ll say something really blunt about this – it’s all perception.

So many examples have been made where homeless people are actually happier and more generous than busy, middle-class professionals. How can that possibly be if our priorities really need to be in the order that society tells us?

Now I’m not by any means suggesting that only through becoming homeless can we feel less stress and more happiness. Many people living less affluent lifestyles suffer quite terribly.

But here is where “Perception” comes into play. And it affects people of all classes and social standings.

We have as much, or as little, as we give ourselves credit for.

What we are grateful for.

I recently stumbled across a beautiful example on abundance, and how we sabotage ourselves without realising, into a feeling of ;'lacking'…

During lunch hour recently I sat down with the local newspaper – something I never do. Out of random amusement I decided to have a go at the word puzzle “Letter Scramble” – a box with 9 cells containing alphabet letters, where you have to find as many words as possible, all the way up to the 9 letter word that the box actually contains.

Now, I’ve always been more of a logical thinker than a lateral thinker, so puzzles are not my strength. Glancing down at this puzzle, the FIRST word I spotted was the 9 letter word!!! The first I’ve found on my own in one of these in a looooong time.

In excitement, I started making a list on my hand of all the words I could see. Everything was going so well – words were just popping out everywhere! It felt awesome!

So I started thinking, I’m going so well I should start writing down all my answers as I’m starting to forget some.

As soon as I started making the list, I had forgotten most of the words I'd found, and for the life of me couldn’t find them again… I struggled and struggled for more words to save my suddenly fractured dignity, and couldn’t find a thing!

Scoring myself against the checklist of how other people perform in these puzzles, I suddenly felt very disappointed – I actually hadn’t even rated in their poorest category in my determined attempt.

It took me a couple of weeks after doing this puzzle to understand the lesson I’d been taught.

When I was doing it freely and in fun, I felt so abundant I couldn’t keep track of it all.

As soon as my ego kicked in and I wanted to keep score so I could compare and compete with others, I failed miserably. See where this is leading?

I’ve been exploring the Law of Attraction and Abundance a lot lately. All teachings speak about allowing yourself the feeling of abundance, even if it hasn’t physically arrived yet. It’s all about your own inner feelings. As soon as you start comparing yourself to others, asking other people’s opinions, or externalising that feeling at all, everything will likely implode.

So my current, personal experiment is to just enjoy each moment. Find joy and abundance everywhere I can, avoid focusing my attention on things I don’t like to know about, and let go of the need to keep score.

Paraphrasing Abraham (through Esther Hicks), ‘this beautiful, abundant world is full of contrast. How we choose to look at things, and what we therefore focus our attention on, will determine what we attract to ourselves. Until we are so strong in ourselves to stay in the place of joy in spite of contrast, why constantly and deliberately expose ourselves to things we know will pull us down, away from joy?’

Last week I reminded us all that we are all free. My GEM for this week follows the same vein. Choose what you focus your attention on. If something upsetting is on the television, turn it off. If you’re suddenly involved in a conversation that is making you angry, or frustrated, or sad, or stressed, excuse yourself from the conversation – even if you need to use a toilet break as the most subtle escape route!

What better form of abundance is there in the world than joy?

Our world is full of joy – why not look to see that instead?

Some people may criticise this philosophy as sticking one’s head in the sand, and they are free to think that - but I don’t look at it like that. I simply choose to look on the “bright side of life”. *insert the whistling solo from Monty Python here*

And on that bright note, I wish you a joyful, peaceful week.

Until next Monday, in love and light – be peaceful

Annalise

Crossroads

Hi there!
This week I am releasing the sound recording and transcript for my post - just in case you prefer one format over the other. ^_^

Welcome back, to this treasure cave of Stress Relief and Relaxation gems. I am Annalise, your host and I’m so glad to have you back here again!

If you are new to this blog, I am a scientist come reflexologist, sharing the joyful and thought provoking path of stress relief and rebalance I am travelling. My hope is that by sharing the gems of knowledge that have helped me so greatly transform my life, perhaps some may resonate and work for you too?

This week I would like to talk about an epiphany I had last week.  It’s an important one, and as I came to understand it, I was filled with joy and a pure sense of freedom.

Every day we make decisions. Lots of decisions. But how often do we give ourselves credit for the fact that we have a choice in each matter?

Building over last weekend, and coming to a climax on Monday last week, I came to a philosophical crossroad. Of late I have been enjoying freedom in my time, while becoming more efficient, more creative, and more joyful by each passing day. It’s felt like a win-win situation on all fronts.

But then suddenly I had someone say something that felt like that old box lid of social and professional pressure slammed back down on me again. My first instinct was to feel like a rebellious child – my inner child was not pleased with this apparent turn of events.

After a while though, the answer dawned upon me. Come what may, I have a choice in every single thing that I do.

·         I choose to go to bed at the time my body wants sleep.

·         I choose what I eat.

·         I choose to go to work each day.

o   Yes – this is a choice too. We choose to do that because most often earning money feels better than not earning money (unless of course you don’t need money, then you have a whole different set of choices available to you as well!) J

It’s really important we remember that we have choice in all matters. Our first and foremost duty is to our own happiness. Once again this comes back to my First Aid principle. If you are able to care for your own happiness, then you will be in a far better place to give and share happiness with others.

I heard a fabulous quote this week, by Abraham (through Esther Hicks) –

“Find a way to make it satisfying, or don’t do it”.

The quickest way to find satisfaction in something is to remember that you have a choice.

From that choice you’ve made, you can then look for the parts that you enjoy doing. Or the feelings that come when you accomplish something. Or the amazing benefits that come to you from the situation. Or the incredible things you see thanks to that situation.

It all carries though, back to one of our leading causes of stress – perception. And that also happens to be our core choice. Do we spend our time looking for the positive aspects? Or do we spend our time looking for the less positive aspects?

Our thoughts colour our lives. Let’s say our daily choice is this:

·         Look for the positive, colourful aspects of life

·         Look for the negative, monochrome aspects of life

Yes, life can still be exquisitely beautiful in monochrome, and there’s just as much to learn from that monochrome perspective. But I would always personally choose the world full of colour and vibrancy; the perspective from where you can see the love and the lesson, not just the hurt and confusion.

My gem for you this week is rather simple, I just wanted to remind you – you are free!

If during the passing of any moment you find yourself feeling frustrated or dissatisfied, take a philosophical step back and look at the situation from a different angle. Look for the choices that have already been made, and those still available to you. I don’t recommend making knee-jerk reactions once you see the choices available, this first step is just the passive appreciation that you have options.

I’ll conclude with this:

Even if you feel like it is your duty to do this dissatisfying thing on behalf of another, that’s not actually what is going on. You are not trapped as you may have originally perceived. Just remember that you do this so that you may feel good in yourself for accomplishing the task. There are many ways to feed and shelter yourself and your family, but of the choices you have seen so far, is this not the path that felt best to you?

J The posts lately have been quite philosophical and deep haven’t they? I am delighting in my journey and study of this side of life and I am thoroughly enjoying sharing this. If however, you have any topics about stress relief and relaxation techniques you’d like me to discuss, please let me know either in the comments section below, Facebook, or a direct email. I welcome and encourage your questions as they allow me to grow in a new direction with your wealth of experience too J

And with that, until we meet again next week, in love and light – be peaceful

Annalise

p.s. As an additional treat, I wanted to tack on a song that makes me giggle every time I hear it. You can find at towards to end of my recorded post in the YouTube link above.