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You create your own calm

June edition / By Camilla / June 1, 2023

Pockets of calm

A minute here and there can make a huge difference if repeated regularly. 

Chances are that you don’t need to learn more stress-management techniques, but rather that you need a bit more air in your schedule. 

“So, what if, instead of thinking about solving your whole life, you just think about adding additional good things. One at a time. Just let your pile of good things grow.”

In my opinion it can be just that easy. Letting your pile of good things grow. Sometimes it is as simple as breaking the loop before it spirals out of control. To create pockets of calm here and there during the day, preventing the stress and busyness of the day to build up. 

Breathe into your belly

How about a couple of times during your day you pause and take 3 SLOW ROUNDS OF BELLY BREATHS. Maybe you close your eyes, or you look out through the window letting your eyes rest on a tree, or the sky. Place one (or both) hand(s) on your belly to invite the breath there.  

Slow breathing into the belly is an immediate stress reliever as it’s communicating to your brain telling the brain that you are okay, and that it is okay to relax. 

How you start your mornings matters

What I do myself, and that I recommend a lot of clients to do, is to look at ones morning routine.

If wanting more calm during the day, it might be a good idea to begin the day that way. Perhaps to start the day with 3-5 minutes of breathing calmly in & out for a count of five.

My personal favorite, is to do one yin yoga pose every morning, in which I can focus on my breath while also giving the fascia of my body some much needed attention. That way, no matter what happens later during the day I have at least started my day tuning into my body & breath. 

If you’re not feeling like a morning person, you might prefer to do this in the evening instead, just before bed, inviting the nervous system to come into the ‘rest & digest’ mode. 

“YOU CREATE YOUR OWN CALM”

A practice when you need to create your own calm

As our minds are extremely potent devices, it serves us well if we learn to use the mind ‘in our favor’ more often. The subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between an image that we image, and one that is real. So using this little technique actually fools your brain into thinking that you’re actually taking a quick vacation from your daily routines.

‘Go on a mini-vacation’

Remember to put your phone on silent, maybe put a timer so you can fully ‘let go’, not worrying about the time (or falling asleep). 

Find a comfortable position, you can sit in a chair, or lay down on the floor, whatever is available to you. Allow your eyes to close, and begin taking deep breaths, in and out through your nose, all the way down into your belly. After a couple of breaths, while you allow yourself to relax, start to imagine that you are at your favorite vacation/nature spot. Vividly see the colors, hear the sounds and feel the emotions that this special place evokes in you. The more ‘real’ you make the image, the better the effect. 

After a few minutes let go of the image and slowly return to your present moment.   

You might need to practice this a couple of times to ‘get it’. Chances are that you the first few times don’t feel that it ‘works for you’ (at least I know that was the case for me). Nothing ‘special’ will happen, except for a quiet, and calm feeling in your body and brain. Don’t overthink it, just do it. 

Is sitting still slowly killing us?

May edition / By Camilla / May 4, 2023

For many of us, work means hours and hours of sitting, with rare pauses of movement. While it’s easy to dismiss this as a routine part of adult life, it is becoming a growing concern, and more and more people are having physical complaints.
 
When I’m giving workshops for companies on related topics (such as posture, stress resilience and ‘moving more’) I almost always begin by a quick poll. I ask the participants to raise a hand to show how many have pain in the lower back. I ask how many have discomfort/tension in the upper back, shoulders & neck on a regular basis. So many hands go up.  

“Most people have no idea how good their body is designed to feel.”

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Are you a ‘sprinter’ or a ‘marathon’ runner?

April edition / By Camilla / April 6, 2023

Unlike what the headline might lead you to think, this monthly edition is not about running. It’s about your daily pace, and an invitation to reflect on the pace that you’re keeping. 

Many of us continuously keep a high pace focusing on getting things done, all the time, trying to get to the bottom of the famous to-do-list. 

But the harsh truth is that your to-do-list will never be emptied. You will never be finished! There will always be things to do…

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Stop setting yourself up for failure

March edition / By Camilla / March 2, 2023

A conversation I have with a lot of clients is HOW TO REDUCE STRESS, and the effects of stress in their life. We are all different, which means that we react differently to the daily stressors. What is certain though, is that our bodies are reacting, one way or another. 

These clients might have come to yoga therapy because their bodies have started to complain. For some it’s an autoimmune condition (flaring up), or reoccurring digestive issues, troubles falling asleep/waking up too early.

For others, the toll of constantly being ‘on’, keeping busy, being efficient and getting things off their never-ending to-do list, leads to more mental/emotional/energetic issues, sometimes also to burnout. 

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This could potentially save your life

February edition / By Camilla / February 9, 2023

Recently a yoga student reached out to me, wanting to start doing yoga therapy sessions as she has just been diagnosed with breast cancer.

In my job as a yoga therapist, requests like this are fairly common, and when I worked as a nurse I got used to meet people going through illness, you can say it became part of my daily life. But still, every time it happens, I am humbly reminded how quickly life as we know it, can change.

Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer that we women are diagnosed with. We are bound to encounter it, either for ourselves, or in our circle of friends. It’s not just women who get it though, men do too. It is way less common for men but since we all have breasts, and breast tissue, we are all at risk so to speak.

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Have a happy belly

Thoughts on life & what matters  – December edition

December for a lot of us is a month where we often eat a bit more than usual. A bit more of the good stuff (and there is a lot of good stuff to eat). In our little family planning good food (& drinks) around the holidays is a must. Merging our different cultures and traditions, French and Swedish, and our personal preferences means that there will be lots (!) of everything LOL.

Often this is also a time when our digestive system (and our bellies) might not be happy happy. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are some simple things we can do to keep the belly happy while we still allow ourselves to indulge. 

One of the biggest reasons our bellies (our digestive system) does not fully enjoy this time of the year is that we are changing our habits. The digestive system is actually quite sensitive, and prefer things to be like usual. 

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Biggest reason we’re unhappy

Thoughts on life & what matters  – June edition

Recently I saw this quote that resonated so well with me. And I guess I am not the only one ‘over-thinking’ things & life… Wanted to share with you a technique that I am using regularly that I find very helpful. My hope is by sharing it with you that you too can find some much needed inner peace. 

“The biggest reason we are unhappy is that we think too much.” 

It’s now been a couple of months that I’ve regularly been brain-dumping my thoughts down into a notebook. In the beginning it was something I started doing because I had read that it might be a good way to become more aware of all the thoughts running on repeat in my head. In periods of my life I have wanted to be one of those people who journal regularly, and I’ve made attempts, buying fancy journals and started, only to rather quickly stop. 

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Stress, the root of most illnesses

All scientific research is pointing at stress being the root of most illnesses affecting us today. 

Your mind is in constant communication with your respiratory, digestive, reproductive and central nervous systems, and fully controls the entire health and functioning of your body. We automatically associate the term ‘health’ with physical well-being. Somehow, we skip the most crucial link: the mind.

The number of people affected by stress today is staggering; few of them do anything to cope with it. At the most, we talk to a friend or go for a walk, which temporarily helps, but only at the surface level. Many take to binge eating, drinking and smoking in the face of stress. More load on the digestive system, liver and the lungs will only put your body under chronic stress.

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Built for movement

Many health benefits of exercise

Your body is built for movement. When you move, a lot happens in your body that makes you more energetic and stronger. Physical activity such as brisk walking, gardening or outdoor activities can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and mental health problems, among others.

Break your sedentary lifestyle

Prolonged sedentary behaviour increases the risk of disease, even if you exercise several times a week. That’s why it’s important to increase your daily movement if you sit a lot. Take several short movement breaks during the day.

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