It's difficult to be stressed out when you're sitting on your back porch at midnight in the summertime, with a good book, cold drink and a halo of hickory barbeque smoke swirling around your head. The meat was sizzling and the smoke, apart from shooing the mosquitoes away, was heavenly with the aroma of meat, spices and herbs. I couldn't have ask

An important matter to consider in the realm of self assessment and evaluating ones self worth is the subject of success. In today's world the flashy and often glitzy portrayal of what many consider to be success can leave an individual feeling frustrated and overwhelmed to say the least. The demands associated with attempting to measure up to the

Stress is now the number one reason behind sickness from work and more than 70% of working adults have experienced stress at work in the past year according to the Gee Publishing Survey of 2006. Whether or not these statistics are true one thing is certain, we cannot expect our employers to provide everything we need to reduce or manage our stress.

In today's modern world, stress is simply a fact of life and is summed up by Andrew Denton, the Australian TV personality as "Pressure and Stress is the Common Cold of the Psyche" or to quote Lee Iacocca - "Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't fallen asleep yet." A certain amount of stress, unlike the common cold can

Meditation has become more popular and more acceptable than ever before these days but despite more exposure in the media there still seem to be some mystery to some. In fact many people ask me, when they find out I meditate regularly, why do you do it?. So I decided to make a list of the many benefits of meditation. Firstly the main reason I m

Of course, breathing is an automatic function and therefore is something that most of us probably take for granted. After all, we do it automatically and without thinking. It's only in we suddenly have trouble breathing that we realize just how important this particular bodily function is. In fact, it's so important that we humans can survive only

At many classes I teach I am asked this question: "How can I stop my mind?" Instead of focusing on stopping the activity of the mind, I encourage people to redirect the energy of their mind to help them gain rather than deplete energy. First, what is the natural function of the mind? One of my dear teachers, Cerridwen Fallingstar, points out th

The weather in Austin, Dallas, Houston and the rest of Texas is already starting to cool down. This means, for many individuals, the stress of the holiday season is almost upon them. When your stress peaks, it's hard to think, let alone act. These steps can help you keep normal holiday depression at bay: - They're your feelings, acknowledge

Did you know that stress is important to peak performance? It's true. Not enough stress and you're bored and unmotivated. Too much stress and you can't function. The trick lies in finding just the right balance to stay active and productive without feeling overloaded. A good amount of stress results in motivation to do your best, motivation to t

No need to look up "self-fullness" in the dictionary - you won't find it. And it's also not likely to be in the vocabulary of women who are pulled between their careers, children, parents, spouse or even grandchildren. No matter what age women have attained, many still act the part of the 'good girl,' responding to the needs of others first. It's f

If you are an energetic person who likes to succeed, who likes to get things done yesterday, you might find it extremely helpful to slow down your pace when learning stress management techniques. Here's why: Enthusiasm may push you to take on many techniques at once and do them for too long. You run a high risk of burning out and losing interest

What do you do when your fears and depression are stronger than what you can handle? There are times that no matter what you do, your fears have the best of you. Here is a list of techniques and suggestions on what to do when this happens. The first step is to learn to take it one day at a time. Instead of worrying about how you will get throug

Are your nerves frazzled? Are ready to get away on a long vacation but you can't get any time off for the next 40 weeks? Relax; you don't need to go somewhere far away to calm down. Just follow these 7 easy steps and you'll be cool as a cucumber in no time! 1-Get a check-up It's amazing how we often waste time worrying about some illness w

Everyone needs time to rest. Do you ever collapse into bed exhausted? Read in bed until you pass out? Is it easy for you to get out of bed every morning? Are you energized or groggy when you wake up? Do you lie in bed at night, mind racing a million miles an hour, unable to sleep? Give yourself some uninterrupted time to let your body

Have you lived through a scary or dangerous event? Do you have some of the following problems? * Feeling like the event is happening again * Trouble sleeping or nightmares * Not feeling close to people * Becoming easily angered * Feeling guilty because others died when you lived If so, you might have post-traumatic stress disorder (