Yet more how to chill out…
So in the past I have talked about how any activity can help you chill out as long as you enjoy it and it absorbs you including video games. But what about Origami?
The ancient Japanese art of Origami has recently seen a surge in popularity due to the fact it can be done any-time, anywhere, with materials that are often to hand in stressful environments such as schools and offices. It may seem complicated, but thanks to YouTube, and online course platforms like Udemy, anyone can make learn to make simple creations from table decorations to paper aeroplanes without spending a fortune on expensive tools or equipment.
According to paper folding guru Himanshsu Agrawal (who has five world records to his name- including the creation of a 44 foot human being and a 105 foot dinosaur!): “Origami is inherently geometric; as you fold from one end to the other, the movement becomes rhythmic. It soon feels like you are detached from the world.”
The act of folding paper has been shown time and again to help decrease anxiety and increase feelings of inner calm. The beautiful film “Between the folds” takes a deeper look at the art of paper folding and it’s many benefits for health and its a good place to get more information.
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Power Poses
Like most people I am interested in body language. Like most people I noticed awkward social interactions in day to day life. Until recently I considered that body language is about
- what you are communicating others
- what they are communicating to you
By adopting the Wonder Woman pose for 2 minutes, social scientists have proven that it will increase your confidence, assertiveness and help you feel more comfortable in a situation. This is due to the impact holding this "high power" pose for two minutes has on your body, its reduces your cortisol levels and increases your testosterone levels. Meaning you are less reactive to stressful situations.
So can you apply this in real life. Last weekend I was on my sports massage course and each weekend we have a written test we need to pass. For some reason I had misunderstood what the test was on and forgot to review the whole subject. I discovered this about 30 minutes before the test. So I was in a highly stressful situation. So I decided to give this power pose a try and did it during the next 30 minutes while revising. The science says 2 minutes but I felt I needed all the help I could get. It turns out that I passed. While this isn't irrevocable proof, I would recommend people try it.
As Amy Cuddy says "our body's change our minds, our minds change our behavior and our behavior changes our outcomes." For a more detailed understanding of power poses, the science behind them, watch Amy Cuddy's Your body language shapes who you are.
Is it time to talk about sleep?
While it may not seem the most obvious time of year to start talking about sleep, we can often forget when the sun is out our natural instinct is to go out and play sport or socialise. In addition summer is often a time when things naturally slow down in the business world so we can be tempted to pack in as many things as possible before it gets busy at work. This means at this time of year we can often find out ourselves feeling depleted and short on sleep due to hot summer nights which are not condusive to a good nights sleep. I know I have blogged in the past about sleep, here are my tips for a good nights sleep . I have talked in the past about how we feel good if we get a good nights sleep but the medical profession is still unclear about why we need sleep. What is clear is that sleep is a huge clear out of thoughts and feelings that accumulated during the day - and this is critical to our health. The medical profession has many theories about why we dream or need to dream - what is agreed on is that parts of our brains are very active when we dream and that dreaming improves our ability to solve problems and be creative. The key question about sleep is often how much sleep do I need. I don't focus on a figure but go by how my body feels. That means sometimes it needs more sleep and sometimes less sleep. What I focus on is the quality of sleep which I judge by how refreshed I feel in the morning.
Your energy account
We all know that we aim to have a good nights sleep to wake up full of energy. But as I have said before, sleep is only one way to boost your energy. Think of yourself as having an energy account, and energy raising activities e.g. sleep, credit your energy account and energy draining activities e.g. frustration, debit your energy account. You may find it helpful to work out the balance on your energy account. Use the table below to identify what in your life drains your energy and what raises your energy.
Now you have worked out what is happening to your energy account. If you are unhappy with how much energy your have then I recommend you go back through the energy raising activities and consider what you can easily incorporate into your life. Once you had done this and implemented them, then you can go through your energy draining activities and see what you can give up. It is important to boost your energy first as it put you in to a positive state of mind before tacking what in your life drains your energy.Energy Debits - Energy Draining Activites Energy Credits - Energy Raising Activities Unhealthy eating with heavy, rich, fatty, sugary good Health diet with give excellent nutrition supported by vitamin and mineral supplements Alcohol Cigarettes Drug abuse Over-stimulation (including over work) Natural highs from nature, dance, relaxation, music, physical achievement, humour and creativity. Sedentary lifestyle Exercise Fear Worries Anxiety Stress Frustration Depression Feeling things are out of control Security Peace of mind Rest Joy Happiness Isolation and loneliness Lack of love or support Being dominated Being stuck in the past Close personal relationships Sense of belonging Healthy boundaries Ability to forgive including yourself No self-expression Boredom Underachievement Creative self-expression Excitement Achieving Lack of purpose and meaning Clarity about your true values, purpose and meaning Difficult relationships Good relationships Lack of spiritual nourishment No sources of uplift Good sources of spiritual uplift
