“Your life is a sacred journey. And it is about change, growth, discovery, movement, transformation, continuously expanding your vision of what is possible, stretching your soul, learning to see clearly and deeply, listening to your intuition, taking courageous challenges at every step along the way. You are on the path… exactly where you are meant to be right now… And from here, you can only go forward, shaping your life story into a magnificent tale of triumph, of healing of courage, of beauty, of wisdom, of power, of dignity, and of love.” 
- Caroline Adams

Walking a Labyrinth can be used as ether a supplement to traditional meditation or used instead of it and a walker may experience feelings of inner peace as they connect with their spirituality.

How to Walk a Labyrinth

While walking the Labyrinth you may want to pray, chant, hold on to a rosary or other religious symbol, keep totally silent or listen or play music. The only rule is that there is no one correct way to walk a Labyrinth. You can do whatever your heart feels is right at the moment.

“We carry our mind around with us when we walk, so we are usually absorbed in our own thoughts to one extent or another. We are hardly ever just walking, even when we are just going out for a walk.

Walking meditation involves intentionally attending to the experience of walking itself. This brings your attention to the actual experience of walking as you are doing it, focusing on the sensations in your feet and legs, feeling your whole body moving.”
- John Kabat-Zinn
A mindfulness way to walk a Labyrinth may involve taking a few deep, slow breaths to help slow down your minds thoughts and to become centered and to help you to relax, then just follow the gently curving path. For a calming effect, walk slowly trying to keep your attention on your footsteps or your breathing and doing your best to keep your mind from wondering with any distracting, outside thoughts.

Waking a Labyrinth is also a low impact walking exercise that can increase mobility and help to improve mental activity while helping to promote peace and calmness that will make getting to sleep a lot easier.

Brian Robinson

The gentle flowing movements of Tai Chi involves easy to perform physical exercise with slow, controlled stretching that is used to reduce stress and in turn help you sleep better.

Tai Chi can be practiced by anyone who is in general good health. There are also many modified programs for people suffering from a physical barrier to a standardized routine.

The modern version of Tai Chi we have today originated in China several hundred years ago as a graceful exercise to improve a practitioners health and well being.

Tai Chi takes only 15 to 20 minutes a day and can be performed almost anywhere. You have probably seen Tai Chi being performed in a park by an individual or a group of people.

The park setting helps the practitioner connect with nature as they perform the routine and calm their minds. This is a great use of our public parks, unlike bagpipe players who should be set upon by rabid pigeons.

Health Benefits of Tai Chi

Often called “meditation in motion”, the gentle movements are designed to connect your body and mind and promote serenity.

Some of the other health benefits of Tai Chi include:

• Improving the quality of your sleep
• Increase your feelings of well being
• Improve a persons balance
• Help to reduce anxiety and in turn depression
• Improve flexibility
• Increase your energy

How to Perform Tai Chi

A fun aspect of learning Tai Chi is learning the names for the exercises that make up the Form. They have such colourful names as: White Crane Spreads Its Wings, Step Back and Drive Monkey Away, Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg and Needle at Sea Bottom.

Watch the following video as a master takes you through Tai Chi for Beginners.

(Video: Watch this video on the post page)

Here is a video that shows a popular set of movements called the Beijing 24 Form and it only takes a little over 7 minutes.

(Video: Watch this video on the post page)

If you would like to practice Tai Chi on your own in order to get a general understanding of the Forms and whether of not you would be interested in joining a class for formal training, check out the following web site. They have an excellence introduction to the Beijing24 with other video series on the Tai Chi 10 Form.

http://www.taichicentral.com/tai-chi-lessons-online/tai-chi-forms/tai-chi-24-form/tai-chi-24-form.html

If you prefer written instructions to accompany the videos you can find them here:
http://www.harmonytaijiquan.com/traditional_24/traditional_24.html

So look into Tai Chi as a form of exercise that can help you relax and to help you get to sleep.

Most people would just like to find a way to calm their mind and soul and live each day with a little more peace and understanding rather than being wound up tighter than a piano string. If you’ve had more than one heart attack this week, read on.

A lot of western people are a little wary of meditation because they don’t understand it or think that it may be to too complicated to learn or are worried they may end up selling flowers at the airport. Not to worry.

You can begin by sitting in any position that you find comfortable and don’t worry about crossing your legs in some pretzel like lotus position and making sure your palms are up and that your thumb and index finger are making a circle and you’re facing the right direction and that you don’t smell. It really doesn’t matter at this stage.

Close your eyes, take in a few deep breaths and try to quiet your mind as you exhale. Don’t worry about your past mistakes or any future issue, just let it all go and let your mind go blank.

Slow your breathing and concentrate on your breath. Some people direct their attention to the rise and fall of their chest or stomach and others feel the air moving in and out of their nostrils. Keep your mind as blank as you can and concentrate on your breathing. If your mind wonders and a thought comes in, and it will, acknowledge the thought, let it go and return to your breathing.

At first you will find that you can’t go very long before a thought comes into your mind. Don’t worry, it just takes practice. Over a few weeks you will find that you can go longer and longer without any thoughts creeping. Start by meditating for 10 minutes twice a day, in the morning and in the early evening. Work up to 20 minutes, twice a day.

You will soon be reaping the benefits of meditation. You will be calmer throughout the day, things that used to upset you won’t seem as important any more and you will find that you sleep has improved. And if you do find enlightenment, send me a card. And if I see you at the airport, I’ll buy some flowers.

Biofeedback is used to help you become aware and try to control what normally would be an unconscious physiological function of your body like breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, muscular tension or brain waves by using an electronic recording or display device.

The ultimate goal is to be able to influence the desired bodily function with your mind only without the aid of any equipment.

During a biofeedback session electrodes or sensors are attached to your chest to monitor your heart rate, to your head to monitor your brainwaves or to your wallet to monitor your decreasing bank account with each treatment.

The electrodes are attached to a machine that has a light, buzzer or electronic display that will increase or decrease in intensity according to how well your mind can control your heart rate or brain activity.

As you think about slowing your heart rate, the light will blink slower. This is the feedback you use to let you know if you are successfully slowing you heart rate. This works best if you also don’t think about how the government spends the taxes you pay.

Biofeedback equipment used to be expensive and it was best to see a practitioner who was experienced in this field but there are models you can use yourself.

You can use biofeedback machine to help you relax and to reduce stress. You can learn to know when your muscles are tensed, especially around your face and jaw and control them so reduce your stress level.

With practice you can also learn to quickly slow your heart rate or brain activity, calming you when stressed or to relax before going to bed so you can get a good nights sleep.

Have you ever tried biofeedback? Leave a comment below.

Self hypnosis is similar to meditation in that you get yourself into a deep and relaxed state but with self hypnosis, or self suggestion, you repeat a prepared affirmation to yourself.

To perform self hypnosis you should sit in a quiet place, take several deep breaths and quiet your mind. Relax all the muscles of your body using a technique like progressive muscle relaxation and then when you are completely relaxed, you repeat your affirmation.

Examples of Self Hypnosis Affirmations:

• I sleep soundly every night
• I am a non smoker
• I enjoy exercising every day
• I give out love and attract love every day
• I am a wonderful and unique person
• I am calm and relaxed
• I am getting better every day in every way
• I must sent Bob $1000

Any affirmation you write yourself should be stated in the positive. Instead of “I won’t eat cookies” use “I make healthy food choices.”

You can also download MP3 files to your player that have soothing, reassuring and positive messages to help you relax so you can get to sleep. There are also programs that can be used for everything from losing weight, overcoming fears, reducing anxiety, quitting smoking to long distance mind control of sea bass.

Some programs can be found for free on the internet, but their quality is often pretty low. They are usually given away or sold very cheaply in order to get your email address so they can either bombard you with offers of other junk they have for sale or they’ll sell your email address eight billion times. So if you go this route, use a throw away email account.

You can find programs at online book sellers like Amazon, or you can visit your local bookstore. Check out your local library while you’re at it. They often have a good selection or can order one for you.

Self hypnosis can be effective if you believe it will be and it should not be used in place of professional help and guidance for serious emotional problems.

Have you ever used self hypnosis? Leave your comment below.

You can have a person who is trained in massage, you and your partner can massage each other, or you can do some areas yourself.

There are many different styles of massage so it’s a good idea to find out something of what you’re getting into before you arrive at the masseuses’. They could use long, light strokes, knead with their finger tips and thumbs, to slapping, chopping, pinching to rollers, towels, hot glasses and hot rocks.

If you are giving a massage to your partner or local bank manager, remember to be gentle around tender areas and don’t put any pressure on varicose veins, lumps, bumps, sores, or weeping pustules.

Start with a warm bath, shower or soak in a hot tub, keep the room warm, avoiding any drafts, and put on some relaxing music. You can use a massage oil if you like or just the friction of your hands.

There are over a 100 different types of massages.

Swedish
~ gentle massage of your muscles

Trigger Point
~ help ease cramps and muscle spasms

Reiki
~ no pressure used to channel energy

Hot Stone
~ hot stones are place on your body

Back
~ focus on the back muscles

Lymphatic Drainage
~ helps the flow of lymphatic fluid in the body

Shiatsu
~ firm pressure on acupuncture points

Chair
~ short massage while in a chair

Thai
~ muscles and limbs are stretched

Prental
~ helps in reducing stress

Foot
~ puts pressure on points that are energy connction to other organs

Sports
~ used to enahnce sports performance

Craniosacral
- massage scalp

Deep Tissue
~ more for sports injuries

Jin Shin Do
~ pressure to balance chi energy

Aromatherapy
~ use scented oils

What kind do you prefer? Leave a comment below.

Yoga uses physical and mental exercise to condition your body, mind and breath. Practicing yoga can increase your strength, energy, flexibility and circulation. It can also help you to reduce stress while exercising and giving you the means to relax any other time of the day.

Gaining control over your body and mind using physical and mental exercises is an excellent means of controlling stress and is safer than cobra straightening.

You can find yoga classes at most gyms, ads in the paper, or better yet, a recommendation from a friend. Most allow you to try a class first to see if it is right for you.

My advanced yoga class was great, but being a klutz, I got my elbow stuck in my ear for three days.

I currently perform resistance training with a Bowflex Revolution four times per week and walk 2-3 kilometers a couple of times per week.

Whatever form of exercise you decide to perform, it’s a good idea to check with your doctor first. Then remember to take it easy at first and go at your own pace, and to stop if you get tired or overheated.

Some of the benefits of exercise include:

• Improve your mental focus
• Improves your mood by reducing stress
• Reduce depression
• Improves digestion
• You will sleep better
• Improves your immune system
• Helps stave off chronic diseases
• Strengthen your internal organs
• Helps to maintain your weight
• Improve your body shape
• Increase your energy level
• Enhance your sports performance

For a good night’s sleep exercise in the late afternoon or early evening. Avoid exercise close to bedtime as you will be too stimulated to get to sleep. I usually exercise first thing in the morning. It’s the only way I know of to make sure it gets done. If I leave it for later in the day, I’ll get busy doing something else, or be too tired later on.

If you are active during the day you are more likely to have a good night’s sleep.

What exercise do you do? Leave your comment below.

Using self distraction to relax and to get to sleep involves taking your mind off a worrisome subject or any other issue of your day by thinking of something completely different that is pleasant or boring. No one can get to sleep if they are trying to solve a personal problem or they are preparing for a meeting the next day at work.

If you are trying to get to sleep and you’re constantly thinking about the world’s economy, global warming or whether Brad and Brandi on Terminal Hospital will get their heads unglued in time for the twin’s graduation from underwater dentistry school, then you should try thinking of being on a hillside on a clear summers day with flowers as far as the eye can see, or at a seashore, watching the waves lap up on the shore.

Any pleasant image will do and the more calming or even boring it is the better.

Another method that I often use involves slowly counting backward from one hundred. If I get to zero I just go back to one hundred and start again. More often my mind will wonder and I will loose where I am. No worries, I’ll just start again from 100.

As you are counting in your mind you can also see each number float by and drop into a well.

Then there is the old standby, counting sheep. Imagine them jumping over a fence and floating away.

You can also try doing multiplication tables, or trying to think of an animal using every letter of the alphabet.

Anything pleasant or boring will work for self distraction as long as it’s not something that will get you worked up, like sex or politics or sex in politics.

What do you think about to calm you mind to get to sleep? Leave your comment below.

The goal progressive muscle relaxion exercises is to allow you to know the difference between how your muscles feel when they are tensed and when they are relaxed, so you can tell when you’re tense during the day and use it as a means to relax when you are trying to get to sleep.

All you have to do is lie down on your bed and get comfortable, then you are going to tense up all the muscles of one part of your body at a time, hold it for a few seconds, then completely relax the muscles. Work up from your feet to your head.

For example, tense the muscles of your left foot, hold for 3 seconds, then relax. Then do the same for your left calf, thigh, the entire leg, then the same for your right foot, calf, thigh and entire leg. Proceed to your buttocks, lower back, stomach, chest, back, then each of your arms from your hands, then your whole arm, to your neck, jaw, and finally your facial muscles.