Category: Sleep

Boost Your Vibe with Healing Sleep

11/6/2023

Photo: Bruce Mars

By Lorraine Alexander

If you easily fall asleep without effort, your sleep is deep, and you wake up feeling rested and ready to embrace your day, consider yourself lucky.

"About 50 to 70 million Americans have sleep disorders, 1 in 3 adults (about 84 million people) do not regularly get the recommended amount of uninterrupted sleep they need to protect their health." --SleepHealth.org

The quality of our sleep is a direct reflection of our health and wellness.

When life gets complex, we tend to ignore self-care, and our sleep quality suffers. Stress causes inflammation, body aches, and physical or emotional pain. Other top stressors include finances, work deadlines, and complicated relationships. Any one of these factors can diminish sleep quality.

The purpose of sleep is to soothe and rejuvenate the body, mind, and spirit. During sleep, both the brain and body eliminate toxins. Quality sleep offers energy for daily performance, and while it enhances our mindset, quality sleep can also elevate our mood.

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Learn the Top 12 Stress Management Moves for 2020

9/1/2020

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By Lorraine Alexander, September 1, 2020
Read time: 3.5 minutes

The year 2020 delivered countless hardships and disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic, shelter in place social isolation, civil unrest, economic hurdles, record-breaking climate change including pre-season wildfires, floods, hurricanes, and the most heated presidential election of our time.

During these tragedies, we witnessed the darkest influences of stress take a stronghold in the US. These tough times drew out the best and worst in humanity. Yet our challenges are not behind us. That's why this article offers 12 uncomplicated, manageable strategies that will help you to "keep your cool," and release toxic stress during volatile times.

How can we restore balance in an unpredictable world?
Start with one person at a time beginning with you. The one thing that I'm sure of is this, self-awareness is the passkey to a balanced, happy life. Pay attention to obvious signals of stress. Your body may be calling out for help. Are you listening?

Stress can surface through emotions or manifest in a physical way. To determine if you are experiencing stress overwhelm, ask these following questions:

Do you have trouble sleeping?
Do you lack energy or focus?
Are you feeling unusually tense?
Have you become forgetful?
Are you short-tempered with others?
Have you lost your optimism or the ability to enjoy life?

You can successfully release toxic penned-up stress from the body by combining a variety of the following mind-body practices. The rewards of these 12 self-care practices will depend on the consistency of your routine.

Self-care is like putting the oxygen mask on yourself first, so you can care for others.

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COVID-19 In Times of Stress: Seven Anti-Anxiety Strategies

4/2/2020

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From the March 10, 2020 DASA Newsletter

We live in uncertain times, especially in the last six months. Historic wildfires due to climate change, adversity in our elections, and with the new global health concern COVID-19, everyone is uneasy.

There is an abundance of "stay-safe" guidelines for the Coronavirus (COVID-19) offered by every news network and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), all vital information to stay healthy.

Medical professionals report that by maintaining a healthy immune system, we add another level of defense against this virus. They advise us to get plenty of sleep and to avoid stress. Yet, stress is the very thing that keeps us from a sound night's sleep.

In my mind, they go hand in hand. Lower your stress and you'll get better sleep. Easy to say, yet difficult to achieve. That is unil now.

Get beyond a time of stress to a place of resilience.

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Meditation: Develop Seven Life Skills Worthy of a Jedi

12/15/2017

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Make meditation a priority; cultivate the seven transformative life skills.
Then, "Live life as if it's skewed in your favor." ~Rumi

Written in honor of the treasured Star Wars movie series.

Awaken the Force Within
By Lorraine Alexander

The actor Mark Hamill portrayed the beloved character Luke Skywalker the Jedi apprentice, in the hit movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens. As the story evolves, Luke grew to become a guardian of peace and justice. He dedicated himself to personal growth and the way of the Jedi. Once he developed these noble values, only then did he find the ability to tap into "the Force.”

Who wouldn’t love to wake up each day feeling that you are on top of your game like Luke? Backed by an abundance of medical studies, many experts concur that meditation delivers new levels of health, wellness, mood, and mental clarity. Consider this, let's say you invest 40 minutes (20 min. twice a day), and for that small investment of time, you receive a substantial return in health, clarity, and creativity. Most meditators agree wholeheartedly that after meditation they have greater focus and energy; they accomplish more in their day; they find their day is suddenly more enjoyable.

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Finding Balance with Meditation: Easy Natural Stress Reduction

10/23/2016

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Image©Racom/CanStock

Can we change our life experience?

By Lorraine Alexander

Americans have become accustomed to a stressful lifestyle. We know stress affects health, sleep, emotions and behavior. How can we change this pattern?

There is a quote by Charles R. Swindoll "Life is 10 percent what happens to you, and 90 percent how you react to it." Have you ever noticed that people often react to the same stressors quite differently? While one person is deeply affected by a stressful event, another may take it in stride. Why? The answer is simple. Some of us have found our way back to that place of balance.

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Meditation: The New Sustainable Practice

9/1/2016

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Image©MonkeyBusiness/Fotolia

Sustaining the Body, Mind, and Spirit Through Meditation

NORTHBAY BIZ Magazine - September 2016
Meditation: The New Sustainable Practice
By Lorraine Alexander, DASA Meditation

Memory and learning naturally decrease as we age.
Meditation can help combat this trend.

During the past decade, I’ve heard the word “sustainable” used almost exclusively in the context of environmental issues. Yet the term simply means the ability to last or continue for a long time, without depleting resources. A personal resource is an available means that’s afforded by the mind, or by one's personal capabilities—a source of supply, support or aid, especially one that can be readily drawn upon when needed. Shouldn't health and brain function be considered a source of support?

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Boost Your Golden Years With Meditation

1/18/2016

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image © buso23/bigstock
Model used for illustration purposes only.

By Lorraine Alexander

50+ - It's Your Time to Shine.

If you're over 50, according to AARP you’ve arrived. You’re officially in the beginning of your golden years. If you fit into this age group, you might view meditation as a somewhat abstract practice. You might even say, "I’m too old to try something new like that." You could be afraid, assuming it is difficult to learn, or you might worry that you could never contort your body into that pretzel-like lotus position.

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Catching the Zen Zone - Why Top Companies Embrace Meditation

12/16/2015

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Written by Lorraine Alexander

"If you build it, he will come." ~ Field of Dreams 1989

Watching old movies on a rainy day is one of my favorite things to do. One recent Saturday, I watched a rerun of the classic 1989 flick "Field of Dreams." We all remember the famous line “If you build it, he will come.” That's when Iowa corn farmer Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) starts hearing voices. The movie was not only about following your dreams - but also about realizing your potential. It reminded me about meditation, and how the practice directly links each of us to realize our potential. From there, we naturally become our best in our business environment as well.

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High 5 - Best Practices for Optimal Mediations

11/24/2015

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High 5 - Best Practices for Optimal Meditations

Five Rules for Bliss-Filled Meditations

1. SCHEDULE YOUR MEDITATIONS TWICE A DAY
Most practiced meditators agree, that much like exercise, if you don't plan or create a ritual at the same time of day, it's just too easy to put a meditation off. A good suggestion is to preset reminders on your iPhone. Remember, you are in essence training your brain - just as you would train for a race. Regular practice offers profound benefits.

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Coping With Stress - The 10 / 90 Rule

10/23/2015

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Written by Lorraine Alexander

We've arrived. Now, a stressful lifestyle is an American norm.
But what is the actual cost to our health and happiness?

It is now medically proven that stress can accumulate in the body, and the long-term effects can create anxiety, depression, impaired memory, impaired concentration, digestive issues, heart disease, sleep difficulties, and even weight gain. Now more than ever, it is critical that we find new ways to cope with reducing stress in our life. The first three considerations of lowering stress are to eat healthy, exercise, and get adequate sleep - but additionally, meditation is a viable method of stress reduction according to the Mayo Clinic.

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<<Previous

Boost Your Vibe with Healing Sleep

Learn the Top 12 Stress Management Moves for 2020

COVID-19 In Times of Stress: Seven Anti-Anxiety Strategies

Get beyond a time of stress to a place of resilience.

Meditation: Develop Seven Life Skills Worthy of a Jedi

Finding Balance with Meditation: Easy Natural Stress Reduction

Can we change our life experience?

Meditation: The New Sustainable Practice

Sustaining the Body, Mind, and Spirit Through Meditation

Boost Your Golden Years With Meditation

50+ - It's Your Time to Shine.

Catching the Zen Zone - Why Top Companies Embrace Meditation

"If you build it, he will come." ~ Field of Dreams 1989

High 5 - Best Practices for Optimal Mediations

Five Rules for Bliss-Filled Meditations

Coping With Stress - The 10 / 90 Rule

We've arrived. Now, a stressful lifestyle is an American norm.
But what is the actual cost to our health and happiness?

Blog author

Categories

Archives

DASA Meditation

Contact Info

Celebrating 50 Years

Get beyond a time of stress to a place of resilience.​

Can we change our life experience?

Sustaining the Body, Mind, and Spirit Through Meditation

50+ - It's Your Time to Shine.

"If you build it, he will come." ~ Field of Dreams 1989

Five Rules for Bliss-Filled Meditations

We've arrived. Now, a stressful lifestyle is an American norm. But what is the actual cost to our health and happiness?

Blog author

Categories

Archives

DASA Meditation

Contact Info

Celebrating 50 Years

Get beyond a time of stress to a place of resilience.

We've arrived. Now, a stressful lifestyle is an American norm.
But what is the actual cost to our health and happiness?