Tricks To Fall Asleep When You Cannot

Many years ago I used to not be able to fall asleep till 4-5 am. Many times, around 5 am, when I’d have enough of not sleeping I would put my running kit on and go for a long, refreshing run.

The biggest problem was that I was always very active and creative at night, and still am, and I could always focus and learn better after everyone else would go to bed and I was alone in a very quiet house.

Sometimes that happens even now, actually some of my best blogs you see here were written after midnight.

Sometimes I don’t even try to fall asleep if I cannot because I know I create some cool things, including poems. Much of what I write is never seen by anyone else but I still write them.

The other side of the coin is that I am also a morning person. I like and I am able to wake up even at 4:30 am to do my training.

So do you struggle to fall asleep….but would like to? These are tricks I used to do and still do if I cannot sleep. Not all may work for you but you can try them out. You don’t sleep anyway.

Here are a few tips to help you fall asleep, things I do myself:

1. Open the windows for at least 1h to get some fresh air in your room before you go to bed. If it’s winter it’s even better, believe me.

2. Stop tossing and turning, if you cannot fall asleep you won’t. Stand up, walk around or just lie down and stop moving.

3. Work the muscles, get them tired. When you lie down in bed they will just relax to maximum. Some say that this will keep you awake. In my case it actually helps me sleep better. You can try it a couple of time, you won’t sleep anyway. If it doesn’t work for you then you don’t do it anymore. Try the others.

4. Practice some fluid movement. If you don’t know how contact me and I will show you a few movements. And you don’t have to commit to anything at all.

5. Breathing meditation. I have to admit this doesn’t work for me all the time. Fluid movement and getting my body tired work better for me.

6. Stretch your body to release that tension you gathered throughout the day. And here’s the perfect stretch for this.

7. Count. When you count you do something very boring your brain will go “I can’t take this anymore, I will shut down” and you fall asleep. It may take up to 100 or even 1000. When you start losing track it’s a good sign, keep counting though.

8. Focus your attention on sounds from outside. Every little sounds. Listen. It’s a beautiful feeling.

9. “Listen” to the silence. One of my favourites. Listening to that deep silence. If the environment allows you to do that it’s a wonderful experience.

10. Go for a walk, if that’s possible. Yes in the middle of the night. It’s one of my favourite things. But make sure you don’t go alone, for safety purposes.

11. Read a book, paper book not kindle. Preferably nothing violent and horror. Poetry would be nice and different for many people.

12. Have a glass of water. Cool your body down.

13. Write and draw. Write and draw what? Anything. Anything at all. Take a sheet of paper, a pen or pencil and let your hand do whatever it wants. Scribble. If it doesn’t help you fall asleep you might create a beautiful piece of art. If you think you cannot write or draw, think again, you are a creative being. We all are.

When you cannot fall asleep, never:

1. Turn on the tv

2. Check your email

3. Check facebook and other social media

4. Make phone calls or text

July 2, 2015July 2, 2015

What Is A Walk-A-Bit? What Does It Do?

During our sessions, at times, I ask my clients to “go for a walk”. This usually comes after an exercise, whether it’s a strong one or a light fluid movement one the WalkABit is like a reset for the body and mind, after which we resume training.

As opposed to walking meditation, we do not put a specific focus on the walking itself. Walking meditation is a component of our training but it’s not Walk-A-Bit.

You know when you think about something really intense? When you focus really hard to get something done and do it properly? And sometimes the harder you try the less it works, you simply cannot do it. Or you do it but it exhausts you, the mental effort required when focusing on one thing for a while.

Well that happens in my coaching, there is a lot of focus needed as my coaching involved very technical elements. So a WalkaBit is the perfect way to reset so my clients can give another try. It’s like clicking refresh on this page.

When your computer has glitches, sometimes all you need to do is switch it off and back on. That’s the Walk-A-Bit.

So how do you do Walk-A-Bit?

It’s simple, yet complex. It requires total relaxation of the upper limbs and maximum relaxation of the lower limbs without losing form, without losing posture.

If you think it’s easy think again. Nowadays we are so closed up in our bodies that letting go, relaxing is almost impossible. Making the difference between tension and stress and relaxation is essential in my coaching.

Walk-A-Bit means walking normal, not slow, not fast, just normal.

Walk-A-Bit is just walking. Walking to reset joints, muscles, ligaments, to re-align the body.

Walk-A-Bit means letting go. Letting go of the arms from the shoulder, letting them go floppy as if they don’t belong to your body anymore.

Walk-A-Bit means feeling the grass underneath your feet, or even the mud, the earth, the carpet, whatever is there under your feet. Walk-A-Bit is best done barefoot

Walk-A-Bit is about resetting the body.

You don’t focus on anything in particular though. In walking meditation the focus is on walking and feeling the ground, feeling how you pick up your feet off the floor and so on.

Walk-A-Bit is just walking, without a focus, walking to bring the body to it’s natural stance and state.

There you have it, the Walk-A-Bit as part of The Merisoiu Technique.

May 8, 2015

Why I Stand For 1h30m Training Sessions

Ever since I began practicing Karate, 20 years ago, I learnt that training is at least 1h30min long. Not 1h, not 45 min. And I kept it this way. Here I will explain WHY this is so important.

Today we have all sorts of sessions. And they are all good. They target different things, mostly weight loss or general fitness. And I agree with them all.

However, what they also do is turn us into little robots. Sorry…but the attitude of “get in and get out” is like programming a machine.

What is the general 1h training:

1. Rush inside the gym with the sole purpose of exercising and leave as quickly as you can. This is called “me time”

2. Warm up 10min

3. Stretching 5 min… most people don’t even remember that. That’s not even half of I do with my clients

4. Main session. This is usually a circuit of general exercises to target specific goals. The circuit, in many situations, is not actually broken into small pieces and each exercise explained thoroughly: how not to injure yourself, why that’s important, what muscles you are working and how to BREATH

5. Cool down and stretch….maybe….5min??? Noooo…..that’s not enough. And most importantly the exercises in the main session seldom improve mobility and flexibility. Read here why they are so important.

6. Rush out the door

So much rush and lack of attention and focus leads to all these injuries we see everyone suffer from. I’m not saying that not rushing will definitely lead to no injuries, ever. But the risk is far greater when we rush.

What a 1h30min session does:

1. Brings you THERE. Not just your body, that’s not enough, you are there with the mind. You are focused and prepared. That’s a true “me time”. This can be done through meditation or some deep breathing exercises (which by the way helps with warming up your body besides many other benefits).

2. Warm up, without rushing, ok…..that can be 10 min

3. Stretching 20 min!! Yes, 20 min if your training has a limited number of exercises which improve flexibility and mobility as well as working towards your final goal

4. Technique. Before the killer cardio session you go through ALL exercises which will be in the session. You break them down to its smallest elements. You adjust and make sure your body understands how to move and what to expect. This way you reduce the risk of injuries….a lot.

5. Cardio session. This is where you put into application what you practiced earlier.

6. Cool down and stretching, 20 min stretching again. If your session had elements of mobility and flexibility it can be shorter. But most routines don’t. Many of them tighten muscles and with 5 min stretching you are no actually doing too much.

And these are only the basics 😉

Benefits of such long sessions

I train myself and my clients like this all the time and here’s what happens

1. It takes you about 20 min to get out of the rushing world and work/family related thoughts. The world full of noise and clutter and into a moment of peace and focus dedicated to yourself. That’s the “me moment”. Twenty minutes.

2. Reduce the risk of injuries because you actually warm up properly, stretch and you go through technique. You understand how to move your body, how to adjust, why you are doing all those things you chose to do.

3. Your Coach is not rushed when explaining the elements of good posture, breathing and efficient body use which can make the greatest difference in reaching your goals and protecting your body. If they do explain these at all

4. You get the most out of your Coaches’ knowledge. Knowledge which you can take home and apply yourself whether in your individual training or daily life (like posture and breathing for example).

5. NO RUSH. I cannot stress this enough. We are always on the run. We NEVER ever have time. There is enough time. You can make time. You can stretch time. If you only take a moment… and breathe

6. You pay attention. Rushing around will only cause chaos, mistakes and injuries in your mind and body. Is a hardcore training worth all that? Causing your body extreme pain (the wrong kind of pain). Pay attention to yourself, your body, your movement and the world around you and you will be HAPPIER, FITTER and HEALTHIER

[tweetthis]Cultivate the art of attention and focus and your life will change[/tweetthis]

These are some benefits from the top of my head. But these 1h30min sessions are priceless for me as a Coach and my clients. They get the very best of me and my knowledge.

I have time to explain every little details, building strong foundations for 12 weeks before I let them go knowing they know what to do by themselves in the correct way.

February 26, 2015June 1, 2015

Why You Should Master The Art Of Nothing

How many times do you allow yourself to do nothing? No work, no writing, no worries (that’s doing something you know), no talking, no waiting, no smoking, no eating or drinking, no sleeping.

One day when I got really, really overwhelmed and realised that I will never get anything done unless I stop for a moment, I laid in my bed and, since my walls are filled with posts-it notes and dream boards, I stared at the white, empty, boring ceiling.

And there were, apparently no thoughts on my mind. At times one would pop by but I let it go past like a soft feather as if it never actually happen. Then I would take my attention back to the white ceiling.

I am not sure how long I did nothing for but the result was this:

I suddenly felt lighter, calmer and more peaceful
My mind was so free and clear, even if I had the same things to do and nothing outside of me changed
I was ready to go back to writing and replying to my emails and messages and working on my business, taking each item one at a time.
No more feeling of overwhelm
I was more productive than usual

It’s such a wonderful feeling to be so deeply relaxed mind and body, a perfect combination. You can call this a meditation or mindfulness exercise.

I call it “nothing” because I was not trying to be mindful or aware of anything, I was not focusing on my breath, of my senses, there was no aim at all.

The feeling is that you create space around you. All your thoughts come out of your head, they order nicely and when you allow them to come back you can see more clear what you have to do. Everything is in order

But can you actually do it?

The problem now is that we are so caught up in the web of things that it’s becoming difficult to do nothing.

We are so busy getting things done, making things happen that now it’s virtually impossible to stop and do nothing. I think you you’ll agree with me.

So, weirdly enough, I now actually show my students how to do nothing. And it’s a challenge for all of us. Just try it….do nothing for 2 min. Don’t touch your mouse or keyboard. Just try… can you do it right now?

We do not realize that if we respond to stress and tension with more stress and tension we make things worse. We cause tension after tension after tension. Then what?

This is just one of the elements I teach my students on my course. It’s the most simple and unexpected things which really helps them break through blocks and get them to be more focused and productive, relieve stress and tackle challenges life throws as them. So check it out, it might help you as well.

So I recommend, actually I challenge you to DO NOTHING for 5-10 min today.

Then place your comments below.

February 12, 2015March 20, 2017

What’s All The Fuss About Mindfulness

What’s all the fuss about mindfulness

“Mindfulness” is becoming a buzz word. Do you agree? I see this word every single day, many times a day and sometimes it gets to the point where it actually bothers me. You see, when everyone goes in one direction I go the other way

However, it is also a very good thing, when it’s not taking time and space out of our busy lives. My job is to simplify things for you, and not make them more complicate. So I will tell you why mindfulness is good, in simple bullet points.

Meditation??

Mindfulness is seen as meditation which by many is seen as something else to do. It’s slowly becoming a chore, another thing on the to do list, something that takes time and space. Makes you not want to do it!!

But you are wrong. Mindfulness does not have to be meditation, a chore, a to do thing on the list and in fact it creates more time and space rather than reduce it.

Pay Attention!

From now on I will refer to “mindfulness” as “attention”. Because that’s all it is to it. Mindfulness is attention. Simple…

Why is it good to pay attention (bullet points as promised):

1. Smoother interaction of the physical world.

You see the road you walk on, you stop tripping and bumping into things, you drive better, safer and smoother because you actually pay attention to the road. You are safe on the street because you pay attention to who is around you and what they are doing.

2. Peaceful connection with your inner world.

Paying attention to your thoughts and emotions is one of the first steps to a balanced lifestyle and personal development. It allows you to better understand why you feel the way you feel (happy, energetic or sad and miserable) and how to approach a situation calm and in control or everything. When you pay attention to your inner world you re-gain control over your own life.

3. Enhanced quality of life.

Better quality relationships of any kind, better communication in the office, family and social environment. Choosing quality over quantity leads to a more happier and joyful life. Would you rather live 110 years unhappy, depressed and without purpose or live 80 years surrounded by happiness, love and fulfillment? Attention bring quality to your life.

4. Less physical pain and fewer injuries.

How you use your body determines the way it functions (Alexander principle). That headache, shoulder pain, lower back pain, knee, ankle and almost any other physical pain you may experience comes as a result of body misuse. Paying more attention to your body and how you use it will save you a lot of physical pain.

5. Improved overall health.

Holistic health is about the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social life balance. You cannot think about holistic health if you are missing any of the 5 areas in your life. Paying attention to your inner and outer worlds gives you the chance to achieve that balance.

I will leave you at this. Everything else derives from these 5 blocks and you can easily see the other benefits of paying closer attention to your inner and outer worlds.

But it’s difficult…

I know very well how difficult this is. But I also know very well how simple it can be once you understand that it takes no more time than you already waste being inefficient and unproductive because you lack attention in your life and work.

It’s so easy once you see how you can easily take your focus and attention onto everything you do, takes no time and not more space. In fact it creates more time and more space.

And I’m not talking about meditation. No wasting time, no more chores and to do list items.

This is where I come in. I can show you in 30 min how to become more alert and relaxed, more focused, paying more attention and be more mindful.

It’s so simple that my clients, after just spending some time talking to me become more relaxed and mindful without me doing anything in particular.

January 10, 2015January 10, 2015

What is a walking consultation and Why I do it

I am the kind of person who talks, out loud that is, on her way to the tube station, who laughs and writes while walking.

I am most creative when I walk. Many of my article outlines are created while I walk. Webinars, workshops, they are all created when I walk. My mind seems to work best when my body is active. A possible reason is the increased blood flow to the brain. I personally blame it on space and freedom of movement and consequently freedom of thinking and creativity.

But I am not the only one engaging in walking meetings. Some psychologists hold their therapy sessions while walking around. “Bringing a little bit of movement enriches the counselling session” says psychotherapist Clay Cockrell.

Kate Hays, PhD, is the author of Working It Out: Using Exercise in Psychotherapy and she first encountered the concept of movement and therapy in the early 1980s. The idea is that rhythmic exercise, such as walking, can be conducive to the process of self-discovery.

When I walk and talk to my clients or friends who accept my invitation for walk instead of sitting in a cafe we create a unique bond. We go on an adventure together and we are in sync with each other.

When we walk we don’t feel “under the microscope” . There is a feeling of freedom and a lessened sense of confrontation. One of Dr Cockrell’s patience says that “taking four walls out of the equation helped me open up and feel more comfortable”.

When we talk about life experiences, especially depression, it is sometimes difficult to make eye contact. Walking side by side makes it easier to open up and to allow yourself to receive advice and guidance.

If we go silent there is no awkward moment. We keep walking until we decide to talk again. In a cafe we feel we have to talk, to ask or comment

Walking is a form of meditation, it allows your mind to tune out from all the chatter.

Research shows that after walking subjective perception of stress decreases significantly and may also bring about feeling uplifted. So after a consultation you can feel more energized and positive for the rest of the day.

Bottom line is that spending time in the outdoors scientifically proven makes you happier, more comfortable to talk and can be a process of self discovery.

So let’s go for a walk.

January 8, 2015May 17, 2015

3 ways to enhance your meditation experience

I was introduced to meditation and mindfulness when I was 8 years old through my Martial Arts practice. I never thought I would ever teach it though. For 20 years I practiced Zanshin, the Japanese for “state of total awareness”. I experimented in different situations and environments, from indoors in my room, to outdoors in the mountains, even in supermarkets and at parties. The fact is that mindfulness can, and should be, with us anytime and everywhere.

Today I will give you 3 of my best ways to enhance your meditation or mindfulness experience.

1. Posture

All the information is sent to and from your brain from and to all the corners of your body through your spinal cord. If you visualize your spinal cord as a garden hose, it is easy to understand why posture is probably the most important and overlooked elements on our lifestyle not only meditation.

If the hose is bent then the water is restricted from flowing. When the hose is straight the water follows its path.

The same goes for your spinal cord. When we sit or stand tall the exchange of information is free to go back and forth helping us function at our optimum level, heal faster and better, have more energy and vitality and sending nutrients where we most need them. In meditation the same principles apply, a tall spine and body allows for better flow and communication and enhanced awareness.

2. Open up your senses

Touch, smell, hear, see, taste. Depending on the circumstances you may open up all 5 senses or just some of them. Nonetheless studies show that being in a state of awareness of the world around you helps reduce stress levels, anxiety, helps focus and productivity.

In fact NHS encourages mindfulness for mental health.

So next time you are in a supermarket try this:

FEEL how your fingers and hands pick up a piece of fruit, feel its texture, temperature and shape.

SMELL the difference fragrances surrounding you while you walk around the store. The smell of freshly baked bread, spices, fruit and vegetables.

HEAR how the cart wheels roll on the ground. Hear the rustling of peoples’ clothes when you walk past them.

SEE or rather acknowledge colours, shapes, sized and names of different products around you.

You can experiment in many different ways. Acknowledge the world around you.

The same goes for when you sit and meditate. You may close your eyes and observe your thoughts, or even hear far away noises, outside your room or house.

3. Breathe

Breathing is the element which brings us in a state of total awareness. Almost every meditation exercise begins with breathing and relaxing your body.

When you focus on breathing your mind cannot wonder around. If it does then you don’t focus on breathing anymore. When this happens slowly bring your awareness back to breathing.

When you relax your body you can choose to do a full “body scan” – relaxing the top of you head, forehead, cheeks, and go all the way down to your toes. Or you could relax certain parts of you body where you hold most tension. This is normally in the face muscles, shoulders and shoulder blades and lower back. But it’s not the same for everyone, so observe where you feel tensed around the body and breathe into that part of your body, releasing more and more tension with every out breathe.

If you’d like to learn more please download my free eBook “15 Healthy Habits For The Body” or book a free consultation with me.

December 13, 2014April 21, 2015

Meditation: what, where, how and why

Meditation

What, Where, How, When & Why

Since I began incorporating meditation in my work with clients I get a constant type of feedback such as “I tried so many times but can’t empty my mind”, “I can’t sit still even for 1 min let alone 30 min” or “I get bored when trying to meditate”.

Every time I go into detail with my clients about how they meditate and what they do, they usually tell me they sit with crossed legs (uncomfortable for many), close their eyes and they try, or rather struggle, to empty their mind or quiet their thoughts.

This is one of the many misconceptions of meditation. That we have to empty our mind otherwise it’s not use. We already see it as a struggle, as a chore.

Meditation is not only about quieting your mind, but rather allowing your thoughts to pass, one by one, without judging them in any way.

What do you do while meditating

You can sit for a few minutes and focus your attention on the position of your body. Don’t change anything, just observe. That’s your meditation.
Focus your attention on different parts of your body and, as you do so, relax that part of the body you focus one. Relax your body one portion at a time.
Observe your breath. Don’t do anything, just observe it.
Visualize relaxing, passive scenes such as walking on a beach, walking through a forest, a day out fishing. This will relax your mind and release stress.
You know when you say “I was miles away”? That is a trans you were in. Whether you are on the bus watching outside the window or walking around and suddenly found yourself arriving at your destination without realizing when, that is a form of mediation, you were in a type of trans.

Where can you meditate

Anywhere really, for example:

When you sit on the bus or train focus your attention on the position of your body
When you walk focus your attention on how you walk, are you heavy or light?
When you walk again focus on relaxing your shoulders and keeping your posture, elongating your body
When you wait in a line focus your attention in the middle of your chest and breath into that spot
When you sit or lie down, you can visualize and go in a deeper meditation
Even when you run. Runner’s high is a form of meditation

How to meditate

Meditation is not an actual technique. We learn them as techniques for a reason. But it’s just about just letting go.

Whether you let go by relaxing you body, or your breath or about letting go of thoughts, anger or frustrating, it’s about allowing for a little space in your life, your mind and your heart.

Here are some tips:

Find you most comfortable position, sitting, standing, laying on your bed etc
Close your eyes and just let go, see what happens
Listen to guided meditations (you have a list at the end of this blog)
Focus in the centre of your chest and breath into that spot

When to meditate

You can literally meditate anywhere. Just not in moving vehicles please or dangerous environment

You can meditate any time of the day. You can meditate in almost any place you want, on the bus, on the train, in a forest, at the table.

When you meditate you may be running, walking, standing, sitting or lying down. You may be washing dished or doing doing some gardening. These are all forms of meditation because they all lead to awareness of yourself, of a trans-like relaxing feeling.

Why meditate?

Besides the wonderful feeling it leaves you with for the rest of the day there is scientific proof that meditation has significant benefits at a physiological and psychological level as well as emotional.

Benefits of meditation, some of them at least

Physiological changes

Relaxes your body and so reduces many aches and pains. When we walk in cold weather we tend to tens up our body until something starts to hurt. Why do we do that? We also cut blood flow which actually keeps us warm

Improves focus, memory and productivity. There are many studies regarding these benefits
Improves quality of sleep. Meditate while you are in bed for a few minutes, focus on your breath or listen to a guided meditation.
Psychological changes.

Meditation releases stress, frustrations, anger or similar feeling. Some studies suggest mediation helps with mental illnesses.

Change the brain’s plasticity, increasing grey-matter density in the hippocampus, known to be important for learning and memory, and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion and introspection.

At an advanced level you can literally reprogram your subconscious to overcome phobias, bad habits, heal yourself and more.

Help with meditation

Here are some of my favourite sources where you can get free guided mediations:

Silva method
Subliminal Guru
Omvana – this is an app, free to join but then you have to pay for some of the tracks, it’s worth it though.
Self healing meditation guided by Kelly Howell

Want even more information, sources and guidance on meditation? Don’t hesitate to book a FREE call with me and we can do a guided meditation or talk about how you can do it yourself.

Other articles

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/12/11/harvard-study-unveils-what-meditation-literally-does-to-the-brain/?utm_content=bufferc1d3b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/01/eight-weeks-to-a-better-brain/

December 8, 2014December 24, 2014

10 Habits for a Happier, Healthier Monday

Do you dread Mondays? No need to, it’s a day like all the others. But here are my top 10 tips to get your week started positive, healthy and full of energy.

1. Push yourself into an early morning WORKOUT.

Better yet do it outdoor. The fresh, crisp air will wake you up, boost your immune system and get the engine going for the rest of the week.

2. Start with a healthy, colorful BREAKFAST.

And looking forward to it the evening before.

3. Start your week with a morning MEDITATION.

It can be any type of meditation, you can do Tai Chi, walking meditation, yoga, visualization or meditate like a monk. Whatever works for you.

4. Watch and listen to INSPIRATIONAL, POSITIVE speeches and videos.

Nothing better to get your brain into thinking positive from the beginning of the week and get motivated.

Try this amazing track on youtube, one of my all time favorites 50 Positive Thoughts To Live An Awesome Life

5. Start with a SMILE.

Whoever passes your way smile, it will make you feel better and it will brighten up their day as well.

6. Morning STRETCH.

This always wakes me up and relaxes tight muscles from the night before. Don’t be too harsh on yourself, just light stretching. If you have injuries or pains leave the stretches for a bit later after your body moves a little.

7. SILENT your phone at night and don’t use it for 1 hour after you wake up.

According to some studies people who don’t check their social media or use mobile devices are more productive during the day. I would add more clear minded and have more energy. Tried and tested many years ago before reading any statistics. Try it.

8. Make someone a COMPLIMENT

Throughout the day make at least one person a compliment, it can be anyone and about anything. Like the smile this will make their day and you will feel better as well. Win-Win.

9. Start with a list of five things you are GRATEFUL for.

Appreciate the little things as much as the big, important events in your life. They are all part of you and complete your life, and the more you acknowledge them the more often they will happen to you.

10. Each time you meet someone, silently wish them HAPPINESS, JOY and LAUGHTER.

I think this is my favourite. I do all of the above throughout the week and like all of them but this is so powerful that it has to be at the top of my list.

November 21, 2014March 13, 2015

What meaning do you give to depression?

Dr Alan Cohen, a GP with a special interest in mental health, says that when people get depressed or anxious, they often feel they’re not in control of their lives.

One in Four women suffer from this biological illness (depression) at some point in her lifetime.

A child with a depressed parent is 2 to 4 times more likely to develop depression himself before adulthood.

Extensive research has shown that a mother’s depression, especially when untreated, can interfere with her child’s social, emotional, and cognitive development.

A review of studies going back to 1981 concluded that regular exercise can improve mood in people with mild to moderate depression and it can also play a supporting role in treating severe depression.

There are less people in control of their lives and more people who suffer from depression.

We need and can take control over our lives, through exercise, meditation or anything than brings us joy, calmness, mindfulness and relaxes us.

IMPORTANT: Below are some experiences I went through by myself, I do not assume it is a treatment for depression rather an experience with it (not just sadness) and how it affected me. Please do not use these ideas to replace professional medical treatment.

You give it meaning

When we have a feeling that’s all it is, just a feeling. It does not become good or bad and it does not affect us until we judge it, until we label it as good or bad.

Any experience can have many meanings and we are the ones who give those experiences the meaning in our lives. We have the power to alter the consequence of any experience we go through right this moment.

The only true meaning of any experience is the one we give it. Through meditation and other mental techniques we can also alter the meanings of past experiences.

Questions for yourself

What is the experience you are going through?

What is the meaning you give it?

What is the new meaning you give it?

It is a map for you follow

An experience can show us where we need to focus our attention if we have the wisdom to see it. And we do…

These feelings we have give us a clue that something or someone crossed our way and we are invited to explore that feeling, to ask “why am I having this feeling”, “what is the lesson I am supposed to learn”.

And so the feelings we label as negative become our friends and mentors because they teach us rather than hurt us.

Questions for yourself

Why are you having this feeling, emotion or experience?

What is the lesson you are supposed to learn?

Everything happens in cycles

Everything in our lives unfolds in cycles. Seasons, years, day and night, even ice age and global warming, they happen at shorter or longer periods of time but they are a cycle.

The same is true with our thoughts, emotions and feelings. There is a cycle if you have enough time to observe.

And you should have enough time, or make time, because it is about You, Your Family and Your Child. Isn’t that a good enough reason to “make time”?

Questions for yourself

When, in my past, has this feeling or experience happened again? Or is it a new one?

If it did happen in the past then what was it that I needed to learn and I didn’t?

What is the lesson you are supposed to learn?

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Pull when pushed and Push when pulled, follow the flow

Most modern treatments teach us how to push away the experiences and feelings which might be painful and may hurt us.

In ancient cultures and traditions such as Japanese martial Arts Aikido the opposite is true.

In Aikido you pull when pushed and push when pulled. That means that you go with the flow and the flow will show you where to go.

When we experience something that our beliefs tell us is negative or bad or may lead to negative or bad consequences, we are actually invited to allow this experience to unfold, and not to resist it, not to use strength.

This does not mean we do not follow our doctors recommendations, we do.

This does not mean we have to like it. It means that we can learn from it, we can evolve and ReCreate ourselves based on an experience which showed us a glimpse of who we really are.

Or maybe you can give it a different meaning? 😉

Questions for yourself

Am I trying to suppress my feelings and push away my experiences?

My experience taught me…

I experienced many cycles of depression from the age of 6, with and without sport and exercise. I was part of the National Karate Squat an still being depressed.

That was the result of the environment I lived in and the people I spent my time with, mainly adults with financial, personal and emotional challenges.

In the past 3 years I went through my deepest depression ever, I got over it and I found out what I loved most and what I wanted to do in life. I did not take pills, no therapies, but instead I connected with Earth and with myself and discovered something that was not there before.

At that time I did not know that my believes and interpretation of that experience was the way out of it. I did not know that training outdoor would help me in any way. I knew that being outdoor made me feel calm, clear-minded and relaxed. And that’s all I needed

But I took action nonetheless, I did not wait for it to get worse. I began training outdoor and since then I coached myself and was coached and learned how to use nature for training and achieve a healthier life.

So this is my experience and now, looking back, I can talk about the journey.

It is, however, important to remember that this is not a replacement for professional medical treatment.

There were and are many people in my life who directly and indirectly mentored me. The ideas I believe in and I expressed in this article are lessons learnt from teachers in personal development and applied in my own life whether consciously or unconsciously, but if they worked for me it does not mean they will work for every single person, we are all different.

Finally, give these lessons I learned and wrote here a meaning by yourself.