Category: New Beginnings

 Every new day seems to bring with it a fresh load of events that can make us become stressed. Ironically, even events that should normally be enjoyed have also become stress provoking.

As earlier stated, the first step to creating new beginnings is to get to know yourself as it is the key to breaking the hold that stress may tend to have on you. Having gained a knowledge of yourself as well as your capabilities, you get to know what you can handle, what to prepare for, what you should avoid and what to do when faced with stressful situations.

The next step is to arm yourself with tools to relieve stress in daily activities.

One of such tools is mindfulness meditation.

What does it mean to be mindful?

It simply means being aware of what is happening within and around you at the present moment.

To meditate means to consciously direct your attention at something in particular with the aim of gaining a better understanding of it.

Put together, Mindfulness meditation involves a conscious effort of being aware of the internal and external occurrences in the present moment. That is, being aware of what you feel RIGHT NOW, what you think RIGHT NOW as well as your bodily responses to external stimuli.  It is a non-judgmental practice whereby you live in the present moment, not dwelling on your pasts or future, just the present moment.  

This practice involves focusing primarily on your breathing and practicing deep diaphragmatic breathing. This helps to direct awareness to the mind, enable you achieve a more coherent heart rate and become conscious of your current overall functioning.

Do you know when you are breathing in or when you are breathing out?

Most times, we are unaware of this, we just breathe because that’s what human’s do. This explains why it is a CONSCIOUS effort to become aware of “breathing in and knowing that I am breathing in” and “breathing out and knowing that I am breathing out”

By practicing mindfulness meditation daily,

You overcome stress and react more positively to situations

You become healthier physically and mentally

You become less impulsive

Your memory is improved

Your relationships get better and more fulfilling

You become more productive and eliminate procrastination

You become less judgmental

You become more confident

One of the best gifts you can give yourself is to become skilled at being mindful because you can take it with you everywhere you go.

Remember to live in the moment, it’s happening right NOW!

For more life changing insights on the practice of mindfulness meditation, kindly visit our website on www.mobilehealthconsult.org and follow me on twitter @DrMorayoJimoh

Enough of living life like an ambulance, always being on an emergency mode.

STOP! …

There must be an explanation for the nagging headaches, constant mood swings, disorganization, unexplainable forgetfulness, unproductiveness, nervousness, overwhelming feelings, sleeplessness, frequent illnesses… because they cannot all just be coincidences.

It has become quite worrisome that a lot of people are really unaware of the adverse side effects their lifestyle has on their well-being only to realize when it’s too late.

Stress is a thief, don’t let it steal away your happiness and fulfillment in life. It should rather be nipped in the bud! But first, let’s understand what stress really is. It is simply our body’s reaction to circumstances of daily life especially ones that are perceived as threatening.  When this happens, certain stress hormones such as Adrenaline and Cortisol are released into our blood stream aimed at preparing our body to either face or run away from the challenging circumstance. That’s why this response is called “the flight or fight” response.

For example,

If you were faced with a threatening situation such as:

being confronted by a large snake on your way home, you will typically get frightened and notice a speedy increase in your heart rate. You’ll also begin to sweat instantly and have various thoughts running through your mind.

At that time, Adrenaline surges through your body and you may find yourself running away from that situation or at least making an attempt to escape.

Also,

A less threatening situation like getting a new job can cause some level of stress as you prepare to face the new job and prepare to fit into the work demands of the new place.

This can also be experienced in other life’s event like getting married, having children, raising children and other day to day activities.

It is important to understand that stress hormones are not necessarily “bad hormones” in fact, they are necessary for our survival as humans but when our brain is constantly required to secrete more and more of these hormones, it hinders the performance of our immune system thereby causing us to be more susceptible to physical as well as psychological illnesses.

Remember that stress hormones are released when we perceive the circumstance as threatening. It therefore means that our “perception” of every single thing we go through is key in determining whether we become stressed or not. Also, our “reactions” to situations either cause us to accumulate stress or relieve it. Sadly, more people are accumulating than relieving.

The first step towards creating a new beginning is to take out some time to become aware of our stress triggers by studying our perception and reactions to events that we are faced with every day. Also, observe the impact of your perception and reaction to these events on your well-being.

Feel free to share your own experiences with us as you learn to become more conscious of the impact of your perception and reactions to daily life events.

Kindly follow me on twitter @DrMorayojimoh and follow our blog for more juicy updates on #NewBeginnings   

Kindly accept our invitation to be a part of our meet-up group on Facebook – New Beginnings a platform to share and discuss practical techniques to improve your overall well-being.