The Huntington Hotel & Nob Hill Spa

The San Francisco Nob Hill Spa offers tranquility, pampering, and relaxation.  With a Eucalyptus steam room,  fireplace lounge, and  infinity relaxation pool, you're able to indulge and unwind in this therapeutic environment.  Find comfort in Nob Hill Spa's rejuvenating treatments, spa cuisine, and hotel luxury for an unforgettable experience.

For more information or to book your visit now, click here: Nob Hill Spa.

6 Ways to Create a More Peaceful Workspace

To get to my desk, I have to step over a pile of clothes I’ve been meaning to put away, clear boxes of books slated for charity and dodge an “in” tray that rivals the height of my five-year-old. On my windowsill sits a forlorn fern in its final death droop. I sigh. My office is decidedly NOT Zen-like.

But oh, how I long for it to be. A desk free of clutter, with healthy plants, a place for everything and everything in its place. Those who’ve achieved it say I can expect a boost in productivity and enjoyment in work, and a decrease in stress.

Gina Mazza Hillier promises me nothing less than “greater joy” if I can see my way clear — literally. Hillier is author of Everything Matters, Nothing Matters: For Women Who Dare to Live with Exquisite Calm, Euphoric Creativity and Divine Clarity and someone who has created her own Zen-like office space in her home.

She makes it seem so easy.

When she decided to work from home, Hillier removed everything from the space that would become her office. Then, she says, everything she put into that empty space — from the paint on the walls to the fresh flowers to the whimsical artwork — was placed there with intention.

And that seems to be the key, say the experts. Creating a space that nurtures your soul, boosts creativity and productivity, and encourages success is a product of consideration. Serenity is no accident.

And don’t confuse serenity with being laissez-faire, say the experts. A serene office will help us get more work done with less stress, leading to a fatter paycheck and increased well-being. I’m convinced. So where do I start?

1. Wipe the slate clean to get serene

Like Hillier, personal organizer Betsy Simmons – dubbed the “Queen of Serene” by her clients – suggests a clean slate, whether working from home or in an office tower. “Start from scratch and designate or zone this space within it for a specific purpose,” she recommends. “Remove everything. A fresh coat of paint is a good place to start.” Steer clear of red, orange or yellow, which Simmons calls fast colors, noting that they’re usually the colors of choice for fast-food restaurants. Instead, she recommends blues, greens and lavenders…but with a bit of punch to keep you calm but moving forward.

Starting with a fresh slate, promises Simmons, means that you create an environment that will work for you.

Then determine what you need in this location. A desk is generally a given, but choose a style that suits your needs without compromising. It’s too important a piece to try and simply make do, believes Hillier. Hillier also subscribes — “lightly,” she says — in the principles of feng shui. Simmons recommends the desk be placed facing a door and without a window to your back. “Open space draws energy from you and you want strength behind you,” she explains. Get a comfortable chair that keeps your posture erect but relaxed. “Or use a ball,” suggests Simmons. “It’s great for your posture.”

2. Work the system

Create a system and work it until it’s second nature, says Regina Leeds, known as The Zen Organizer and the author of six books including the New York Times bestseller One Year to an Organized Life and One Year to an Organized Work Life (January 2009). “Another word for system in this context,” she explains, “might be ritual, habit or routine. If your day is run by the whims of others, you won’t get much done.”

Simmons agrees. “The more you can control and maintain the space, the more time you have to catch the curve balls that keep coming.” With that in mind, create zones in your office that reflect the different aspects of your work life — a priority zone, which is usually what you’re working on, a reference zone, and so on. Choose a system of organization — alphabetical, color-coded, by date or topic — that works best for you. Then stick with it, always returning things to their rightful zone.

Simmons also suggests that those of us seeking office serenity start each day with a plan. “Each minute of planning can save one hour of execution.” Then spend a few minutes at the end of the day on cleanup. “Do not pass it on until tomorrow!” she insists. “What a horrible way to start a day…by finishing up yesterday.”

3. Clear the clutter

While every magazine promises us the key to curing our lives of clutter, why do so few of us succeed? “Getting organized is a skill,” reminds Leeds. If it’s not something that we learned from parents or that comes naturally, it’s something we not only need to learn now, we need to take action to implement. With that in mind, clear anything out of your office that isn’t directly related to your work or to helping you work. That means kids’ toys (gulp), family photos (double gulp) and any extraneous stuff that isn’t currently relevant to your work or to creating a peaceful space.

4. Green and light are a go!

Bring in live plants. Not only do they help clean indoor air, they’re a positive life force. And by all means, light candles that lend an air of calm. Ensure that they’re nontoxic. Artwork that inspires is a great addition to any office space. And don’t just think of your walls. A beautiful rug can be art for your floors. Hillier includes fresh flowers in her office space. “They add to my energy,” she says.

5. Use the zone concept to get more done

Keeping in mind your office zones, tackle work in the same way. Group together tasks, such as phone calls or errands, blocking out more time than you think you’ll need to ensure that you complete tasks and complete them well. Leeds reminds us that “Time is a commodity. It can be wasted but never recovered.”

6. Work to live, don't live to work

Our work should complement our lives, giving us greater meaning, greater joy and greater balance. An office space that soothes our soul while it stokes our energy will be a place we’ll look forward to entering. It will lead naturally to a career that enriches not only our wallets, but our beings.

This post was written by Leslie Garrett for blog.gaiam.com.

3 Simple Relaxation Techniques

Tips for De-Stressing Quickly

One of the most important keys to maintain good health is the ability to relax. Relaxation is good for the body. It adjusts our hormone levels while lowering our heart rate and blood pressure. Relaxation helps us fight illness, and it heightens our mental abilities. In May of 2009, the Mayo Clinic called regular de-stressing an important technique for improving health.

You may struggle to become relaxed, or it seems to take a long time. However, there are some very simple and effective relaxation techniques available to you to help you quickly glide into a calmer mental and physical state. We all have a built-in relaxation response, and the goal is to trigger that response with simple relaxation exercises.

Adjust your environment

Find a quiet place where you can close your eyes comfortably and just "be" for a few minutes. Choose features that specifically help you mentally and physically relax, such as soft music, a comfortable chair, non-distracting lighting and agreeable room temperature. If you will be more comfortable, remove your shoes.

Guide your relaxation all the way through your body

Rest your hands on your legs just above the knees. Mentally picture the stress leaving each part of your body as you concentrate on that part. Start with your head, noticing and mentally releasing tension in your neck, face, forehead and so forth. Next, move your mental relaxation to your shoulders, then back, chest, stomach, thighs, knees, lower legs and feet. Keep your thoughts simple and gentle.

Focus on your breathing

Take deep breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth. After guiding your relaxation exercise all the way from the top to the bottom of your body, continue breathing deeply with thoughts of wellness. Pastor and motivational speaker and writer Joel Osteen recommends mental exercises during the breathing in which you think about affirmations such as:

• I am breathing in joy. I am breathing out strife.

• I am breathing in strength and healing. I am breathing out illness.

• I am breathing in refreshment and encouragement. I am breathing out defeat.

With practice, you can reach a very deep state of mental relaxation in just a few minutes, after which you will feel noticeably rejuvenated and alert. You can do each relaxation exercise on this list in tandem or separately, and you may supplement these techniques with additional tools. For example, you may choose to record a short guided relaxation exercise to listen to as you step through your personalized strategy.

Relaxation is an important part of good health, vital for maintaining clear-mindedness and overall wellness. Make time for it every day, and develop a relaxation technique that deeply relaxes you quickly. You'll find that your built-in relaxation response will make it easy to relax with just a little practice.

Give yourself a comfortable place with no distractions; gently, mentally walk through your body to release tension throughout; and couple your guided relaxation exercise and self-edifying affirmations with deep, cleansing breathing. You will find yourself not only relaxed but also alert, strengthened and more enthused for that next set of challenges.

This post was written by E.C. LaMeaux for blog.gaiam.com.

How to De-Stress in 1 Minute

Picture this: Sixty seconds of inner quiet. Of not trying to multi-task a thousand responsibilities. Of not projecting yourself into the future. Sixty seconds of listening instead of talking — or lovingly wrapping a gift rather than Grinching your way through the chore.

Believe it or not, a focused 60-second meditation stops the forward momentum of anxiety and nervousness that's so pervasive in our world. And anybody, regardless of schedule, can do it with some practice. "Take just a moment of quiet — even one brief minute of serenity is powerful," says busy mom, leadership trainer, personal development coach and spiritual counselor Dawn Groves, author of Meditation for Busy People. "You don't have to set aside a whole day for meditation," she adds. "Instead, grab what's fresh and useful from a short meditative break, and take that calm into the continuing action of your life."

Are You Too Busy?
The speed of our culture has trained us to multi-task, juggling many activities in hopes that we're being efficient.

"Busy people tend to worry about tomorrow rather than being in the here and now," says Groves. "As a result, they lose the color and freshness of life. Good things like eating a juicy apple or hearing a great piece of music happen in the moment, not tomorrow. If we're always projecting, we miss the joy of present time."

Busy-ness also induces stress and makes it hard to effectively communicate with others because you're not focused on the moment. Fortunately, meditation is a natural antidote for a busy lifestyle since it:

• Retrains you to live in the present.
• Gives you the focus to concentrate on one thing at a time.
• Helps you deal with immediate, concrete problems rather than being distracted by nebulous worries.
• Teaches you to slow down and cope with the non-specific anxiety that plagues most of us.
• Helps you respond more creatively to pressures that usually elicit habitual, knee-jerk reactions.
• Trains you to be comfortable with a quieter, more serene mind.

You can enjoy an oasis of peacefulness even in the midst of the busiest schedule. "We think meditation has to be hard or take a long time to achieve to make a difference in our lives," says Groves. "It's the 'feel the burn' mentality, but it's not applicable here." Instead, a moment or two of stillness helps clear your thoughts before a difficult phone call, calm you before a presentation, or maintain your equilibrium before facing hordes of Christmas shoppers.

"If you open yourself to a new way of viewing life, even for 60 seconds, you've made an enormously powerful start," Groves notes. First, in order to achieve a moment of serenity from the whirlwind, practice some meditation basics such as focusing on your breath.

Three Steps to Nirvana
Once you've been able to take 60-second calming meditations on a relatively regular basis, try Groves' three-step Meditation for Busy People. She recommends spending three or four minutes on each step. But if you're new to meditation or find it hard to relax, try meditating in tiny increments — two or three minutes total — and gradually increase the time you practice.

1. Relax: Slowly scan your body, releasing muscle groups one at a time. After a week or so, this process becomes easier as your body remembers how to relax automatically. Once that happens, you're ready to practice it in a 60-second scenario. Just take a couple of deep breaths and your body will unwind within seconds.

2. Center: Focus your attention completely on each inhalation and exhalation. If your thoughts wanders, bring them back to the breath. This mindfulness will calm you and bring you into the present moment.

3. Release: During this meditation wrap-up, return to waking consciousness by gradually coming back into awareness of your body and surroundings. Take a deep breath and wiggle your fingers and toes. Acknowledge yourself for taking time out and consider what you've accomplished with the experience. Now you're ready to continue your day with fresh insight.

Regardless of duration, Groves suggests you follow a structure such as the above to stay focused.

The Power of Being in the Moment
Commit yourself to this practice for at least a month, then continue from there, says Groves. "Meditate for 10 minutes a day, even if you have to shut yourself into the bathroom to do it," she urges. "Learning to meditate is like developing any new skill like playing the piano or learning how to skate. There's a clumsy, awkward growth stage when you have to be patient with yourself. Remember, you have to go slowly to achieve change." Stick with the 10- to 20-minute meditations, she promises, and you'll soon be ready to do effective 60-second meditations following the same three steps - calming, watching the breath, and releasing - whenever stress rears its head.

Finally, give meditation a chance. You may not feel results immediately, but as you practice it more, you'll notice that you're not as caught up in daily dramas and you're able to step back from stressful situations and see your path more clearly. Perhaps you'll cultivate patience when you're stuck in traffic, or you'll find the resources to creatively redirect your kids' energies when they're quarreling.

"Through meditation, we develop appreciation for the process of living, not just the end result. It's the getting there that counts - the actual practice itself," Groves emphasizes. "The decision that you're going to take time every day to meditate builds character and the skills that enhance your life."

This post, written by Laura Kallenbach, was taken from blog.gaiam.com.

Learn to Live Simply through Happy and Hard Times

Find lightness in your life with the art of letting go

Less is more

Living simply is paring away — stuff, obligations, expectations, people. It’s removing all the glut and rubble from your life, making space in your house, your heart, your brain and your life for exactly and only what you need. It’s getting down to the core of things and returning to a way of living that most of us can only vaguely remember: pleasures that don’t cost piles of money, rewards you don’t have to buy in stores, amusements that don’t require a screen or scrabbling with hundreds of other people to get to.

When I say live simply, I’m not talking about picking up a copy of one of those make-your-life-simple magazines at the checkout counter of the health food store for $4.95 and doing all the really pretty expensive things they tell you to do, like paint every piece of your living room furniture the same uplifting color of pea green. I’m talking about the practice of simplicity in all its forms as a kind of human grace and peace, about being present in every moment with the softest, smallest thing you can be present with —washing dishes, taking out the trash, choosing what you wear and eat and listen to, what you choose to throw away, what you save and use again. Simplicity can be as simple as sweeping the leaves from the path and using them to mulch the ferns, cutting up your old T-shirts and using them for rags, refolding and reusing a brown paper bag.

We feel good — hopeful, alive, optimistic — when we live simply because we can relax, knowing that we’re part of the solution and not part of the problem. We are not putting ourselves or the rest of the world in jeopardy by taking more than what is rightly ours. When we live simply we are able to rest in the peace that simple living brings: a quieting of the endless mental chatter and the agitation to have more, a simplicity of movement and action in the passage of each day. Time to sit still, to talk with your children, to stare into your lover’s eyes, to read a book, to water a tree, to pray.

Simplicity and hard times

It’s good to live simply when things are going well, but when life is difficult, it is essential. That’s because every object, habit, movement, conversation, undertaking, responsibility and reaction takes energy. The more people, circumstances, widgets, emails, objects, people and tasks you’re dealing with, the less energy you have. If your daily to-do list is already burning up all the calories you can cobble together from dawn till dusk on a “normal” day, where are you going to get the extra energy to deal with the flood in the basement, the banker banging at the door, all those extra trips to the lab and the X-ray department when the unbearable, or the unexpected, shows up in your life?

We are energetic beings, and in a single life we get only so much energy. Do you want to use yours sorting out your storage — as one person I know does practically every Saturday, rooting through her mother’s old tablecloths — or do you want to go fishing, feel the beauty of your humanity, breathe in the majesty of the elm trees, see the bleeding colors of the sunset? We came to life not to be saddled with junk, but to feel ourselves and the mystery of life. You will need to live simply through this crisis or else you won’t have enough energy to get through it. Once you have lived through it, you will understand more about what’s really important in life. In fact, maybe that’s why it showed up in the first place.

Our life’s purpose is not simply to amass more and more stuff, but in spite of the attraction of all our stuff, the seduction of all our material attachments, to connect with the depth of who we are. If you don’t live with simplicity through these hard times, chances are you won’t make it through. Instead of being a teaching, an opportunity or a transformation, the terrible thing you’re going through now will chew you up and spit you out: sick, addicted, friendless, bitter, maybe even suicidal or dead. Is it worth it, hanging on to every little thing you’re attached to, when, simply by having the courage to cut through some of the caked-on layers of stuff, you can regain your energy? Your disaster is asking you to learn to live simply so that, instead of being a dead-end trip, it can become the doorway to a powerful new chapter of your life.

Living simply and you

There is both a general urgency and immediate personal payoffs for living simply. When we simplify our lives, we become more available to other life experiences. What these new opportunities might be will only be revealed once you’ve taken the steps to simplify your life. Imagining the peace, the energy and the surprises that await you as a consequence of choosing to live more simply, how would you answer the following questions?

•What are 10 things you could get rid of immediately? Who could you give them to, so they remain helpful and useful, rather than throwing them away to join the 99 percent of manufactured goods that are in landfills? Can you commit to getting rid of ten things every week or once a month?

•What is an ongoing practice of conscious simplicity that you’d be willing to commit to, starting today?

•What are the rewards — concrete, emotional and spiritual — that you would like to receive from this committed movement toward simplicity? Spending less of your time dealing with possessions? Saving money? Living in a less cluttered and more beautiful environment? Cultivating a feeling of well-being, of sharing with others, of personal responsibility for the environment? Having more resources — ideas, energy, money — to focus on your current crisis or on other important problems? Increasing your spiritual connection to others and your community? Increasing the sense of peace in your own life?

“Do what you can. Where you are. With what you have.”

— Theodore Roosevelt

These are excerpts from the post Learn to Live Simply through Happy and Hard times, written by Daphne Rose Kingma for blog.gaiam.com.

Nurture Yourself Moment to Moment

How to Listen to Your Body and Give it What it Needs

Choosing moment to moment to connect to healthy resources requires commitment, courage and kindness; it provides you with a steady foundation and a deep sense of inner peace.

Learning to listen to your body and to tap into healthy resources is an ongoing practice that needs to be embedded in the fabric of your life, into your daily routines and activities. It is important to remember to nourish and nurture yourself, no matter what the situation. The airlines have it right when they tell us to put our own oxygen mask on before assisting those around us. This may require a change in what you pay attention to. If most of your daily attention goes outside of yourself — pleasing and accommodating others or fitting in, even to your detriment — you will need to change this orientation. Balancing your attention inside and outside of yourself will give you a new ability to make healthy decisions. In fact, you may find holding a therapeutic presence for someone else pleasurable and easy when you are listening more to your inner world and nourishing yourself sufficiently.

Take daily steps

To begin practicing, choose something small but honestly doable in your life as it is now. After my father died, my mom made sure that she shared one meal a day with someone else in order to stay in contact with the nurturing people in her world. This simple choice helped her stay connected in a way that was easy for her at the time. Nine years later, her network of friends and activities is rich and wide. And it all began with one easy daily step.

Every person is unique; what is nourishing for you may not be nourishing for someone else. Ultimately, only you can know and choose what is most nourishing for you in any given moment. I am reminded of my mom and dad, who found going to an inspiring film a wonderful way to relax and replenish their energy stores. They had entirely different ideas, however, about what makes for an inspiring film. So, they would go to the multiplex cinema together, but each would attend a different inspiring film. They met afterward for tea and sharing. This is an excellent example of holding a healthy boundary — nourishing oneself and having it work well for others, too.

At the heart of this principle is the fact that it is not enough to know how to connect to your nourishing resources, because it is paramount also to give yourself permission to make healthy choices on a regular basis. Then the habit grows strong enough to support you when things get stressful. Regular practice, daily if possible, is a primary tool for building and maintaining a nourishing energy flow in your body. It is then easier to discern which resources are healthiest and perhaps most pleasurable for you in any given moment. To keep your navigational system fully operational, maintain a solid baseline of energy so you can make better decisions in your life.

Practice healthy habits

It also takes courage to walk your own path of health. Often in our culture, the media bombards us with ways to fill the dreaded emptiness, to numb pain, and to disconnect with a variety of addictions — including excessive shopping, drugs, alcohol, sex, television, Internet surfing. The strategy behind any addiction is avoidance of some part of ourself and the pain or anxiety that comes up with it. Although addictive substances and actions may temporarily ease the pain, ultimately they are life-taking — sucking the energy out of what is healthy, creative and nourishing in our lives.

Having the presence of mind to choose to refill in a healthy manner, so that you can meet and dissolve pain in life-enhancing ways, means that you are generating new energy habits. These new habits will lead to a lifetime of wellness on many levels. Whenever you start feeling doubtful, fearful or empty, let those feelings be a signal to you. Let them remind you to feel your feet, to connect to the rich energy of the earth, to take a slow, deep breath, to say a prayer, to take a walk, or to do whatever nurtures and fills you up in a healthy way.

Choosing healthy resources from moment to moment is our birthright, and it is always an option. There are all kinds of healthy resources. Here are a few to kickstart your exploration: peacefully resting in your favorite chair, reveling in the warm sun at the beach, hiking in the mountains, feeling a breeze blow through your hair, floating in a pool of water, slowing and deepening your breath, meditating, savoring a quiet cup of tea while your child is at preschool, or calling a good friend to catch up.

Choose nurturing touch

One of the most important resources we can choose for ourselves is the nurturing physical touch. Getting bodywork is one of my favorites. Nurturing touch of all kinds fills me up wonderfully. My system needs different kinds of bodywork, depending on where I am in that moment, but a good massage is always great for slowing down and refilling.

The most valuable healing bodywork for me has been CranioSacral therapy, because it enabled me to heal years of chronic pain and feel more of my body’s internal landscape in a pleasurable way. I still return to it regularly to stay clear and healthy in a world full of stress and deadlines. When I forget to schedule regular bodywork sessions or other nurturing experiences, I find myself slipping into working harder than I need to and feeling less energized, with less present moment awareness.

Keep moving

The other most valuable healthy resource in my life has been movement. Whether it is a good daily walk or a retreat with days of internally inspired movement, I come away feeling juicy and more alive.

Brainstorm your own particular list of things that nurture you in a healthy way. One day it might be to take a long soak in bath salts. Another day it might be a long run followed by a sports massage. Another day it might be getting to spend time with good friends, sharing activities that you all enjoy. It could be listening to inspirational music that feeds your soul. Explore new ideas and activities, and keep adding to your list. Be a detective on your own behalf, constantly ferreting out what nurtures you in a healthy, pleasurable way.

And, please don’t criticize yourself when you find yourself feeling disconnected. Be as kind to yourself as you would be to a good friend. Explore the place within that feels disconnected, and hold it with unconditional love. Do this as often as necessary until the sense of separation subsides. In some cases, simply remembering what it feels like to be connected and full is enough. Remember your intention to heal, to reclaim your energy and dreams, and remember the practices that restore you. Do one of them, even if only briefly. Full Body Presence is a moment-by-moment process, which becomes more natural the more you practice it. Eventually, it will be as natural to you as breathing. A sense of steadiness and inner peace will become a part of your daily existence, and you will know you have entered into communion with life itself.

This post was written by Suzanne Scurlock-Durana for blog.gaiam.com.

The Power of the Present

4 Tips on Living for the Now

What does being present really mean? It means being here, completely here, right this moment. It means that this is all there is. There is no tomorrow or even a yesterday or a later today. Now is all that exists. Harnessing the power of the present means having your full awareness on the task at hand and merging with the moment. It’s realizing that this instant in time is unlike any you’ve experienced before or will experience again. The now is here, and that’s all there is.

Being present is the art of the soul. Your mind is at rest because there is nowhere else to go and nothing else to do. There is no past to haunt you or pull you backward. And there is no future to wish for or fantasies to maintain. Being present is truly the demonstration of “this is as good as it gets,” because nothing is real except this very moment. And now that that moment is gone, there is only this moment. Time passes, but you remain in the eternal state of now ... the state of love.

When you become present to these words and let go of wrestling with time and resisting what is, you will feel a level of peace, relaxation, love, and contentment that can be accessed only in this moment. This is why it is called the precious present - because when you are in it, it is the greatest gift you will ever give yourself.

Being present means being completely aware of all that is. It means you’re not in denial, you’re not pretending, and you’re not avoiding. When you are grounded in the present - feeling your feelings, listening to your body, tasting your food, and expressing your ideas - you do not build up toxicity. You digest your experience as you go. If you just found out, for example, that a friend of yours got hurt or that you’ve lost a family member, you will feel sad. But if you allow your feelings to move through you and be digested, you’ll discover that you don’t have to drag the feelings of that moment into the next moment.

While your past can inform you and your future can inspire you, the moment of choice exists in the here and now. By relinquishing your obsession with the past and your fantasies about the future, you can tap into the power of the present, and feel the force of love that resides inside of you.

Cleansing rituals

• As you go about your life today, imagine that the present moment is all that exists. There is no past to overcome and no future to race toward. Ask yourself if what you’re doing, thinking, feeling and experiencing in this moment is bringing you joy and fulfillment. If it is, continue doing what you’re doing. If it’s not, make a different choice.

• Start a present-moment awareness practice today. For five minutes each hour, practice getting present. You could:

• Go outside into nature and become aware of your surroundings. Get present to the earth, to the sand, to a tree, to a flower.
• Lightly run your hands over your body to get present to your own skin, and then tune in to the sounds around you - a plane flying overhead, a dog barking, a bird tweeting.
• When you’re on the phone with a friend, listen to them as though you’ve never heard such beauty and inspiration. Listen to the sound and quality of their voice. Listen to their words, even if a complaint, with awe and fascination. Feel your body as you’re listening. Tune in to all the sensations. Allow your awareness to take in the taste in your mouth, the thought in your mind, the motion in your body, just as they are.

• Take a shower and become present to all that is going on in and around your body. Notice your skin, your heartbeat, your breath and the feel of the water traveling from your head to your toes.

• Write out a letter to yourself today. If you were completely present to the sacred vessel and vehicle of your body, how would you care for it? What would you want to say to it? What love and gratitude would you want to express?

This post, taken from blog.gaiam.com, was written by Debbie Ford.

The Best Relaxing Sounds Ever

Positive Thinking Exercises

4 Steps to prove self-worth and settle for nothing less than success

Today, millionaires, happy people, and celebrities have come forward to discuss their loyalty to positive thinking exercises. In fact, so many have pledged allegiance to the power of positive thinking that you’ve likely given it a try. However, what you’ve probably realized is what many of these celebrities and successful individuals have been saying all along — thinking positively isn’t easy.

Like any other skill, you have to learn positive thinking. And you need to have a list of positive thinking exercises that you can rely on to block out the negative and embrace the good in your life. Here are some positive thinking tips that may take some time to implement, but can change the way you think.

Positive speaking exercises

According to RN Center’s nursing library, positive speaking can help you achieve positive results. When you say phrases like “I can’t;” “I’m not good enough;” and “I’m a bad mother, worker, person, etc.,” you start to believe that this is the truth. Instead, convince yourself that you are good enough to succeed by not only telling yourself that you can, but also repeating your affirmations — tell yourself that you’re good enough to deserve success.

Positive thinking exercises

RN Center’s nursing library recommends using a popular psychotherapy tool — creating a positive thought. Let the negative thoughts that begin to overwhelm you act as a trigger for the positive thought you’ve stored in your mind. For example, train yourself that as soon as you begin to think a negative thought like, "I'm a failure," switch tracks to your pre-stored positive thought, which could be something like, "I'm a great friend and a hard worker." Thinking negatively has the same effect as speaking negatively — you begin to convince yourself that your life is negative; you can’t be happy! When you train yourself to consciously choose positive thoughts, you choose happiness.

Negativity exercises

Even when thinking positively, you will experience some negative events in your life. However, you can choose to use those negative events as teaching tools rather than dwelling on them as exhibits of your failure. When you think of a negative event, do so in an analytical, academic way. Pick out the problem, and determine how to correct it in the future. But most of all, remember that what happened is in the past, and dwelling on it can only mean more failure.

Praising yourself exercises

When you do something well, give yourself praise. Often times, we’ve been raised to think this shows vanity. It doesn’t! It shows that you love yourself and want to improve your well-being. Every time you do something well, repeat praise for yourself in your thoughts. Also, store those positive moments in your memory bank for the future, when you can dwell on them to remind yourself that you are capable and worthy of success.

This post was written by E.C. LaMeaux for blog.gaiam.com. 

Click here to purchase my ebook 101 Affirmations for the Mother-to-Be.

Creating Your Own Wellness Plan

Someone recently asked me, “What steps do I take to work towards better health?” Here’s what I said.

When someone realizes they want/need to work towards better health, there are certain steps to take in order to create lasting lifelong changes. The first step is figuring out what needs to change. Look at your lifestyle and determine where you need to improve. It can be in the areas of nutrition, fitness, emotional wellness, stress control, relationships and even spirituality. Determine which areas need work and start there.

The next step is to design a realistic plan with mini goals. To overhaul your routine is temporary and destructive to your self esteem and well being. To set a realistic goal (ex: drink more water, exercise 1 more day than the week before, no eating off of anyone else’s plates, etc.) and achieving it builds self esteem and confidence to continue.

You know where your struggles and greatest obstacles lie. For some people, it’s finding time for fitness. For others it’s dealing with binge/emotional or mindless eating. For some it’s finding better outlets for stress control. Whatever you’re struggling with most is the first place to start because that’s what’s holding you back from looking, feeling and living your best.

The key is to determine what needs “tweaking” so that you put yourself on the road to better health. Believe it or not, even spending time with positive, optimistic people as opposed to negative, pessimistic people is a step in the right direction. Happy, upbeat people actually support and strengthen our immune system!

What change will you make today? Comment and share!

This post was written by Debi Silber for WorkingMother.com.

Exercise in the Early Stages of Pregnancy

Overview

Keeping up with physical activity during pregnancy can help you maintain a healthy pregnancy weight and fight fatigue. It also helps improve endurance, which prepares you for the long hours of labor and delivery as well as recovery. Many forms of moderate exercise can be done during the first trimester. However, certain activities will require extra precautions and others should be avoided entirely.

Benefits

Exercise does more than control weight, fight fatigue and boost endurance during pregnancy. Regular physical activity throughout pregnancy will also help you prevent pregnancy-related conditions such as gestational diabetes and high blood pressure. According to MayoClinic.com, exercise also wards off postpartum depression. Regular exercise also reduces pregnancy discomforts such as back pain. Work up slowly to exercising 30 minutes daily to maximize these benefits.

Precautions

Your body craves a bit more rest and care during pregnancy, but it is safe to engage in light to moderate physical activity during early pregnancy. According to the American Pregnancy Association, exercise will not increase your risk for miscarriage. However, you should take extra precautions to avoid exhaustion and dehydration. If you enjoy no-contact team sports, inform anyone playing with you of your pregnancy.

Pregnancy-Safe Exercises

Many low-impact exercises are appropriate during pregnancy. Walking 30 minutes daily has the benefits of moderate aerobic exercise without putting considerable strain on your body. MayoClinic.com also recommends swimming, stationary cycling and rowing during pregnancy as well. In addition, some hospitals and fitness centers offer yoga or other low-impact exercise classes specifically for pregnant women.

Exercises Requiring Modification

During early pregnancy, you can likely continue weight training activities with some changes. According to the American Pregnancy Association, exercises that strain your lower back muscles should be avoided. Your lower back will become increasingly strained as pregnancy progresses. Pass on heavy weights and use smaller weights or bands to improve tone. For cycling or hiking, stick to the even terrain of tracks and roads to prevent falling injuries.

Exercises to Avoid

While most exercises are safe during early pregnancy, you should avoid certain activities all together. Avoid contact sports such as rugby, tackle football or wrestling during pregnancy. Additionally, stay away from activites with a high fall risk such as downhill skiing and skating. You can do exercises that involve lying flat on your back before the end of the first trimester. In the second and third trimester, these exercises should be avoided as lying in this position will reduce blood flow to your baby.

This post was written by Kristin Leigh for LiveStrong.com.

Chronic Stress and its Toll on the Busy Working Mom

How does chronic stress show itself? We see it in the form of digestive problems, irritability, insomnia, unstable mood, skin disorders, aging, weight gain, fatigue, poor wound healing, muscle tension and strain, back and neck pain, upper respiratory infections, a suppressed immune system, a range of diseases and more. The list is endless.

Many of us combat the symptoms of stress by self medicating behaviors such as overeating, binge eating behavior, emotional eating, mindless eating, overspending, drinking, smoking and other reckless behaviors designed to numb, calm or distract us from our stress.

The only effective way to deal with stress is by first understanding how your body reacts to stress (shallow breathing as opposed to deep and relaxed), poor digestion, overheating, sour stomach, muscle tension, etc. Once that's identified, it's important to identify the stress trigger (people, place, action, event) which causes you stress. Once you've found that answer, you may want to accept the idea that the stress trigger probably won't change... but the way you handle it can.

Of course, when it comes to reducing our stress, we can simply take on less. Most of our stress is self imposed based on expectations we've designed for ourselves. While it's true that a working mom can probably handle more than what's humanly possible, it doesn't mean it's not taking its toll on the way we look, feel and live. Also, when we find ways to take on less we are often better able to stay true to what's really important to us. 

How can you stress less? I'd love to know-comment and share!

This blog post was written by Debi Silber for WorkingMother.com.

Inside-Out Beauty

Rubbing a lemon peel all over your body may help exfoliate your skin, but you won’t get a shot of vitamin C unless you squeeze the juice in your mouth. And yet, for most of the spa world, wellness is an outside job. We rub, scrub, and wrap ourselves in the most nutritive substances imaginable, from fruits and veggies to antioxidant-rich herbs, with the idea that their attributes will improve our well-being. But these ingredients only penetrate the most superficial layers of the skin. Putting fruits and veggies in your skincare concoctions amounts to playing with your food.

Fortunately, a newer crop of spa treatments are looking at health from the inside out. They include an added component: a drink, elixir, or nutritional supplement, to be imbibed during the spa stay. Not only are guests pampered on the outside, they are enriched internally. It makes so much sense, one wonders: why didn’t we think of this earlier?

In fact, some of us did. Traditional Chinese Medicine has long combined both external and internal therapies, such as acupuncture and reflexology with an herbal tea, made from a customized blend of herbs. Of course, in ancient times, such treatments were rarely offered in settings as sumptuous as that of the Spa at the Four Seasons Biltmore, in Santa Barbara, California, where Zen-inspired wellness rituals are performed in an ocean-view, Italianate pavilion decorated with Venetian plaster walls, hand-knotted silk rugs, and tile fountains.

The Biltmore offers four different Chi East Asian Rituals focusing on detoxification, slimming, body-sculpting and cellulite reduction, and hand and foot care. They are designed to create clear pathways for the optimal flow of “chi,” or life force, throughout the body.

Each treatment also includes an elixir, a blend of herbs traditionally used in Chinese medicinal treatments. For instance, the Jade Total Body Detox includes the “Detox Blend,” a mildly sweet-tasting supplement containing key ingredients designed to speed up the elimination of toxins and pollutants. The formula includes dandelion root, an anti-microbial ingredient that helps clear the liver, and burdock root, which support the body’s normal cleansing process by moistening the intestines and promoting bowel movements. Ginseng, a popular Chinese herb, helps to balance the intestinal tract, strengthen the digestive organs, and increase circulation. Licorice, an anti-inflammatory ingredient, also has a balancing effect on the gastrointestinal tract.

“For thousands of years, Traditional Chinese Medicine has incorporated a wealth of knowledge about the healing powers of herbs,” says Gena Downey, director of publicity at the Four Seasons Biltmore. “We wanted to bring this series of beneficial treatments to the spa to honor that heritage and to offer the healing benefits to our guests.”

The Eau Spa at the Ritz-Carlton in Palm Beach, Florida takes a more fanciful approach. The spa, with its modern-Gothic décor, disco ball in the steam room, and cupcakes in the spa lounge, has a distinctively sybaritic feel. That spirit of indulgence is reflected in the spa’s Bejeweled collection of facials and body treatments, which pair the anti-aging benefits of platinum with the healing properties of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. The Platinum and Diamond Facial, for instance, involves painting a guest’s face with fairy wing-thin sheets of genuine platinum. The guest also drinks a dose of an elixir that has been infused with plant extracts as well as the energy of the gemstone.

“The Awaken Diamond formula, when imbibed or applied to the body, triggers neurological brain responses that lead to clarity of mind, enhanced memory, and focus,” says Fredericka Fairchild, a Shelter Island, New York-based psychotherapist who creates the potions. “The elixirs are distilled in crystal bowls and sunlight during new and full moons in the tradition of Tibetan Medicine. Each elixir is intended to balance the chakras and have specific nourishing effects on the mind, body, and spirit.”

For those who prefer their internal benefits a little more rooted in conventional science, the Spa at the Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley, California, offers the Aquamarine Body Wrap, a seaweed-based treatment featuring highly concentrated marine clay to fortify the body’s natural detoxification process. At treatment’s end, a remineralizing Oligomer cocktail strengthens and balances with key minerals.

“By incorporating a nutritional supplement into the spa treatment, the health benefits of the treatment are extended,” says Spa Director Chris Hilburn. “I think supplements will become an increasingly popular part of the spa in the future.”

In the meantime, even spas that don’t include supplements as part of their menu of therapies offer nutritional boosts in the form of the drinks and snacks in their spa lounges. Perhaps none do it with more savoir-faire than New York City’s Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa, which specializes in “vinotherapie,” or spa treatments made with the antioxidant-rich byproducts of wine production. Guests relax in the “French Paradox Lounge,” so-named for the paradoxical-seeming notion that the French indulge in wine and eat rich foods, yet maintain good health and svelte figures. The French Paradox Lounge features an in-house sommelier, who offers guests a selection of vintages, including reds, whites, and a rose, along with fruits, nuts, and an assortment of teas.

“Drinking good wine in moderation is good for your health and well-being, and has been part of the French tradition for centuries,” says Spa Director director Joyce Davis.

Certainly the healing rituals of the spa—the steam and sauna, the relaxing body therapies, the skin-soothing facial treatments, and the deliciously unstructured time spent unwinding in spa lounges—have a positive impact on our overall health and well-being. Adding nutritional supplements to the mix helps us to remember that health is an inside job.

This post was written by Katherine Stewart for HealingLifestyles.com.