The Basic Breathing Meditation

How we breathe on a particular state of being is very important. Normally, our breathing is automatic which we don't mind thinking of how we should breathe on certain circumstances. Like any other activity that require techniques to be able to achieve, breathing has it too. And this has been what I do whenever I caught myself under a stressful situation.

Deep breathing is known to us. This is infact what we always tell to someone who come to us in a panic state, to take a deep breathe, and is actually helpful. But aside from this, I have learned to apply the breathing meditation which has given me a more relaxing feeling even if I am in the middle of a busy day. It's just the basic and the easiest breathing meditation that I used to do during times of uncertainties. What I do is to listen to my breathing coming in and out. And while doing this I will think of  the unpleasant things happened in my life and visualized it as black ashes inside my body taking them out upon exhalation, and inhaling, visualizing white and clear ashes in. The clear ashes signifies clean air in exchange to the black. Then repeating this process until I feel relaxed and ease. Takes only 5 minutes or more, depending on how quick your body will respond to it and how your mind can be able to concentrate in your visualization. Just try it.

Building Self Esteem

Building self-esteem should start from thinking positive. How to do this is not easy, especially because at times we can't control our thoughts. The mind has something to do with how far we think over a certain situation. And worst, this create delusions which may lead to something not healthy.

It takes a lot of practice to have positive outlook in all aspects of life. That is, if you like to live happy and get less stress. It's actually normal to feel negative over an ordeal, but you can be able to deal with it through changing your mindset to a positive approach. This way, you will realized that you are detaching yourself from your problem itself. It's called problem solving. When you do this, you will feel good and you start to re-build your self-esteem.

It is being noted that for one to have self-esteem, all his/her needs should be met. This is very true. And in general, it is. But not all times since there are a lot of self-actualized people whose esteem is lost. It may be due to some internal factors in their family or relationships, that has made them low. Physical and verbal abuse are both factors which may addressed the involved person to seek professional help. Life is not perfect. For on the other side you are at the top, on the other one you're at the bottom. It's a fair share actually if you don't see it anyway. If life should have been perfect, there's no chance at all of growing into a better and stronger person, and there's no lesson to be learned at all!

Value Health Before It's Too Late

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Working as a mother or housewife is quite a stressful job, that no amount of money can compensate, nor allows you to file for a leave of absence or reasons just to give yourself a break for long vacation. It's tough. And it is tougher though when we have regrets at the end, of taking our health for granted.

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The same is true if you are working either as professional or not. The workload is at times visible thereby making you stressed and sometimes burnt you out. For most of the reasons they have is to earn more money that places their health at stake. This can usually happen to people who are workaholics and/or those who work abroad and have left their family in their homeland.

Positive Outlook

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Self-talk is the endless stream of thoughts that run through your head every day. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.

If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you're likely an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking.

The health benefits of positive thinking:

Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

• Increased life span

• Lower rates of depression

• Lower levels of distress

• Greater resistance to the common cold

• Better psychological and physical well-being

• Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease

• Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

It's unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience these health benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body. It's also thought that positive and optimistic people live healthier lifestyles — they get more physical activity, follow a healthier diet, and have reduced rates of smoking and alcohol consumption.