Tuesday's Change Week 25 - Revision Time

Like in previous weeks I've given you all a week off to catch up, refresh and re-focus on the previous changes. So this week you'll be doing just that.

Here is a re-cap of the changes made over the last few weeks.

Gratitude - Click Here

Green Tea - Click Here

At home Fitness - Click Here

Chia Seeds - Click Here

Sweet Potatoes - Click Here

Meditation - Click Here

No drink with meals - Click Here

Was there something you feel you should give another go? Or try harder with? Is there one you just didn't really understand and need to ask me a few questions? I'm here to answer or help whenever you need me.

Best of luck and enjoy revision week!

Tuesday's Change Week 23 - Meditation

When was the last time you just took 5 minutes and stopped and did absolutely nothing? I bet you can't even remember. In the age of technology where we constantly have something to do and distract us it is becoming less and less frequent that people take time out. 

Sleeping doesn't count as you are not consciously doing nothing. You are unconscious doing nothing.

How can doing nothing be good for you? Well read on and I'll explain.

Some of the most successful, healthy and happy people partake in regular meditation. Just ask them and they attribute their success to this regular and easy practise.  They say the most important time to meditate is the time when you don't have time to meditate!  This seems silly I know but when you think about it it's the time when your body and mind are in most need of a break.

This is probably one of the toughest challenges I have set you so far. Trust me I find this hard, as do many other 'regular meditators' I know. But like anything it takes practise and commitment to work. 

Physical Benefits of Meditation

With meditation, the physiology undergoes a change and every cell in the body is filled with more prana (energy). This results in joy, peace, enthusiasm as the level of prana in the body increases.

On a physical level, meditation:

• Lowers high blood pressure
• Lowers the levels of blood lactate, reducing anxiety attacks
• Decreases any tension-related pain, such as, tension headaches, ulcers, insomnia, muscle and joint problems
• Increases serotonin production that improves mood and behavior
• Improves the immune system
• Increases the energy level, as you gain an inner source of energy

Mental Benefits of Meditation

Meditation brings the brainwave pattern into an Alpha state that promotes healing. The mind becomes fresh, delicate and beautiful. With regular practice of meditation:

• Anxiety decreases
• Emotional stability improves
• Creativity increases
• Happiness increases
• Intuition develops
• Gain clarity and peace of mind
• Problems become smaller
• Meditation sharpens the mind by gaining focus and expands through relaxation
• A sharp mind without expansion causes tension, anger and frustration
• An expanded consciousness without sharpness can lead to lack of action/progress
• The balance of a sharp mind and an expanded consciousness brings perfection

Meditation makes you aware - that your inner attitude determines your happiness.

Other Benefits of Meditation

Emotional steadiness and harmony

It cleanses and nourishes you from within and calms you, whenever you feel overwhelmed, unstable, or emotionally shut down.

Meditation brings harmony in creation

When you meditate, you are in the space of vastness, calmness and joy and this is what you emit into the environment, bringing harmony to the Creation/planet.

Personal Transformation

Meditation can bring about a true personal transformation. As you learn more about yourself, you’ll naturally start discovering more about yourself.

Check out this link here for more information and where I got the list of benefits above.

So how do you start meditating? 

There are no 'rules' when meditating, each person has to find what best works for them. There is also no 'destination' or 'end game' with meditation. People often say to me 'I tried meditating but I got distracted or thought of other things so I just can't do it'. 

Please remember this is ok! Very few people can sit for longer than a few minutes and not have any thoughts. As you become more and more au fait with meditation the spaces of 'nothingness' will become longer and longer. Just the mere act of trying to meditate is beneficial so please don't become disheartened. 

For me I feel one of the biggest reasons people don't meditate is they are afraid to be alone with themselves. It sounds strange but rarely people are faced with just being them, no front or distraction or anything to hide behind. But remember this is ok and this is the biggest hurdle to overcome and begin to transform your life.

I find guided meditations work best for me. I need someone telling me what to do otherwise I get too distracted. There is a wealth of good meditations on you-tube you just need to find one for you that you like. Certain ones I don't like the person's voice or it's too long or too short, too much talking or not enough talking.

Try searching 'Guided Meditation' in your search engine or video search, select one for the time length of 5-10 minutes to begin with. Sit or lie comfortably and see how you get on.

The challenge is to try and do 5-10 minutes of meditation a day for the next 7 days!

My Top Tips are:
1) Set aside a time each day to do it. A time where you won't be disturbed or distracted.
2) Set an Alarm on your phone or clock so you won't be tempted to check the time.
3) Sit comfortably. Ideally with back straight and upright.
4) Focus on your breath and keep coming back to that when you are distracted
5) Just be. Sit there, breath and just exist for a few minutes. No judgement, no pressure to be anyone. Just be you.

As always any questions or tips needed just contact me I'll be happy to help!

Namaste Jeanies!

Tuesday's Change. Week 4. Get more sleep!

Final Tuesday's Change of January. You are 4 weeks in now and doing so well. Any little changes will make such a difference, you just have to stick with it!

People have been sending me pictures and comments about how they are feeling better and sticking to the plan. Keep going and these will become habit very soon! As always I'd love to hear from you so send me any pictures, questions or comments on how you are getting on.

This week's change sounds simple but in fact is a difficult one to do! We all know we need more sleep but do we really know how much? And why? It varies from person to person how much is needed but a good ball park is 6-8 hours.

Step 1 of getting more sleep is figuring out how much sleep you are currently getting.

Step 2 is to try and increase this.

Step 3 Try and increase the quality of this sleep.

Check out the article I wrote about sleep a few months back. It contains lots of statistics on how much sleep top athletes get to be in peak performance, things that can interrupt your sleep and also tips on how to sleep better. You can find the link here.

OK I know this isn't the easiest thing to do, especially anyone who has children. I'm not going to pretend I know what it's like but the idea here is to try and get as much sleep as possible in your current lifestyle. Not only that but to try and get a better quality of sleep than you are getting at the moment.

So let's start at the beginning. Why do we need more sleep? If we don't feel tired then why bother?

Prevent/cure minor illnesses:
During sleep the body heals and recovers from the barrage of abuse we put it though throughout the day from our movements, the food we eat, chemicals absorbed through food, air and touch. Our immunity and other cells naturally die and need regenerating to fight infections and minor illnesses. This regeneration all happens when you are asleep. 

Prevent diseases:
Lack of sleep and conversely too much sleep have also been linked to many serious diseases such as: Diabetes, 
Stroke, 
Coronary heart disease, 
Obesity and 
Aanxiety. 
You can read more on this here. Sleeping helps the body recover and reverse the effects of these diseases either helping with their symptoms or aiding the reverse of the disease itself.

Rest our body and mind:
We spend so much of our time thinking, making lists, planning, stressing and worrying about things. We need to take a rest. The mind needs to switch off. Even when you are relaxing and feeling 'stress free' your body still has to remember to breath, beat your heart, stay standing etc. So the only way to truly rest the mind is through sleep and meditation.

OK so now you know why you need to sleep, how can you get more sleep?

Aside: These tips will also significantly help children get more and better sleep meaning you can do the same!

1) Ditch the electronic devices. 
We have a 'No Technology' rule in our bedroom and I think it's one of the best things you can do. How much time do we waste watching TV in bed or being on your phone or laptop, on FB or Netflix? (Ironically most people will probably be in bed right now reading this!). Not to mention it might make you actually connect and talk to your partner more!

The light that is emitted from these devices plays havoc with your melatonin, your sleep hormone. The lights trick your brain into thinking it's day time and so your body prepares you to be awake. This significantly hinders you from falling asleep. Ideally you should have a 'black out' situation in your bedroom where there is no light what so ever from anything, street lights, clock radios, phones or chargers etc. Cover these with black tape or cloth if possible. Or ban them completely!

As you begin to approach bedtime, put away the phone, the laptop, switch off the tv, dim the lights and turn on low light lamps. These all resemble sun set and so the hormones in the body begin to prepare you for sleep mode. Resist any temptation to 'just check the phone one last time'. If someone needs you, really needs you, then they will contact you! 

We got a Lumie Alarm clock for the bedroom and I think it's one of the best purchases I've ever bought. My husband loves it and says it really helps him sleep better. You can find out about them here. Basically it is a lamp and an alarm clock that mimic sun rise and sun set  and so allows the body's hormones to naturally prepare you for sleep and being awake. So instead of going from bright light to dark in the evening and dark to bright light in the morning it slowly allows the body to adjust the the level of light. It's so much nicer to wake up in the morning to a gradual bright light as opposed to a loud sharp noise from an alarm clock. (Don't worry it has a back up noise in case you really are in a deep sleep!) We all know that feeling we get when we wake up naturally on a day off. You can have this every day! It will set you up for an amazing day of well rested activity. Trust me! Check out this great video on how this works.

2) Read a book.

Books are the greatest gift you could give anyone. And no, you can't use a kindle, the light from these, no matter how dimmed, will also disrupt the sleep hormone. I join the library every year. It's €15 and you have access to any book you desire. If they don't have it they will order it for you, no charge. They also have DVD box sets, travel guides, CDs, listening books, kids books, the list goes on and on. You can take 2 items out for 2 weeks and renew online if you won't be finished them on time. Click here for more information on Cork Libraries.

Reading before you go to sleep will help relax and prepare the body for sleep. It will help you unwind and switch off from the hectic world we live in. It's also good for your brain and you might learn something and enjoy yourself!

3)Listen to a guided sleep meditation. 

Youtube has a wealth of sleep meditation videos you can listen to. Hyprocritically, this means using an electronic device but you can have it near the bed, turned face down or covered so the light doesn't disrupt you. Most are 15-30 minutes long and will help you drift off into a well rested, relaxed deep sleep. This will ensure you get really good deep quality sleep, even if it will interupted of for a short amount of time. Click here for one of my favourite ones or see below. These are really good for those days where you are just wound up and can not seem to switch off. We've all laid in bed exhausted but with our mind reeling. This is perfect for these frustrating nights. I guarantee you you will fall asleep no later than 20 minutes into listening to one of these. Not only does this help you fall asleep it will also help you get a better quality of sleep.

4) Disco Nap anyone?
Napping is also a great way to top up your sleep. You might not feel tired but laying down for 20-30 minutes can considerably increase your physical performance if you are feeling sleep deprived, playing sport or training heavily. It can also increase reaction times, focus, mental agility and awareness.

So this is it guys. Getting even 20 more minutes a day can really help you feel on top of the world. Remember sleep deprevation is a form of torture. Stop torturing yourself. 

Remember you have to put the effort in in order to be able to sleep longer and sleep better. But the rewards are massive. You will:

- Feel better
- Look better
- Train better
- Live better
- Recover better
- Move better
- Get less sick

If you get up at 7am, you need to be asleep for 11pm whcih means electronics off and wind down begins at 10pm to get your 8 hours. Do you really need to watch another episode of Game of Thrones? Just record i! It'll be there when you are rested.


Sweet dreams Jeanies! You can do this!

Do you ever feel alone?

A good friend of mine recently confided in me that she felt so unaccomplished as she approached the big 30. She said she didn't have a boyfriend, or kids or any big promotions coming up in work, she didn't own a house or know what the next 5 years involved. She felt a bit in limbo. This person is a fantastic friend who you can always rely on, she's an amazing sister and daughter to her family, she has a great job, is beautiful looking and just a wonderful person. She's the type of friend you could call at 4am and she would come collect you, no questions asked. But, as always, we tend to focus on our negatives.

This is a common feeling amongst people in today's society, irregardless of gender, age and profession. In a world where achievements are splashed so readily over social media we are constantly bombarded with images and details of others successes.

It's not easy if you are sitting at home on a Saturday night in your jammies, eating ice-cream and crying at the Great British Bake Off (me last week!) to then be seeing engagements, fitness posts, celebrations and achievements, night club selfies and 'great bants' posts as you scroll through your news feed. It makes you feel inferior and quite down about yourself. And that's even if you aren't hungover! It's 10 times worse if you have the fear from drink!

We have all been there. We have all had our down times. Just always remember you too will overcome this. Imagine if we had a habit of only posting our worst bits on social media. Can you imagine all the 'I just got dumped' teary selfies? The 'I just ate a 6 pack of doughnuts by meself' filtered instagram food posts? The bulging bellys in yoga pants poses in the mirror?! Now wouldn't that be interesting!?

In a day when everyone is an amatuer photographer and we have filters, photo shop,  advanced make up and styling, where we can retake a photo 10 times at different angles to get the best version then it's easy to feel like you are below par.

It all comes back to the phrase 'the grass is always greener'. You might be envious of that pretty girl who has a husband and 2 lovely children. But she might be struggling to get out of bed everyday suffering with post natal depression. 

You might be jealous of that guy with the great hair and ripped physique but he might only go to the gym every evening as he can't face another evening in an empty house alone.  

You might look on enviously at your colleague who just got a promotion and a shiny new car but his personal life might be in tatters as he's been working so hard and neglecting his loved ones. We can never be truly aware of others struggles.

So let's shift the focus from others for a second and turn our attention back to ourselves. Why are we looking to others and comparing our lives to theirs? It's only natural I suppose and natural selection and evolution are intrinsic qualities of human nature. We are born to be competitive. Competitive with others around us. And it's not always a bad thing.

But imagine a world where everyone spent as much time focusing on themselves as they do on keeping up with the Jones. Wouldn't the world be a wonderful peaceful place? Imagine a world where people didn't need each other for happiness and we just chose the company of others as a desire as opposed to a necessity. Then we would all be 100% in control of our own happiness. Wow. How liberating. Being single isn't a sign of weakness. It's a sign of strength.  A sign that you weren't prepared to settle or hand the power of your happiness to someone else who is inadequate for you.

If you are truly happy in yourself and love yourself then the world is a different place. You feel so much more at peace with life. It's exhilarating.

So how do you reach this seemingly elusive state of self love and bliss? It's not easy but little steps every day will certainly help. 

- Begin to love your body

- Focus on your positives 

- Make a list of all your achievements 

- Treat everyone with love and respect and you will receive the same back 10 fold.

- Spend more time doing things you love

- Care less what others think of you

Remember, you cannot be lonely if you love the person you are alone with!

Just Be...

When was the last time you took a second to stop and think about what you are actually doing?

When was the last time you weren’t checking the clock to make sure you were on time?

When was the last time you you didn’t have a schedule to stick to or the next 3 steps of your day planned out?

We are all guilty of this and in this fast paced world we live in it’s almost impossible not to be moving at lightning speed. This is why we enjoy holidays so much, there is no schedule, no alarm clocks, no strategically planned timetable of activities that would put the military to shame (shout out to all you parents juggling multi-kid, after school activities, I don’t know how you do it!).

So let me introduce you to a new way of thinking (this has been around for centuries but it might be new to you today.)

Just Be.

That’s it. You don’t have anything else to do. It’s a concept called mindfulness and is akin to meditation. It’s just a method of being fully present and aware of what you are doing.

Any time you are stressed to breaking point or just caught up with a busy day repeat this saying to yourself:

‘Don’t judge the past. Don’t anticipate the future. Just Be’

We have become a nation of ‘human doings’ instead of ‘human beings' and it's time for us to start living in the present.

So take the first step today. Focus on just being you. It’s the simplest, most innate quality you possess. So reconnect with it. It could quite possible change your life.