Relax! With Purpose!

Are we kidding?  Nope!  That's what the essense of Meditation is:  The art of letting go of all the stuff in your brain, without falling asleep!  If you fall asleep, well, you probaly needed some rest, but keep trying!  Finding peace of mind by letting go of all your troubles, at least for a few minutes a day, is the true 'anti-drug'!  Not only can it calm you down, but it gives you some perspective on your own life.  That means, you can look at your life like an observer from the outside, and make less emotional, more wise decisions than when your boiled up in the thick of it!  Kewl, huh?

There are tons of ways to meditate - some people even call it prayer - but lets try a method that doesn't involve asking for something... unless it's peace! 

Find a comfortable warm place to sit.  If you can sit on a cushion on the floor that's great, but a chair will work, too.  Just don't let it be too comfortable, or sleep will find you more easily!  Sit up straight, and try to feel balanced in your posture.  Relaxed, but with some energy flowing.

Find something to focus on.  This can be something as simple as the flame of a candle, or the light pressure of your hands in prayer position.  It really doesn't matter what, only that it is only one thing.  When you choose one thing to focus on, it helps to let go of everything else. 

Add a mantra, or prayer.  For some of us, it's really hard to turn off the voices in our heads.  Giving our brain something simple and positive to repeat can help silence all that chatter for a while.  "I am at peace" or "peace be in me" or anything short that inspires you and is easy to remember will do.  The healer Louise L. Hay has quite a few longer ones in her books, but a favorite is,"I allow my mind to relax and be at peace. Clarity and harmony are within me and around me."  Pretty calming stuff!

Give yourself a period of time to practice.  Hardly anyone gets relaxed right away, so you'll need to give yourself enough time to get to the relaxing part!  Start with 10 minutes at first, and build to 15 minutes as you improve and feel it comes easier. 

As people progress, they can even spend hours at a time in this state if they want - just think about Buddhist monks, Hindu holy men, or the nuns and priests of any religion that has prayer vigils!  This may or may not be how you want to spend large chunks of your life, but just a little bit each day, or a few times a week can enrich and improve your life as well!  Good luck, and Good health!

Do You Have 'Your' Sport?

Are you a soccer player?  A volleyball player?  Do you dance (like in class and shows and stuff)?  Are you into track and field?  What is your sport?

Even if you're not the 'sporting type', you've got to have something you do on a regular basis that helps to keep you fit!  You don't have to be the best at it, or even be in any kind of competition with it!  Some of the fittest people on the planet do yoga, and there's definitely NO competition involved there!  It's all about meditation, prayer and inner peace... with a whole lot of body work involved!

So, if you're biggest activity of the day is getting thumb blisters from channel surfing, GET UP RIGHT NOW!  You can sit down again if you want, but wasn't that fun!  Seriously, you need to find something physical to do at least three times a week - it's good for your heart, and you can't overlook how good it is for your mind, too!  Body and mind are connected, so make your body a happier place, and your thoughts will come from a happier place, too!

Go Climb a Staircase!

With the weather getting colder, it can get difficult to get the same kind of exercise you normally would if you were outside in the sunshine.  Don't let winter get the best of your health!  Get down, and up, a staircase!  Stairclimbing is one of the top celebrity secrets for getting and staying in shape!  The Hollywood Hills are filled with beautiful old outdoor staircases that climb the mountains for stunning views when you stop for a breather at the top, but any old staircase will give your body the workout it needs!

As with any exercise, make sure you're in good health before you start!  Warm up slowly, and notice any areas of your body that might need an extra careful stretching before getting really into it(!).  Maybe you have stairs in your house, or your building, or maybe they're at school!  Make sure it's a place you feel safe, and you can take a friend along for companionship.  You can also listen to music to keep you energized!

Some tips:

You'll want to keep up the exercise for 20 to 30 minutes, so make sure you have a clock or watch handy, and pace yourself to last!  Stairclimbing is much more strenuous than you might think, so don't worry if you keep it slow at first. 

Your pace should be hard enough to make talking difficult, but not impossible.  If you have any problems, slow down!  Your fitness level is something you can work on slowly - and that means over weeks and months!  Not all at once and this week!

Use good shoes!  You'll want some good sports tennis shoes with good soles for support.  Be good to your feet now, and they'll be good to you forever!

Drink lots of water!  Not only will you need to replace water you will be sweating out, but the water will also help wash away the lactic acid your muscles produce during hard work, and that cause muscle aches later!

For the best fitness results, make every step count!  Don't pull yourself up using railings, but place each foot onto the step and feel the muscles of the gluteaus maximus (your behind!) do the work.  On the way down, tighten your gluteaus maximus again to protect your knees.  The fronts of your thighs and your calves will be working all the time too!

When you're finished, don't forget to stretch!  Back of the thigh, front of the thigh and calves especially!  They'll thank you for it!

Being fit is KEWL!

Get Enough Sleep!

Do you get enough sleep?  Plenty of sleep is one of the necessary elements of good health, especially when you're still growing!  There are lots of thing you can do to ensure that you get enough, and deep enough sleep to keep you happy, healthy, and energetic and alive when you're supposed to be awake!

 Make sure your sleeping area helps you to sleep.

Is is dark enough?   Sure, some of us don't exactly love the dark, but our bodies need it to allow complete rest.  If you need a nightlight, make sure it doesn't shine in your eyes, and is dim enough just to light your way and not enough to keep you awake.

Quiet enough?  If the area you live in is naturally noisy, or someone in your room, or even in the house, is a loud sleeper (talkers, snorers, etc.)  Check into a pair of earplugs.  They come in sizes for kids, too, and are available at pharmacies.  Make sure your parents know you are using them, in case of emergencies that you may not hear.

Comfortable enough?  Sometimes a too soft bed, or too hard one, will keep a person up at night.  Plus, pillows can be adjusted to be higher or lower to better support your head in as straight a line with your spine as possible. 

Any allergies?  Make sure your bedding (pillows, blankets, sheets, comforter) are all clean and well aired out on a regular basis (once a week), and make sure they're not made of or washed with things you are allergic to! (Feathers, additives or perfumes in detergents and fabric softeners).  This can help to avoid allergy related breathing issues that can make sleeping through the night more difficult.

Make sure you sleep long enough.

Lot's of people wish they needed less sleep than they do, but skipping on it will catch up with you in the form of poor focus in school and poor health in general.  Even if you think staying up is cool, do the math, and realize that most teens need at least 8 hours of sleep per night - so make sure to make it to bed early enough for your wake up time in the morning!  If you have to stay up late, give yourself time within that week to catch up on lost sleep.  Your body with thank you!

Trouble Sleeping?

Some people find that they have trouble getting to sleep at night - like their inner clocks aren't set like everybody else's.  That may be very true, but there are ways to reset your inner clock:

Going to sleep: 

Don't read in bed.

Don't get physically active or eat in the last two hours before bed.

Use old remedies, like a glass of milk or bedtime tea with honey, to help you fall asleep.

Try out the yoga stretch 'downward facing dog' gently before going to bed (this one really seems to work - don't know why!)

Waking up:

Always get up at the same time everyday.  If you need to, take a 15 minute to half hour nap in the afternoon (no longer!) to get a second wind.

Don't use the snooze button.  It doesn't really let you sleep more - just more fitfully.

Exercising in the morning is a good way to get the body going - can you build some in to your morning?  Even a twenty minute walk to school can do the trick.

Morning stuff like showering and brushing your teeth can help with the waking process - in case you were thinking of skipping them...

Regularity

Making it a habit to get good amounts of sleep on a regular basis will help to keep you healthy and strong, and give you the best starting point from which to start each and every day!  Now go to sleep!