Flip the Switch to Reap the Benefits!
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? If you were like me until recently, the first thing you do is check your phone or computer for messages and news.
One month ago, my mornings were completely reactionary and hectic. My iPhone is my alarm clock and when it went off, I would check my emails and text messages immediately.
It gets worse. I became so accustomed to this habit that I realized that I was using email and messages as mechanisms to wake me up. My brain and body would not function without being stimulated by technology.
Scary, right?
I would wake up feeling drowsy and the only way to get out of bed was by scrolling through messages. This was a real wake+up call.
A 2014 study showed that I’m not alone. Over 33% of UK citizens begin checking messages on their smartphone within five minutes of waking up.
Four weeks ago, I decided to put my phone in “Airplane Mode” before going to sleep each night. This way, the phone would not register incoming messages until I took it out of Airplane Mode.
The results have been insanely great.
Instead of waking up to a bombardment of emails from friends and business partners who are on different time zones (specifically China and Vietnam,) I wake up to a screen that simply says, “7:02.”
Nothing drastically bad will happen if you don’t respond to an email or text first thing in the morning. We all know the messages and emails aren’t going anywhere — they will be there when you flip the Airplane Mode switch off.
Since making this simple adjustment, I’ve noticed a ton of benefits and you can too. The quality of your morning has a direct correlation to the quality of your day.
Without being immediately bombarded by messages, your mind will be focused on the previous night’s sleep and the dreams that had transpired. Once you start remembering and unserstanding your dreams, life starts to make more sense…. but that’s for another post.
You’ll be able to dedicate your time in the morning to having a good meal and setting positive intentions for the day. Heck, you might even be able to meditate, practice yoga, or read a book with your newfound time. Even five minutes can make a huge difference in the morning.
Without feeling obligated to answer emails and texts (when you read a message and don’t answer immediately your subconscious feels the pressure) you can go about your morning in peace.
Without the bombardment of messages, you can focus on the present moment. What does it feel like getting out of bed? Is a certain body part sore? Why? Did you wake up feeling happy? Why or why not?
You can answer these questions because you can actually feel what’s happening within your body and mind instead of being numbed by technology. Having breakfast w/ an iPhone in your hand is not lucid practice. You can turn each morning activity into a mindful, lucid practice. Eliminate multi+tasking from your mornings.
I replaced my email and text message reading with 15 pushups and 1 Sun Salutation. It takes one minute and gets my blood flowing allowing me to wake up naturally.
Consider putting your phone in Airplane Mode before bed and don’t turn Airplane mode off until you’re ready to begin receiving messages for the day (I wait until 10am.) You’ll find that this practice leads to a healthy, happy, present beginning of your day.
Do you find yourself checking your phone/computer for messages and email first thing in the morning? Start your day in airplane mode and reap the benefits!
What some more ways and practices that can lead to a more mindful, lucid morning?
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive ~ to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” ~Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius
~Paz
A new study conducted at the University of Exeter found that there were numerous health benefits to spending time near the ocean.
When a person goes to the beach, ‘It’s not going to be any great surprise to you that people relax,’ said study researcher Michael White.
The more complex question was how being near the beach impacted people’s health.
The researchers studied census data in England and found that those who lived near the coast reported better health.
While one could argue that this may have something to do with wealthier people being able to afford living on the coast, the researchers actually found that it was the lower socioeconomic communities that reported the greatest health benefits.
Just moving closer to the beach had an effect on people. The researchers found that moving closer to the sea ‘significantly improves people’s well being,’ about as tenth as much as getting a new job.
Moving to the sea may also reduce stress and encourage physical activity, White said.
As a society, we’re severely overmedicated in America. Too often, we are willing to take the easy way out by swallowing a pill. We’re passing this ritual down to our kids.
Many of us anesthetize ourselves by plopping in front of the TV or using drugs to “zone out” and escape life. This too, is being passed down.
I recently read a mediocre yet alarming article on the overmedication of children who are diagnosed with ADD & ADHD. The article reads, “Walk into any American high school and nearly one in five boys in the hallways will have a diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.”
Our solution? Pills & iPads. If a kid is misbehaving, we are so willing to prescribe stimulants & amphetamines or place an iPad in his/her hand allowing them to “zone out” and thus stop “misbehaving.” We’re not saying ADD isn’t real but we are too quick to diagnose & treat unnaturally.
Kale and Spinach Growing in an organic garden next to an elementary school
What are the short+term effects of chronically bathing young brains in stimulants and amphetamines & solving their “bad behavior” by handing them electronic devices?
For starters, it’s rare to see a teenager in America who can go 5 minutes without their smartphone.
Furthermore, it’s proven that those subjected to ADD pills are more likely to experiment w/ illicit drugs later on.
This is a new trend. The short+term effects are alarming but the long+term effects could be catastrophic.
We can reverse this trend. The four alternatives above are only the beginning.
Excerpt from WSJ article on overmedication::
“History has already taught us that overprescribing stimulants to millions of Americans leads to dependence, addiction and overdose. By medicating children for wiggling in their chairs, losing their homework and shouting out answers, we are not teaching them vital coping skills to manage their behavior. Instead, we are teaching them to take a pill. One day, we’ll look back and wonder: Why did we do this? Again.
Walk into any American high school and nearly one in five boys in the hallways will have a diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 11% of all American children ages 4 to 17—over six million—have ADHD, a 16% increase since 2007. When you consider that in Britain roughly 3% of children have been similarly diagnosed, the figure is even more startling. Now comes worse news: In the U.S., being told that you have ADHD—and thus receiving some variety of amphetamine to treat it—has become more likely.”
Lucid Practice is rooted in positive energy so hopefully this post doesn’t come across as a negative. The Lucid Practice mission is to help people, hopefully this post serves as a helpful reminder that overmedication is a problem that needs our attention.
What’s your opinion?
What are the key benefits of cold showers? Cold showers are incredible. By taking cold showers, you can improve your physical and mental health listed below.
Updated 8/9/2015
1. Increased Tolerance to Stress
Exposure to cold water gives your body a higher tolerance to stress by purposely exposing it to stress. If you can withstand a cold shower, the rest of your day’s challenges will seem like a breeze.
2. Increase in Lucidity
A cold shower turns a mundane task into a lucid practice. You begin to feel the sensation of each water drop hitting your skin. You notice an increase in gratitude for the fact that your internal organs are able to rapidly pump blood to regulate your body temperature.
3. Increased Blood Circulation
Exposure to cold water causes your blood flow to be redirected to your vital organs, it forces your body to circulate your blood more efficiently & effectively.
4. Healthy Skin and Hair
Cold water helps close pores. This keeps your skin looking smooth & healthy while not drying your skin out as hot water showers can sometimes do. The cold water will help keep your hair look shiny and keep your skin soft, rather than itchy, ashy and dried out. Just one of the many benefits of cold showers 😉
5. Immune System Supercharge
Cold water immersion has been shown to increase metabolic rates due to shivering and activating the immune system.
In Siberia, in a ritual called Rodnichok or cold springs, parents dump a cold bucket of water over the heads of children. They do this year round for ages 2-6. Again, this is in Siberia. Those kids are tough. It’s shown that about 95% of the kids who participate are healthy through the flu season as opposed to 75% of the those children in groups that don’t participate.
6. Increased Testosterone
In a world where men are increasingly willing to pop prescription pills to solve low-testtosterone problems, the solution is actually in their own bathroom. A 1993 study done by the Thrombosis Research Institute in England showed cold baths to be correlated with high testosterone levels.
7. Anti-Depressant Properties
Due to the high density of cold receptors in the skin, a cold shower is expected to send an overwhelming amount of electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings to the brain, which could result in an anti-depressive effect. Also, cold showers have been linked to an increase in , a protein that is helpful in regulating glucose levels and breaking down fatty acids.
Two bonus positive side effects:
1. Improved Lymphatic System Functioning
The lymphatic system takes waste away from your cells to help fight disease. It’s separate from your blood vessels, but is moved around by the contraction of your muscles. Cold showers cause your entire body to contract and forces the lymphatic system to push the lymph fluids throughout your body rather than pooling in one part of your body as it would if it were compromised or inefficient.
2. Better Sleep
Doctors recommend insomniacs take cold showers to help aid sleep. It might be because the feeling you get after the initial shock of the shower helps your body calm down & relax.
It may seem daunting at first…. I promise it gets easier each time so take the plunge!! It might just change your life. 😉
Some of the tips above can be contributed to: http://impossiblehq.com/cold-shower-health-benefits
Cheers to my friend @PhilFeelsGood who first introduced me to cold showers!
Outstanding pictorial & textual guide to beginning & advanced asana backbends:
http://www.mryoga.com/backbends
Benefits of backbends: Improves spinal flexibility and strength creating better posture, stimulates the central nervous system, abdominal organs and aids in digestion, tones the adrenal glands, kidney, pancreas and liver thyroid gland, abdominal organs and lungs, stretches the chest, lungs, upper and lower back, throat, shoulders, hip flexors, can relieve menstrual cramping and menopause for women, and calms the mind.
Meditation is universal. Just like you don’t need to be Italian to eat pasta.
What if everyone could have a more peaceful and clear mind?
We are all connected. We can create a better world and it starts with something as simple as closing your eyes, meditating and feeling a deeper connection with yourself.
To really open your eyes, sometimes you have to close them.
Amen.
Believed to be over 2,500 years old, Tibetan Rites yoga is a great way to start the day.
Often times we find ourselves rushing in the morning. Hitting the snooze button 3 or 4 times and then trying to make up time by rushing to get dressed, brush our teeth, and jump in the car and GO!
Not exactly lucid practice….
Waking up twenty minutes earlier and incorporating a practice into your morning can lead to much calmer beginnings.
This is an outstanding way to get the blood flowing and incorporate presence in the beginning of your day.
While Brian & I were in Thailand, we did a “10 day challenge” where we did not wear shirts, socks, or shoes/sandals. Barefoot and shirtless and it was liberating! Living barefoot is known as earthing and there are numerous physical and mental health benefits.
Paz & Brian practicing Hatha Yoga at Rory Trollen’s Yoga Retreat in Koh Phangan, Thailand
When it was time to leave Thailand, we contemplated heading to the Bangkok airport barefoot but realized we did not want to run into negative energy with the authorities.
Going barefoot can help connect you to the Earth’s healing energies. As humans, we are made up of electrons — the Earth is also made up of electrons. It also helps you to remember to “be here now” as each step isn’t buffered by a layers of cotton and rubber.
Connected, relaxed, alive, and alert…. all feelings that earthing provided us with.
Earthing means walking barefoot on soil, grass or sand (meaning: any natural surface). So we’ll have to get off the sidewalk. Early studies are showing that the health benefits come from the relationship between our bodies and the electrons in the earth. The planet has its own natural charge, and we seem to do better when we’re in direct contact with it.
Here’s a post we wrote about earthing in Thailand.
Why should you walk barefoot?
A review published in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health looked at a number of studies that highlight how drawing electrons from the earth improves health. In one, chronic pain patients using grounded carbon fiber mattresses slept better and experienced less pain.
Another study found that earthing changed the electrical activity in the brain, as measured by electroencephalograms. Still other research found that grounding benefited skin conductivity, moderated heart rate variability, improved glucose regulation, reduced stress and boosted immunity.
One particularly compelling investigation, published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, found that earthing increases the surface charge of red blood cells. As a result, the cells avoid clumping, which decreases blood viscosity. High viscosity is a significant factor in heart disease, which is why so many people take blood thinning aspirin each day to improve their heart health. Another study in the same journal found that earthing may help regulate both the endocrine and nervous systems.
This article on the Health Benefits of Earthing is courtesy of Dr. Isaac Eliaz and Mind Body Green. To read about our experience, here’s a post we wrote about earthing in Thailand.
A true follower of Hanuman, Krishna talks about his guru, Neem Karoli Baba who is also the guru of Ram Dass.
