Category: Meditation

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Take Time to Relax

I have been running my Embrace Relaxation and Meditation classes for almost a year now, and have had some great feedback on the impact the classes have had on the participants. Today I want to share how relaxation can help you too.

Nowadays many of us are living increasingly busy lives; juggling demanding work schedules and an active home life, all within the presence of social media. It can be difficult to switch off, even after a long day’s work.

We all know that burning the candle at both ends can leave us exhausted, both mentally and physically, and as an ex-primary school teacher I have experienced it myself. My hectic work demands were leaving me feeling more and more stressed. I now know that constantly having high levels of adrenaline in the body lowers the immune system, leaving the health at risk.

Although exercise and diet were on my radar, I didn’t really think relaxation was relevantfor me. I had an enjoyable social life and I thought that was enough. But I became very ill and after all of the medication and treatment got me on the road to recovery; I decided to take a more active role in my health, with the emphasis on prevention.

The key issue was deciding to take charge, and ultimately responsibility for the body and mind in which I was living, and to encourage and nurture my own wellness. I now build in time to relax every day, and it has changed the way I live my life.

My Top Ten Tips for Relaxing

 

  1. Take control of your time and allocate a section in your day – even if it’s a few minutes, to empty your mind.
  2. Walk or sit outside during daylight hours. Give yourself ten minutes of uninterrupted quiet. Leave your phone and headphones in your bag and just breathe.
  3. Switch off gadgets with screens and apps for a short time every day. The world will carry on, and you can have a break and go back when you’re ready. Screen-free time is very important for children too.
  4. Listen to relaxing instrumental music for five minutes while you breathe deeply. Doing this before bedtime helps slow down brainwaves and aid restful sleep.
  5. Talk to and spend time with people who make you feel good. Being around positive people is relaxing.
  6. Take regular outdoor breaks. Studies have shown that when smokers take a cigarette break, it is as much the act of going away from their desk that relaxes them, as the actual cigarette. So take a break outside, ditching the cigarettes and breathing in fresh air instead!
  7. Stretching works wonders for your body and mind! Change positions regularly and have a stretch.
  8. Get things off your chest by verbalising them or writing them down. If you can have a chat with someone else, even better. Get it out, then move on.
  9. When you are going around in circles, it’s time to take a break. Switch to a task that is easy and automatic, allowing your mind to relax. Then go back to the original task refreshed.
  10. Drinking plenty of water keeps everything working properly including the relaxation response. This response is built-in to your system; you just need to give yourself the chance to enjoy it.

 

My Relaxation Classes

In my class I provide a safe environment where people of all ages can learn to relax. I use a non-religious approach, and break it down into little steps, so that the ideas are accessible to beginners and more experienced members of the class alike. There are a range of activities in the hour, focusing on learning to empty the mind and breathing to relax and renew the body. The aim is for you to leave feeling refreshed and ready to experience the week ahead.

Classes run on Mondays 6.30 – 7.30pm

St. Aldhelm’s Church,

2, Windmill Road,

London,

N18 1PA

Cost: £6.00 per session

If you would like to attend a class, please text, call Zeenat on 07961 389 030 or email me at zeenat@embracecoaching.com

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My Biggest Group Meditation Yet!

In January I ran a group meditation session at a charity yogathon for my yoga teacher Jackie Lee. She runs this yearly event for the Nightingale Cancer Support Centre in Enfield which provides support for patients, relatives or friends of people affected by cancer. Participants paid £15 each to come along and do several hours of yoga, taught by different teachers and there were so many prizes in the raffle that everyone went home with something! I won a box of bath bombs, which smell gorgeous. 

Jackie taught a sitting yoga, which is great for people with limited mobility and I believe it is similar to the classes she teaches at the hospice. I love the idea of this; it’s so empowering for people to improve their quality of life; even when it’s near the end. 

 

The yogathon was dedicated to the memory of Vicki Scarlet who was a local yoga teacher. Together we raised £1400.

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Relax Kids CDs and Downloads

As you may know, I am a huge fan of Relax Kids CDs for both children and adults. I have successfully used them myself to help me drift into an undisturbed sleep and have also used them in the classroom, to help get children into a relaxed mode and ready for learning. Even though they are mainly designed to help children get to sleep, they have many other uses. Here’s what some customers have said. They might help you to decide which one is right for you.

It is now even easier to access these short meditations because you can now buy Relax Kids downloads from my site!

Which CD or Download should I buy?

For using with children at bedtime:

 “I bought the Magical Meditation for Superheroes CD for my 3 year old boy. He loves it so much. We take him up to bed and once we have read him a bedtime story he asks for his CD to be put on and he falls asleep listening to it every night.” Julie

“When my baby was going through an unsettled phase, I would put him on a fluffy blanket, stroke his head and play the Quiet Spaces CD. This really calmed him. I find it also helps me to unwind after a busy day.” Kathryn

For teachers to use with children in the classroom:

“My class love the Calmer Classrooms CD. We use it around twice a week and the children really relax. They also like saying the positive affirmations at the end of each meditation.” Claire, Year 3 teacher

For adults to relax at home:

“I use the Nature Meditations CD at home – it relaxes me so much that I find myself waking up as the CD finishes, with no recollection of anything after the first track. Seems to work as a power nap although I wake up feeling refreshed instead of fuzzy-headed.” Rebecca

For aiding a restful night’s sleep:

“I go to sleep listening to the Nature Meditations on my iPod. Since using the CDs my sleep is much improved. It used to take at least 45 minutes  to drop off; now I set the timer for 15 minutes, knowing that I will be asleep before the track finishes. As soon as I hear the voice on the track, I feel totally relaxed which aids in a good night’s sleep.” Bridget

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions and here’s that link again to download Relax Kids meditations as MP3s directly from my site.

Thank you to my friends who gave me their reviews 🙂

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Meditation for Children

This weekend is going to be an exciting one! I’m off to Brighton on a training course to further explore my interest in teaching meditation to children. In one of my guises, I am a teacher and I have been trying out whole class meditations with pupils aged ten and eleven. I have had some great responses from the pupils; some of whom have said they employed the techniques I taught them when they were sitting their recent SATs tests. It is amazing how much presssure there is on young people these days to perform well in exams, get into ‘good’ schools, not to mention trying to fund university or find a job when they are older. I do remember however, feeling anxious and worried about similar things myself when I was younger, so maybe it was always this way? I think I could have done with knowing more about how to lower my own stress levels and also being more able to put things in perspective. I am a true believer in enabling young people to do things and think for themselves by skilling them up and teaching them how to be pro-active. We are not all destined to stay they way we were when we were born! We can improve and develop ourselves, and this includes learing to take care of our own levels of stress through meditation. 

Visualisation is a simple and effective tool in meditation