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Slow down

There are many personal practices and exercises that can help ward off our daily stresses. Going for a walk, playing sports, meditation, tai chi (my favorite!), weight training and yoga are just some examples. All exercises have certain flavors and some of those flavors carry over into daily life more than others. What portion of your training is integrated into your daily life? Integration into daily life is one of the keys to success.

Here is a cool little tip I've been working on for some time now in my personal practice and wanted to share. I hope it will be helpful for those folks that are looking for ways to relax, slow down, alleviate some stress and center your thoughts. First you need to identify what you "default to" for speed. It doesn't matter what you pick. For example: when you reach for a cup of tea, you normally "default" to a certain speed to reach out but try reaching out half as fast every time you reach out to pick up the cup. Another example: say you are at your desk, typing as quickly as normal. Try slowing WAY down as you reach out for the keys and see what happens. Once you start practicing this method you will be amazed of how much YOU can slow down and start to develop ownership to your own daily habitual default speed. Is it relaxing? You can do this with anything in your daily routine. From brushing your teeth to practicing Tai Chi, it doesn't matter-just pick the one you will do!

Wiggle like a worm. Before you get out of bed first thing in the morning start to wiggle your toes, move your feet, move your legs, move your hips, move your back, shoulders, arms, neck and head. 30 seconds to a minute is all you need. Watch how you can just jump out of bed without any aches and pains. Before cats and dogs paws hit the floor they are already stretching. It's natural. Stretch before you get out of bed. You will see the results. Simple simple exercise.