Visioform Personal Growth Resources

Fred McFeely Rogers makes us aware that play can be a wonderful way for serious learning.

Play is often talked about a
s if it were a relief from serious learning.
But for children play is serious learning.
Play is really the work of childhood.

Most of us have gone too serious with all the burdens of life. It takes practice to lighten up and learn to play again

Playing is the attitude of the curious mind that doesn’t care about the results. It just enjoys the process.

Why not start today to play a little bit?

The key to stress is how you deal with it. Dealing with stress involves body, mind and the emotions.

A primary factor in dealing with stress that involves all those levels is your ability to relax.

There are many ways to do that. A continuous, deep and slow abdominal breathing is a vital factor for relaxation. Other well-known techniques are meditation, guided imagery or progressive relaxation of the muscles. But just even going for a walk, listening to music, reading for pleasure, talking to a friend or taking a bath often helps to deal with a stressful event.

On the body level, make sure, you get an adequate amount of rest each night, develop an exercise routine to keep your body flexible, cut down on toxicating substances like coffee, tea or cigarettes and treat your body well with balanced food.

If the idea of having supple muscles and smooth, fluid movements - movements that convey youth and health, regardless of age - sounds appealing, then add flexibility training into your life, if you haven’t done so already, so that you may begin to enjoy the many benefits.

Flexibility is defined as the measure of a joints movement through a normal range of motion. A flexible joint has the ability to move through a greater range of motion so you’re much less likely to become injured in the course of your everyday activities and sports.

Flexibility training, or stretching, improves posture. Poor postural habits can cause your muscles and the connective tissue that surrounds them to mold into the positions you maintain throughout your day, (like the rounded shoulders that develop from spending too many hours in front of a computer). Stretching these short tight muscles helps realign the soft tissue structures, so it’s a lot easier to maintain good posture.

Probably the greatest benefit is the effect stretching has on the low back. By increasing the flexibility of your hamstrings, hip flexors, quadriceps, and other muscles that attach to the pelvis, you reduce the tension on the lumbar spine, so you’re much less prone to suffer from low back pain.

Researchers claim that stretching immediately before exercise doesn’t prevent injury; but stretching after training reduces muscle soreness, so stretch following your workouts, when your muscles are warmed up. Or, warm up your muscles by walking or doing cardio for five or ten minutes prior to stretching.

And, although there are a number of different stretching techniques, static stretching, which involves lengthening your muscles and tendons by holding a stretch for a period of time, is considered the safest and most effective.

To begin, focus on the muscle you want to stretch and move your body gently and gradually until you have reached the desired level of tension, accompanied by a feeling of discomfort but not pain. Breathe slowly and rhythmically and visualize your muscles and tendons lengthening as you stretch. Hold the position for 10-30 seconds, and then release. For a guide to the individual stretches, please visit: http://www.fitnesstransform.com/stretches.php

Keep in mind that flexibility varies from person to person, and from joint to joint. One person may have flexible hamstrings and tight shoulders, while another may have a flexible spine but tight hip flexors. Genetics, age, activity levels, and gender all play a role in these differences. So tailor a program based on your needs; always stretch your entire body, but spend a little extra time on the muscles that tend to be a little stiffer, or that you use more in your activities. And over time you’ll find that your range of motion will improve and your flexibility will increase…

Author: Mikki Reilly

A very significant mode of acquiring weight loss is by undertaking a proper exercising regimen and aerobics have proved to be extremely beneficial in these cases. The process of aerobic exercising and even the term itself was developed by Kenneth H Cooper and Col. Pauline Potts and it was these two gentlemen who first realized the importance of the utilization of oxygen in the process of energy generation by muscles and thereby its relation to body weight. It was an extensive scientific study that was carried out by them and the result was a book named ‘Aerobics’ which was released in the late 1960s and became a widespread success. It is necessary to point out at the very beginning that there are certain basic differences between the meanings of aerobics and aerobic exercise as a whole. This is because the term aerobics refers to only a particular form of aerobic exercising and not entirely the whole of it. The term ‘aerobic’ means ‘with oxygen’ and here it refers to the entire process of energy generation within the various muscles of the body and consequently the use of oxygen in this mechanism. Aerobic exercising is usually adopted for a long term period and it is extremely effective in facilitating weight loss. The exercise schedule is also not very hectic and it begins with a short warm-up for about 10 minutes to accustom the body and this is followed by about 20 minutes of rigorous exercising once the body has adopted itself in the exercising mode. After this, the body is allowed to relax and the session in over after another 10 minutes.

There are various forms of exercises which can be easily regarded as being a kind of aerobic exercise like running. During aerobic exercising, the glycogen within the body is broken down to form glucose and in the absence of this the metabolisms of fats get initiated. Aerobic exercising not only aids in maintaining a perfect and toned body structure, it also minimizes the various risks that the body is exposed to as a result of obesity and the accumulation of excessive fat. These include the regulation of blood circulation ensuring reduced blood pressure, maintaining the heart rate, facilitating the functioning of the lungs by allowing swift respiration and also increasing the red blood cell content within the body. However at times it has been alleged that since aerobic exercising does not increase the basal metabolic rate it is not very effective in causing weight loss.

Author: Robert Baird

It is extremely difficult to break a smoking habit - we all know that. It is virtually impossible to make a smoker stub out a cigarette when he or she has set a mind to smoke. But, this is exactly what Allen Carr has done in his life consistently, and that too millions of times over. He has devised a method of his own called as the Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking, and has even penned as many as nine books writing about his method in detail.

Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking is controversial as it does not tell the smoker to give up smoking at all. The only thing the smoker is supposed to do is to read the matter in the books thoroughly. There is no need to make a conscious effort at giving up smoking. However, it is to the credit of this technique that smokers give up their habit once the book is through, and within a year they will actually be off the habit for good.

Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking definitely differs from other stop smoking methods. This method works on the subconscious of the smoker, by letting him or her know that smoking is not actually as addictive as it is made out to be. There is no real pleasure in smoking, but smokers only try to satisfy some extrapolated urges.

If you ask any smoker, they will invariably tell you that they are trying to quit the habit for good. Many of them may not do so actually because they are fearful of the withdrawal symptoms that might come in. Even if they are quitting the habit, they might get worried about the withdrawal symptoms and light just one more cigarette. But little do they realize that this one more cigarette with bring in withdrawal symptoms of its own. This could snowball into a kind of addiction, born out of fear. And it would convert the casual smoker into a chain smoker.

All books on the Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking emphasize on the point that it is very easy to give up smoking. Actually speaking, there is nothing to give up, because smoking is not an addiction at all. It is hardly the nicotine that causes the craving for the cigarette. Smokers’ love for their white sticks of death stems from several other reasons.

It is a very significant fact that most smokers smoke not because they like the smell or taste of the ingredients of the cigarette, but because they want to cater to some deep-set personality trait. It could be something as simple as the craving to appear macho, or something much more subtle, like smoking in a social circle. Whatever be the real case, when a person investigates within, definite conclusions make their appearance as to how smoking can be kept at bay.

That is the basic premise of the Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking. It does not tell the smoker to stop smoking concretely, but it does finally exhort the smoker to conjure up a strong determination to give up. In addition, there are some statistics in the books that will stir the hearts of even extremely stone-hard smokers.

Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking has become very popular today, and that stems from the effectiveness of the method. Even before the book is over, smokers will make a firm decision to quit as soon as possible. So effective is this method, that it has an almost 95% success rate - a success rate that is rivaled only by herbal stop smoking methods, such as the SmokeRX.

Author: David Smythe

Probably the most widely known Western system of movement therapy, the Alexander Technique is a method of bringing the way we move under our conscious direction and avoiding a buildup of muscular tension.

F. Matthias Alexander, who was born in Tasmania in 1869, developed his theories in an effort to save his career when his voice began to be afflicted with such hoarseness that he had to cancel some of his performances as a reciter/actor. Noticing that when he began to recite in public he tended to contract muscles in his head and neck that apparently had little or nothing to do with his voice, he began by experimenting on himself. At first, inhibiting the muscular contractions proved almost impossible to achieve. However after ten years of research, practice, and study he had not only improved his voice, his breath control, his posture, and his acting “presence” but had derived an effective, nonverbal, hands-on technique that has been transforming people ever since.

Alexander’s clientele rapidly expanded outside the theater to include famous scientists and physicians. In 1937, 19 doctors signed a letter published in the foremost British medical journal, the Lancet, calling on the profession to recognize that it was only possible for medical diagnoses to be complete if they took into account Alexander’s idea that the way patients used their bodies affected how well or badly they functioned.

Elements of Therapy

Ideological Basis Alexander said that if we constantly move in a way that we eventually discover is wrong and harmful, we should not try immediately to take some sort of opposing “corrective” action, and thereby possibly add insult to injury; instead we should find a way to STOP doing it wrongly and harmfully.

Methodological Basis Alexander’s basic discovery was what he called the “Primary Control Mechanism.” When the head, neck, and spine are in a properly balanced relationship, so-called “antigravity reflexes” spring into play. A Tufts University group led by Professor Frank Pierce Jones developed what were then new photographic techniques to confirm the physical basis of Alexander’s claim.

Method That the technique relies on hands-on guidance is fundamental. Alexander noticed early on in his experiments how difficult it is for us all to break bad postural habits - they are so deeply ingrained that the easiest and most balanced way of, say, standing up, may well actually feel “wrong” when first we are encouraged to do it. In a session that lasts between 30 and 60 minutes, an Alexander teacher uses hands to guide you as you repeat a simple task such as sitting down in a chair and standing up again.

Author: Franchis Adam

Christmas is approaching again, not that event of peace and quietness but a highly charged and stressful time

Stress is a natural part of life. What you understand by stress though may be quite different from your work colleague, your neighbour or your partner.

The same events, the same amount of pressure may inspire one person to get active, creative and move beyond known limits and another person to break down and get ill. In order to successfully deal with stress, you need to know your personal tolerance level.

There are stressful events that you can’t avoid such as death, conflicts, accidents, job change, moving, marriage, parenthood, sickness or money problems.

And there is the stress that is created in your mind. This self-induced stress is worries about the future, money, a loved one, loss of work, retirement to name a few. You often experience this mental stress as the feeling of being out of control.

Too much stress of this kind can cause sleeping problems, backaches or headaches or even worse, contribute to life-threatening diseases like high blood pressure and heart disease.

The key to stress is how you deal with it.

I offer a range of support :

Get one of the free courses on how to improve your self-esteem, create healthy relationships, follow your bliss and learn to go for what you really want.

Learn more about life-issues we all deal with by checking out the articles in the section ‘life-issues in focus’ and publications

If you love to learn through books, here are two choices

The pocket book version: Growing through Joy

The ebook version: Beyond Suffering

If you want professional back-up, I offer distance courses on money, love and health that will help you to change the resonance with life-depleting habits and attitudes and create abundance and fulfilment in your life.

The next course on Health starts Tuesday, December 13

Check here for

more information on the theme of the sessions

for conditions and prices

for background information on the procedure, feedback and research results

for registration

Visioform Personal Growth Resources

To reduce stress, develop the habit of a good time management. This is especially important for dealing with stress that is induced by increased responsibilities or having to meet deadlines in your job.

Break down large projects into small parts that you can easily oversee and handle one part at a time. Do what needs to be done first and pace other tasks according to priorities. Identify your short term, middle term and long term goals to priorities your tasks.

Develop a support network to rely on in times of need and take direct action when stress arises.

To deal with stress that is self-induced through worries about possible future events, use the image of a peaceful event to quiet down your mind and to be here and now. Your body responds to your worries about something that hasn’t happened yet the same way as it responds to outer events that actually are happening. You can use that ability of the brain to deal with stress through positive visualisations.

Get clear what YOU need to do to reduce the stress.

If you would like professional support, I offer distance courses where I shift those stress patterns through a broad range of healing modalities such as movement, breathing, colour or sound.

The next distance course on Health will start next week Tuesday, Dec. 4

Check here for
more information on the theme

for conditions and prices

for background information on the procedure, feedback and research results

for registration

How can a society
that exists on instant mashed potatoes,
packaged cake mixes,
frozen dinners,
and instant cameras
teach patience to its young?

- Paul Sweeney

Do you possess the rare quality of patience?

We need patience and perseverance to overcome deep-rooted patterns of behaviour and beliefs. But how many really demonstrate these qualities nowadays?

Our consumer society teaches us quickies.

The beauty of life unfolds step by step if we take the time and patience to let this happen

Are you heading for the famous Christmas burnout?

How about keeping a deep breather in between.

Just place your hands on your belly and let your hands be slowly moved by your breath.
Then let the energy circulate from the coccyx to the top of the head with the inbreath and breathe out while the energy flows down the central line of the body.

Just doing this little exercise in between over and over again will help you to stay centred and calm in the middle of all of it