I have found that sometimes you just need to say no to the world and take care of yourself. I am a senior in college, I should be partying every second I can , right? Wrong. I have gotten over keeping up with "social expectations". If I am tired, stressed, or anxious, I am not going to have fun going out anyway. And if I do, it's only going to make the condition worse. So, every now and then, I allow myself to reset, so that I can go all out and have fun and be social when I'm ready.
For me, this week's theme seemed to be stress. I am not quite sure why, but everything going on in my life seemed to hit a peak, and my body and mind began to cry out for help. I have been doing a lot of research on the different types of stress, and its affects on our health and will most certainly be posting again about my findings there! (It's a lot). Bottom line...it's not good. Some of the research I've done has to do with the Blood Type Diet. I am type A, and what do you know? We seem to be ridiculously prone to stress. That explains a lot.
So, finally unable to ignore my body's cues, I decided it may be time to finally get into my New Year's resolution of having a daily meditation practice. Everything I have been reading about relieving stress, being aware, building self-esteem, finding happiness, and more all gave me the same answer. Meditate. Become in tune with yourself. Focus on how you will feel when all your hopes and dreams are accomplished.
Why hadn't I started already?
Ironically enough, it's hard to allow yourself to just sit there and breathe! My mind often goes haywire. I had attempted establishing my practice before, and had a really hard time sitting in silence and focusing on my breath. I needed some kind of structure, some sort of training wheels for meditation.
This leads me to my first awesome find(s) this week!
Relax Melodies and BrainWave I-phone Apps!
These two apps are just awesome!
Relax Melodies is a free app that gives you a ton of relaxing noises to listen too. For example, there are birds, rain, winds, river, zen, piano, flute, campfire, white noise and more! In addition, it also offers two Biurnal beats, or sound waves that play to help you achieve either relaxation or concentration. I usually play the relaxation, with some zen melody. It's incredible how a calming melody can truly help you relax and let go. It gives you something to look forward to, some structure to your meditations. For me, I have had much better experiences listening to these soothing sounds than trying to sit alone in silence for several minutes.
My friend introduced me to another awesome app, BrainWave. This app costs $1.99, but is worth it! BrainWave focuses on the theory that certain sound frequencies can trigger certain feelings in your brain. The app has a variety of programs catered toward meditation, critical thinking, memory boost, problem solving, positive mood boost, deep sleep, and more! I personally have only really used the meditation and deep sleep programs, but am curious about the rest! This app plays steady frequencies in the background and gives you a choice of several melodies and sounds to go with it, such as ocean waves etc. You can program how long you would like the meditation to be. Using this program, I have really been able to zone out, and experience periods without thoughts (the goal of meditation).
I asked another friend of mine, who is being trained to be a certified guided meditation leader, and is very tight with the Chopra foundation, what Deepak's way of thinking would think about using apps like this. His response was that, there is nothing "wrong" with using apps like this to help ourselves relax and meditate. However, our goal should be to ultimately be able to do it on our own too!
If you are wondering how to start meditating, try getting one of these apps! Then find a comfortable sitting position, focus on your goals and dreams, and breathe deeply. Just try to follow your breath. Thoughts will come and go, but simply observe them without becoming attached and return to your breath. Hopefully the relaxing beats and melodies will help calm your mind.
Find Number 2! Lara Bars!!!!
Yes, another bar. A girl needs some kind of healthy dessert! I've known about Lara Bars for quite a while, but was kind of put off by the amount of calories in them. They are not that big and average about 200 calories a piece.
However, lately I have really been focusing my attention on the importance of whole ingredients, trying to avoid any extra chemicals or processed things at all! This is where Lara Bar wins. I have realized that if the calories are coming from amazing sources, they really are no harm! Each Lara Bar is made of no more than 9, whole, recognizable ingredients which are simply ground and mixed together. They are vegan, gluten free, kosher, fair trade, soy free, gmo free and more! I adore the chocolate chip brownie flavor. It tastes just like my favorite raw brownies from a restaurant here, but are much more affordable and convenient.
The Chocolate Chip Brownie Flavor has dates, almonds, chocolate chips, walnuts, cocoa powder and sea salt. That's it! Amazing! And, although they are smallish, they are super super filling and energizing! This is by far the most satisfying bar I have had. I don't feel the need to devour one in one sitting. So the calories more than even out! I also want to try the Cappuccino and Carrot Cake flavors. The Blueberry Muffin and Apple Pie are amazing too! There are a ton of flavors. Experiment and see what you like!
I know I have written about Kind Bars and Vega Vibrancy Bars as well. Lara Bars so far are my favorite, they are more affordable than both others, and have more whole ingredients than Kind Bars. All of them are great, but this is my current addiction!
I hope you check out this week's new finds!
Be Well.
Love, Julie
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