Supernatural Botanicals

Did you know that simple old-school hand-stands like these are super-beneficial for you?   Hand-stands are fantastic to strengthen your arms, shoulders, and wrists.  Once you get comfortable with hand-stands, you can go further into the move by bending your elbows and attempting to lower your forehead to the floor.  It also helps stretch the abdomen and improves one’s concentration, coordination and balance.  Through focused effort, it helps calm down the brain thereby helping relieve stress and tension and mild depression through the meditative effort involved.  When you feel like you have midday “fuzzy-brain”, where you’ve been over-stimulated and cannot focus, try doing a hand-stand to alleviate stress and get blood flowing to your brain again.  Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a gymnast to attempt a hand-stand.  Use a wall to put your feet against in the beginning.  As time goes on, you can inch away from the wall.  And as you do, you’ll be building your abdominal muscles (try it now…you’ll feel it instantly.)  When I’m feeling unfocused and overloaded with stress, I simply do a hand-stand for a minute or two to regroup and get my mind flowing again.  The stretch in the shoulders, back and arms feels so good.  And talk about instant results…you feel it immediately.

Working out does more for you than boost your sex appeal.  According to a recent study by the University of Bristol in England, there are serious perks to exercising before or during your workday.  They found that 72% of people improved their time management, 74% managed their workload better, and 79% were sharper and more focused.   Switch your workouts to early morning or midday to gain the added benefits above.

   There’s no doubt that lots of us are worried about our financial futures.  No one is here to bail you out.  It can feel all too overwhelming and daunting at times.  But did you ever stop to think of the benefits of this forced recession?  I think we can see tremendous benefit beyond our recession pain.  Here’s why:

*  We are more cognizant of our spending and saving.  Cognizance brings bigger thinking to the table, forces you to set goals and to take ownership of your actions. 

*  We are eating at home more.  Because we are eating at home more, we are eating healthier.  For great healthy, fast recipes, see Sam The Cooking Guy.

*  Gym memberships are on the decline according to studies, but this doesn’t mean that you have to stop exercising.  People are finally discovering their sidewalks outside their own door and are exercising outside…where it’s free. 

*  We are watching less TV:  According to reports from cable companies, they are losing customers in droves.  It forces you to do something free…like go to the library, reacquaint yourself with that sidewalk out in front of your house, reorganize your closets, or just take some zen time. 

*  The recession is helping us to focus on what’s important in life, helping us to reevaluate our goals, like…relationships, family, God, happiness, being kind and helping one another. 

Perhaps those are the good things we can take away from the recession.  After all, just because you’ve been doing something the same way for a long time doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right way.  Step back, look at things from 1000 feet, and re-think your life and all the people and things in it.  Start to focus in, keep your chin up, and remain happy.   That’s what will get you through.