Category: Relaxation

Posted in Personal Skills, Relaxation

I Have Trouble Meditating! What Really Works For Me

Posted on by tracydee

I’ve always been one of those people who truly wanted to be able to meditate, but I struggle with turning my brain off. I am constantly thinking, processing, and planning. Focusing on the here and now almost seems impossible. I’ve been through many mindfulness trainings and I’ve truly tried to meditate for extended periods of time with limited success.

I often talk with friends and my therapist about techniques to meditate and focus in order to cut back on the anxiety brain. I’ve had to implement several practices to calm my mind, and think of meditation and mindfulness as an ongoing practice in my life. Here are some things have helped me get closer to my goal of daily meditation.


Practice intentional breathing


With intentional breathing, I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. I’m not quite sure where I learned this. I think it was actually from when I started training for races like 5K’s and 10K’s. It helped keep my pace when I was running and made me mindful of my breathing. Now whenever I need to take a step back and reflect, I focus on my breathing and remember to go in through my nose and out through my mouth. If i’m being extra mindful, I’ll even count to three on the inhale and then on the exhale to keep my breathing consistent.


Morning affirmations

I try to do this as many days a week as I can, but it is not every day. I don’t meditate exactly, but I spend time in reflection and focus on positive affirmations. I use the I AM app on my ipad and then I write it down in my journal. I try to pick at least 3-5 affirmations per day to focus on. The simple act of writing helps solidify it more into my subconscious.

Lately, I’ve been focusing on the wealth affirmations. I’ve been in school and a student for a long time and I’m ready to start earning more for the work and effort I have been putting in. I’m using time to research areas to build this and spending time each day manifesting this and being grateful for what I have.


Yoga Nidra

I wrote about Yoga Nidra in another post as well. Honestly, this is one of the best meditation techniques I’ve found that works for me. I have done many of the YouTube videos, especially during covid, but in person works better for me. I lay down with a blanket and a rest for my head and knees and listen to the guide talk through the meditation. I always leave feeling so relaxed and the worries of the day have melted away.


Headspace app

I have actually been quite fortunate to get the benefits of the paid Headspace app through my university. I’m glad that they saw the value in sharing this with grad students so they have a way to limit stress and think about their day. I use it primarily for two purposes. I load up the app and complete the short 5 minute meditations when I’m feeling overwhelmed. Anything longer than 5 minutes is really hard for me to do during the day. That’s why Yoga Nidra is so helpful because it’s a full body immersion. Then, I use their sleep stories at night to help me fall asleep.

I know I see lots of posts and books about successful people spending their morning meditating, but I’m still a work in progress. For now, these little bursts of mindfulness are helping me become more focused throughout the day.

Posted in Relaxation

How I Manage Stress: Five Strategies For When I Am Feeling Stressed

Posted on by tracydee

I don’t know about you, but no matter how much I try to avoid it, stress eventually creeps in to some area of my life. It particular occurs around deadlines or times when multiple priorities are overlapping and there’s no way around it. I try to manage it in advance with good time management skills, yet I still need to find creative solutions to let the stress out when it does start to build up.

Here are five strategies that I use when I’m feeling the stress pile on and I need to let go of some tension:

1. Exercise

This is probably the number one go to stress reliever. Even doctors recommend exercise as a great stress reducer. I am a Zumba instructor so I have my regular classes, which helps with a consistent schedule. However, if I just need to clear my head, a walk or jog is perfect to let go of some of the worries and tension of the day. A couple of years ago, I was feeling fatigued and it turned out that my Vitamin D was low. Now I make it a priority to take the walk outside anytime it is a sunny day to replenish that energy.

2. Breathe Deeply

This is a practice that has truly helped me to manage my anxiety much better. Any time I feel the stress building up or drifting in, I take several deep breaths. It’s also helpful to utilize meditation practices through apps or YouTube channels.

3. See a Counselor or Therapist

I have been regularly seeking therapy for about 5 years. The amount of personal growth and self reflection that has resulted from this has been tremendous. I highly recommend therapy to everyone, no matter your life circumstance. It is extremely helpful to talk through your life circumstances with an unbiased person who has training and knowledge to help you see viewpoints that you may not realize on your own. That alone has the power to reduce stress in your life. Many jobs offer what’s called EAP, or Employee Assistance Programs. If you’re not sure what it is, contact your HR department and ask if this is a benefit that is provided. If so, take advantage of the hotline and assistance to speak with someone about whatever it is that you are going through.

4. Find Something You Enjoy

This could be a hobby or creative talent that you already have or something new that you are trying. Essentially, you want to fill some of your extra time with activities that make you happy or excited. Some people like to paint or draw or express themselves artistically. Perhaps you like to make candles. Whatever it is, make sure that you’re not caught in the work, work, work loop. Your self care and happiness is a priority and you should not feel guilty about making time for that.

5. Do Yoga Nidra

A friend of mine introduced me to Yoga Nidra years ago and I could not believe how immediate the results were in my reducing my stress levels. If you’re not sure what it is, check out this post here. After my first time, I was so relaxed, I truly felt the stress leaving my body. I had tried yoga before, but with little success. I always found myself to be a go, go, go type of person and yoga was much too slow for me. I love my Zumba and dancing, but not Yoga. However, this is much more like a meditation and I could truly find myself relaxing throughout the process. If you haven’t checked it out, there are many YouTube videos you can follow along with that will take you through the process.

Whatever you have going on, you owe it to yourself to take a step back if you can. You don’t want to get to a point where you have no choice but to take a step back. Try to use these strategies and comment any others that you utilize to reduce stress!

Posted in Relaxation

What do you do for self care?

Posted on by tracydee

As a life long student and someone who has always worked more than one job at a time, I realize that self care is a huge part of maintaining balance in my life. Yes, I work a lot, but I also need to make time to do things for myself. Sometimes that means cutting expenses in other places and splurging on myself.

So a couple of free self care things I like to do are to take walks or just simply nap for 20 minutes. Between meetings throughout the day, I judge if I need to get some energy out and get sunshine or if I need to shut my eyes and rest my mind for a bit. I try to build time into my schedule so that I can make these adjustments as needed.

Warmies! My friend got me this gift and I absolutely love it. Even while I’m working, I can heat up my unicorn neck wrap and put it around my neck to help soothe some of the neck pain that comes from looking at a computer all day.

BEACH! Now I’m fortunate that I’m driving distance to a beach. So on days I truly need to just get away and get some peace and relax, I can grab a book or listen to a podcast on the beach. When I didn’t live by a beach, I used to find a local park where I could sit under a tree and still be in nature.

And my last self care splurge is a massage. I don’t get them very often, but they are life changing. I feel so relaxed and in less pain after a massage. If you can find a massage school or a Groupon, you can usually get a good deal. It’s worth it!

Posted in Relaxation

Weekend Downtime

Posted on by tracydee

I have been guilty of working 7 days a week on a regular basis in the past. As a full time student with a couple of part-time jobs, it’s hard to justify taking a day off. However, it’s so necessary to recharge your brain and your body.

For the last several weeks, I’ve tried to work no more than 2 hours on Saturday and Sunday. I typically don’t mind working Saturday morning until about noon and then taking the rest of the day off. And Sundays I usually work in the evening to get prepared for the week ahead so it doesn’t feel like too much work.

With the warmer weather approaching, I’d like to create a schedule where I stop work by 5:00pm on Fridays and don’t pick it back up until 8:00am on Monday mornings. I usually teach on Mondays so this means I need to make sure my lessons are done by Fridays and any grading I have to do is also done by Friday.

As for my schoolwork, it is on me to complete this final paper and graduate in the next 2 months. Perhaps it is a bit of wishful thinking that I can institute this weekend free of work rule now, but I’m going to give it a try starting next weekend. I am going to submit my paper by the end of this weekend to my advisors for their feedback and work diligently throughout the week on all of my part time job tasks.

While I wait for the paper feedback, I will plan my lessons for my class for the next 3 weeks so that I’m ahead. Since most of my work revolves around creating my own schedule, it’s up to me to make sure that I get my tasks completed during the week day hours.

Here’s to taking back my weekends for relaxation and recharging! And more time for my hobbies such as gardening, art, and reading.