3 Simple (and economical) Methods to Clear Away Negative Emotions and Toxins

from Thrive Living...

Detoxification need not be something to dread as an expensive, complicated and exhausting ordeal. A few quick daily habits can flush out physical and emotional toxins gently and easily. Air, water and a brush are the magical trio that encourage a healthy body, sparking mind and balanced emotions.

Breathe

Breathing usually is not something we think about since it comes so naturally. But a majority of people really don't breathe correctly, especially in our fast paced world. The breath tends to be constricted, shallow and stressed. This style of breathing deprives us of much needed oxygen -- contributing to brain fog, fatigue and accumulation of toxins. But this problem is easily solved with a bit of awareness, intention and a breathing technique called kapalbhati -- "sparkling mind" in Sanskrit. The first breathing habit to cultivate is awareness of the breath.  Most people only breath from the upper portion of the lungs, but we really need to draw air in fully with the diaphragm. Take a few moments through out the day to breathe deeply. By taking in more oxygen, tissues are effectively detoxified, the mind is clarified and the nervous system is calmed -- leading to positive emotional states. Next, the kapalbhati practice. Here are the instructions according to Pure Inside Out:

"Sit in a comfortable position with spine erect…Breathe normally for about a minute. Once composed, you can begin. First, exercise the diaphragm by exhaling suddenly and quickly through both nostrils, producing a "puffing"  sound. Don't focus on inhalation. It will be automatic and passive. This exercise should be done in three rounds, each consisting of 11 strokes (for the beginner)."

Hydrate

Drinking water seems like such a basic action, yet dehydration is common. Drinking 2.2L of water (approximately 9 cups) will flush out toxins throughout the day -- helping to ease the stress put upon the kidneys and liver. It is particularly important to drink plenty of water first thing in the morning as toxins have accumulated during the night. Adding the juice of half a lemon is even better as it helps to support the liver. Chinese medicine believes that the liver is the seat of anger while the kidneys are associated with fear -- balancing these organs is important for emotional health. Purified water is crucial otherwise we are simply trading one toxin for another. Reverse osmosis is the most reliable form of water purification since it is one of the few methods that removes fluoride.

Brush

Dry skin brushing is another economical and easy way to detoxify. Dead skin cells are sloughed away, the lymphatic and immune system are stimulated while toxin harboring cellulite is reduced. A wide, long-handled natural bristle brush is all that's needed. Begin with dry skin and brush in upward strokes toward the heart. The feet are a good place to start. Brush the legs, arms, back and abdomen. It takes only 5-10 minutes to brush the entire body. Make sure to enjoy a hot shower afterwards, drink a big glass of water and breathe deeply. Your happily purified body will thank you. 

http://www.thrive-living.net/2013/07/3-simple-and-economical-methods-to.html?spref=bl

Learn more:
http://www.naturalnews.com/037050_negative_emotions_clearing_toxins.html

Avoid Screaming Kids: Five Easy Distractions During Road Trips| Lending Hand Resources

Avoid Screaming Kids: Five Easy Distractions During Road Trips| Lending Hand Resources

RESPITE: HELPS FAMILIES

"According to the National Respite Coalition, respite has a range of benefits for families: It improves family functioning, enhances satisfaction with life, improves the capacity to cope with stress, and provides more positive attitudes toward their family member with a disability. Data show that respite may also reduce the likelihood of divorce and help sustain marriages."

NJ Council on Developmental Disabilities, People & Families, Summer 2013

Wanna Know How You Can Have A Conversation With Your Non-Verbal Child Wi...

Exercise for Stress Relief

"Exercise in almost any form can act as a stress reliever. Being active can boost your feel-good endorphins and distract from daily worries"​, according to the Mayo Clinic on health and exercise. 

Exercise and Stress Relief :

• Pumps up your endorphins to make you feel good.
• It's meditation in motion to help you remain clam and clear.
• It improves your mood and can increase self-confidence and lower systems assocated with mild depression and anxiety.
• It can help improve your sleep, which is often disrupted by stress, depression and anxiety.

Click here to read more about the many benefits of exercise in reducing stress:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise-and-stress/SR00036

Strategies for Stress Reduction: Squeeze in Chill Time

5 Minute "Breather" Breaks: 

•  When you're starting a task, set an alarm or kitchen timer to go off in an hour. When it goes off, take a five-minute break. Stand up, stretch, walk outside.  Do something that gets your mind off the task for a few minutes. Each time you start to work again, reset that timer so you get a few minutes every hour to recharge your batteries.
• If you're working long days, it's also good to take a 15 minute break every few hours. 

Don't Neglect Lunch: 

• Taking a half-hour or an hour off for lunch can be a real energizer in the middle of a busy day. If possible, do some socializing during lunch, either in person or on the phone. 
• Find some good music and listen to it during your breaks. This can really help get your mind off work for a few minutes.

Take a Daily Walk: (if at all possible):

• A 20 to 30 minute daily walk can help reduce your stress and help you get or stay fit. 

Plan Time for Yourself:

• Get out a calendar an plan some time for yourself. Going out one night a week for a few hours can help put some balance and perspective into your life. Don't you feel and work better when you have something to look forward to? If you and your spouse can do it together, that's great. If not, take turns, if you're a single parent, may you can trade off with another single parent, or plan for when their other parent (if they're in the picture) has them. 
• Go out with friends or see a movie by yourself or with friends - whatever you enjoy. Or plan for movie time with your partner, after the kids go to sleep. 

These pauses for relaxation or breathers can help make you more efficient,  more optimistic and give you ideas you can't get when the fatigue poisons are building up in your brain. 

Girlfriend to Girlfriend: Message from the Heart

Desiree Suter, Founder of Integrative Wellness Solutions and The Parents Cafe

I am new to blogging, obviously. I am surely not as sophisticated as some of the bloggers out there, and have a great deal to learn. But what I do know, and what I want to impart comes from my 18 years of experience as a mother, a woman, raising two children with special needs.  One son has Down syndrome, and another has ADHD. It's hard for me to completely own the ADHD as a special need, because that son has no cognitive impairment, and is intellectually quite bright. His issues are more around executive functioning and focus/attention. He has never been classified in school, nor did he have an IEP or 504 plan. But, I share this to say he does have needs, and many times his needs have been more consuming and emotionally draining than those of my son with profound cognitive delays. In their younger years, their needs, ALWAYS, came before mine.  Their father and I divorced when they were very young, and I found myself as a working, single-mother, all alone, in a state where I had no family and very few friends.  It was HARD!

The level of daily stress I encountered during this time was immense, to say the least. As I look back on those years in writing this, I don't know how I did it without cracking. I learned along the way, but it took a toll. Fortunately, working in the disabilities field enabled me to be on top of the law, services available to us and resources that were most helpful in supporting me and the boys. But what I found was that while there were many wonderful programs for kids with special needs, there were not many for the parents, themselves. There are respite services, and I encourage you to access these services and NEVER give them up! But, unless you are connected to a support group, and sometimes even then, many parents don't ever learn about or have explained to them the emotional journey that goes along with the healing and life adjustments parents go through in having a child with special needs, and at different points along the way in raising them.  In addition, many parents aren't always explained or told the importance of taking care of themselves along the way.  I mean, not just explained to, but emphasized in the way that they understand that this is part of what you HAVE to do for both yourself and your child(ren)...all of them, special needs or not!

As women, we are generally the primary caregivers for our children. There are many father's, though, really stepping up to the plate and either taking more of a role at home or doing it solo. I must commend them, as well.  However, this is a girlfriend to girlfriend...woman to woman discussion today.

If I can call you girlfriends, because in our walk, we share something that we deeply understand in our hearts when we meet that those without kids with special needs can not fully appreciate. While we can't change our child's disability or special needs, we find it our duty to help them achieve all they can, and be all they can be. And we should. But, when we burn out, have resentment toward, get ill, lose ourselves, lose our vitality for life, then what good are we to our children, our partners, or ourselves? We are the glue. We hold it together for our kids and our families. So, it is imperative that we hold ourselves together!

It wasn't until I remarried, and my new husband saw that I was drained, depleted, and living with chronic fatigue that sparked him to talk with me about it, and allow me to see all that I share with you today.  He allowed me to see my state of being, and insisted that it wasn't how things should be. We mapped out ways for me to have a breather, delve into myself again and my interests, we budgeted for a sitter so we could have some grown-up or couple time together, we found money in the pot for me to go to the gym, we found time for me to get my nails done, and get together with friends, he shared in the cooking a few nights per week, he helps with homework and laundry, and we found vacation spots that were "special-needs friendly" so we could vacation together as a family, but also found our time to vacation alone. I started following up with my own health, and making appointments to see doctors for my own issues. I began to feel like I mattered again, and that I had more of a purpose in my role and my life...I began LIVING again...and I found a gem of a man to do life with!

I share all of this to impart to you the importance of finding time for you, finding time for you and your partner, remembering you are important and that your life was given to you, not only to give to your children, but to yourselves as well. Your life is to be enjoyed! It's okay to do so, without guilt.  Find your "me time".