Video Overview

Heat exhaustion is considered the stage before heat stroke sets in and can cause severe damage to your body. As the body’s core temperature rises, physical symptoms begin to set in. The symptoms of heat exhaustion should resolve quickly, in as little as a half hour. In cases where the symptoms last longer than an hour, you should go to the hospital, where you can be monitored and treated with fluids and electrolytes. If this state of heat exhaustion is prolonged for any significant length of time, it can quickly turn into full-on heat stroke.

While heat exhaustion can be dangerous, heat stroke has the potential of becoming deadly. As the rise in body temperature maintains consistent, the body becomes unable to reduces its temperature by sweating. This will keep the body’s temperature at 104 degrees Fahrenheit, physiological systems begin to shut down, causing serious internal injury. Should you start exhibiting symptoms of heat stroke, you should make your way straight to the nearest hospital for treatment immediately. 

Even if you aren’t yourself at risk of head injury, it’s best to know the possible symptoms, which may save you or someone you know from injury. Possible symptoms of heat exhaustion include:

• Blurred vision or floating dots in your vision
• Dizziness
• Weakness
• Excessive sweating
• Nausea
• Headache
• Altered speech, such as studdering or incomprehensible speech
• Paleness
• Weak pulse
• Faint Breathing

Should someone begin exhibiting these symptoms, move them to a shady or air-conditioned location, though air conditioning is preferred if at all possible. Have them lie down and attempt to keep them calm. Give them water or a sports drink and have them take small sips. If they persist for longer than an hour, reach out to a doctor. If left unnoticed and untreated, heat exhaustion can lead quickly to heat stroke and be fatal. 

Symptoms of heat stroke can morph from those listed above to include:

• Severe headache
• Alteration in sweating, like going from extreme sweating to no sweating at all
• Red face
• Hot, but dry skin
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Confusion
• Convulsions
• Unconsciousness

Once someone begins exhibiting these symptoms, call 911 right away. Move the person to air conditioning and remove any tight-fitting clothing to help cool air circulate around the body.

Anyone can experience heat stroke, but there are those who are more susceptible than others. Children and the elderly can become easily overwhelmed, especially from strenuous activity. Those who aren’t acclimated to the heat are also susceptible to possible injury. If you take specific medications or have certain illnesses, you may also be more sensitive to heat injury and illness. Make sure to consult your doctor if you have any sensitivity to the sun or take a large amount of medication to make sure that you aren’t at risk.

Preventing heat injury is crucial if you spend an excessive amount of time outside. If you’re at risk because of any of the traits listed above, it’s especially important to make sure that you do what you can remain safe. Wearing loose fitting clothing, staying hydrated, and avoiding the hottest parts of the day can help significantly in reducing your risk.

While the summer is meant to be a time for relaxation and fun, it can turn deadly if you aren’t prepared. Always keep an eye on those around you in the hottest summer months and act proactively if they start acting in any way unnatural. Make sure to take steps to try and prevent deadly heat injury and have a good time this summer.

The post Tips for Staying Safe in Summer Heat appeared first on Happy Healthy Hub.

Replace your bad habits with good ones.

This seems really obvious now, but sometimes you need to have someone tell you. Just replace your bad habits, with good ones. It’s almost as easy as it sounds. I used to sit and do my homework and thesis project after my kids went to bed and until I passed out. I could work for about 4 straight hours before I would fall asleep at my keyboard from sheer exhaustion. One day, I realized that I didn’t sleep unless I was coming down off a sugar high and decided that that was enough. I replaced all my sodas with caffeinated teas and set myself a time to be in bed by. A half hour before I was to lay down, I traded my caffeine teas for a heavy duty sleepy-time tea.

You know what happened? Everything shifted. I wasn’t as exhausted because I actually slept in my bed. I started reading at night in the half hour before my tea kicked in and I actually started reading for fun, even beyond the 200+ pages a week I had to read through for my Literature degree. My understanding of my reading assignments improved dramatically and I could better articulate my ideas. The transition between the sodas and the teas was almost instantaneous because I was already drinking something regularly throughout the evenings, they were just replaced with something significantly better for me.

Finding your trigger.

Bad habits, like good habits, are generally created by a cue. This “cue” can be something small, like sitting down on your couch and picking up your phone instead of going to do your work back in your office. It’s been a long day, and you deserve a minute to rest, right? Except that minute turns into a few hours and a long trip down the YouTube rabbit hole. On the upside, I now know the basics of creating a Gameboy with an Altoids tin. This is a big cue for me, so I have to avoid my couch as soon as I get home. I’ve started hanging my purse by my work desk. This forces me to physically see my workspace as an opening for some free time comes into view. It’s harder to avoid a good habit when it’s staring you in the face.

Identify your emotions as a consequence of these bad habits.

On the other side of that coin, you have the emotions that come up when you do fall into the trap of your old, bad habits. You know what you’re doing is terrible for you. You really want to do everything that you can to STOP DOING THE THING NOW, PLEASE BRAIN. Learning to identify the negative emotions and knowing that they are consequences of these bad habits can create a mental shift that can bring you away from them. This can work for stress eating and social media. Feelings of shame, jealousy, inadequacy, and isolation can form as a result of surfing your Facebook feed, NOT from you. Knowing the cause of these terrible feelings can help to motivate you to step away from the habits that cause you to feel that way.

Bad habits can feel like a daunting task, something impossible to overcome. The truth is that it is possible. Your brain doesn’t have control over you. By simply understanding how your brain works, you can have the upper hand in banishing your harmful and destructive habits from your life for good. Know that even if you stumble or fail, you can try again, learning from each failure and coming back at the problem head-on. Don’t give up and you’ll find that on the other side, you’ll be a stronger, better you.

The post How to Quit a Bad Habit appeared first on Happy Healthy Hub.

This one is my favorite, and my kids think it’s excellent! (They’ll always prefer spaghetti, though. What can you do?) This creamy chicken mushroom pasta is cheesy, filling, and the mushrooms add a fantastic earthy flavor to the dish. My partner always requests it for date night. He thinks that it’s the best Italian style pasta without the big bill at the end!

Just a quick note for anyone who hasn’t made a one-pot pasta dish before — this recipe needs the appropriate amount of liquid, or the pasta won’t cook all the way through! That’s the bonus of the one-pot dinner. You don’t have to drain it. But it does have a tendency to leave the sauce tasting a little starchy. While my family and I don’t think that it takes from the dish in the slightest, it is something to take note of before you try it.

Also, my recipe calls for brown mushrooms and heavy cream to make it extra creamy! Don’t be afraid to sub in white sliced mushrooms and any other cream if you prefer something different. Just make sure that you use the same amount of liquid, and you’ll be all set.

One Pot Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

Serves 6 people

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs, boneless (skinless as well if you’d like)

1 tsp dried basil

Salt and pepper

1 Tbsp oil, divided

1 Tbsp of onion

1 Tbsp of minced garlic (or about 3 to 4 cloves of garlic)

1 quart of chicken broth, divided

1 ½ cups heavy cream

½ cup of milk

4 cups of penne pasta (around 10 oz)

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Add 2 tsp of oil Season the chicken with the dried basil and the salt and pepper. Add 2 tsp of oil to a large saucepan or pot. Once the pot is heated, add the chicken thighs, cooking through until the chicken is no longer pink. Remove from the pan.
2. Add the remaining 1 tsp of oil to the pot before adding the onions and garlic. Fry until the onions are transparent and the garlic is fragrant. Pour in ⅓ cup of chicken broth stir. Let the pan simmer for about 5 minutes until it starts to reduce down.
3. Add the mushrooms to the mix and let them cook for about 5 minutes before adding in the rest of the reserved chicken broth, heavy cream, milk, salt and pepper to taste. Bring the pot to a simmer and add the pasta. Continue to simmer for 15 minutes or until the pasta is al dente, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the parmesan cheese and stir until it melts fully into the sauce. Remove the pot from the heat and let sit for about 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Slice the chicken and add to the pasta. Serve it up and enjoy!

The post Weeknight Meal: One Pot Pasta appeared first on Happy Healthy Hub.

Video Overview

How I Keep a Journal

I have evolved over the years on how I keep a journal, but I’ve always kept one consistently. In middle school and high school, it was a single subject notebook that was mainly filled with plenty of creative writing pieces. In college, I transitioned to composition notebooks and have tons of bits of my own writings smashed into books, as well as stream-of-consciousness prose and cutouts of newspapers and my favorite writers. It wasn’t until recently that I started using small planners to scribble in short blurbs of my daily life.

I like using small day planners because each day has a small space laid out and you only need to spend 5 minutes maximum to fill it. This means only the most important things get in the small area. What usually gets scribbled down are small events that would otherwise be forgotten, but when looking back, make me smile. These are my little moments of gratitude, as I like to call them. Small surprises from my partner, a little coincidence, a stroke of good luck. This is by no means telling you that you have to do the same thing that I do, but I think it would give you a good glimpse of my process.

Daily Reflection

A gratitude journal doesn’t just have to be about more significant events, like graduation, weddings, kids, and career accomplishments. Those are more obvious things that you’ll likely see daily. A gratitude journal should have snippets of things — both big and small — that you’re grateful for and often times overlook. It can even be boiled down to just a list of things that made you happy about that day. You can weed out the good and the bad of the day and jot it down. This daily reflection can become a place of meditation and act as an anchor to help you through the day, as it does me.

Habit Building

Writing consistently is a habit that can and should be developed. Singular habits that you carry over from day to day can create a sense of stability and security. Like developing any kind of practice, it can give you a sense of control. Over time, this can help increase your mental health and better cope with circumstances outside your control. Gratitude journaling can not just become a habit, but an outlet as well, should you decide to venture into more creative journaling.

Positive Language Reinforcement

Did you know that the way that you communicate about yourself and events that happen to you can rewire your brain? It has a similar effect as building the habit of writing daily. If you develop the habit of speaking to yourself and about your day positively, you can start to develop increased self-awareness and self-confidence. This can branch out into other aspects of your life, not just your thought processes. Your ability to communicate with your family, friends, and coworkers we become more positive and open as you develop these new habits.

Memory Keeper and Tracker

Like all journals, a gratitude journal has the inherent ability to document your life, whether intended or not. In each entry, it locks away a small memory that you can look back on. Even if you just list your day out, that’s enough for your brain to recall better things that had happened to you. The more detailed that you make the post, the more likely you are to remember it from memory.

Your gratitude journal can not only be a memory keeper, but it can be a tracker of sorts as well. You can pick you patterns for your days throughout an extended period, depending on what it is that you choose to document. This can prompt you to start including things regularly in your days that make you feel better. On the other hand, if something keeps dragging you down, you can find it and eliminate it from your life.

If journaling isn’t your cup of tea, I don’t blame you. It’s a habit that dedicates some time, effort, and emotional availability, but the benefits far outweigh those difficulties. Daily reflection and habit building can help to declutter your mind and help to strengthen a more positive mental health atmosphere. Having something tangible that you can touch can help to build lasting memories. Not everything has to be earth-changing. Make your journal yours and keep track of all that you’re grateful for.

The post Why You Should Have a Gratitude Journal appeared first on Happy Healthy Hub.

Video Overview

Practice Mindfulness

This one is especially difficult for me because of my ADD. Sitting still for any period is awful. I’m a horrible road trip companion as well. But mindfulness isn’t only about sitting still and meditating. It’s about pulling yourself away from all the bustle of life and take a moment to check in with yourself mentally, sometimes even emotionally and physically, too. It’s about focusing on the now and slowing down to meet it.

My way of practicing mindfulness is probably different than most people’s — I write. I have a composition notebook set to the side specifically for short writing exercises. I start with a topic, set a time for 15 minutes, and go. I have a new topic each and every day and don’t ever go back and reread it. It’s just a way to get myself moving and to recenter myself to tackle the day ahead. Find something you like that brings you to the single moment you’re standing in and do that.

Learn to listen to your body

Mindfulness can be one way to slow down enough to listen to your body, but I learned to do it a few ways. If your body is resisting something, you need to find out why. Are you nervously tapping your foot? That can tend to cause muscle aches and pains or other stress-related maladies and be a signal for impatience, anxiety, and nervousness.

Your body’s physical reactions can shed some light on emotional and mental blockages, so listen to them. If the cause is something that you can avoid, stop doing it. If you can’t, find a way to cope. Yoga, meditation, even some light exercise can be enough to help, if not eliminate the unnecessary pain altogether.

Eating well is also probably the single best thing that you can do for your body. Eating poorly can cause fogginess, exhaustion, inability to focus, mood swings, and insomnia, just to name a few things. I find that if you think of listening as an active response measure, eating well is a preventative measure.

Be Organized

Organization is the key to a decluttered mind. I promise I’m not nearly as crazy as I sound. One of the first things that I learned to do to cope with my anxiety and ADD was to organize the space around me. This would make it easier to assess my mental state. If my surroundings started to reflect an incoherent and cluttered space, my emotional state wouldn’t be far behind. I began using this metric to track all the stressors in my life.

It might seem like a daunting task, but take the time to organize your space. You should consider doing this for your workspace as well, especially if you spend most of your time in your office. Watch how much easier things become when you know that you can find something the moment that you need it. Tasks become less daunting, and the frustration that can accumulate daily will melt away.

Practice Self-care

Self-care is critical to your mental health. It can make the difference between you feeling like an actual person, deserving of love and respect and becoming someone who thinks that they deserve all the crappy things that happen to them. This single step right here is what brought me to the realization that I was in a terrible relationship and that I deserved far better.

As a mother of three, I could get the gold medal in prioritizing everyone else in the world before myself. I can become so run down that I forget I’m a person sometimes. It was when I started forcing myself to do basic things, like shower first thing in the morning, wash my face, make some tea, and journal in the morning before getting to anyone else that I actually began to feel better. I was happier in a big way overall.

When you find that things are beginning to feel suffocating, it’s time to take a step back and to reassess how you’re moving through your life. Take a look at the big picture. Try a few of these tips out. They may seem silly, but if any one of these things helps to ease the strain, it was worth it. Even if you only try one or two, it’s still a step in the right direction. And that’s how you get to a place where you’re feeling better. One step at a time.

If you’re having persistent feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and/or depression, reach out to a doctor for help. This is the most critical and essential advice I can give you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Don’t think you have to go through this alone.

The post Top 4 Holistic Ways to Change Your Life appeared first on Happy Healthy Hub.

Video Overveiw

Your skin is a precious resource

If you didn’t know, your skin is the largest organ on your body. It’s your bodies first line of defense against outside contaminants and must remain intact to do its job. Immediate damage done because of sun exposure can cause dry skin, irritation, burns, inflammation and even blisters in some severe cases. These short term effects will diminish reasonably quickly, but it is just a portent of possible problems to come in the future.

Damage can cause the look of aging

Excessive sun exposure can cause age spots and wrinkles to form earlier than they would typically appear if you had used some kind of protection. These traits can increase in intensity depending on how much damage is done to the skin. When the cells are damaged from the sun, it takes them longer to heal and reproduce, replacing the damaged cells.

Skin pigmentations

Alterations in skin pigmentations are more unsightly than it is unhealthy. Skin pigmentations occur when the cells in the skin that produce melanin become damaged, causing them to either overproduce or underproduce melanin. This is what causes patchiness in the skin. If you do start getting discoloration from the sun, there are a few options that can be attempted to help reduce the appearance of discolored spots, but the damage done to the cells cannot be able to be undone.

The Big C

The biggest fear for anyone is finding out that they have cancer in any form. When you leave your skin unprotected in the sun, you increase your chances of getting skin cancer. If you do spend a lot of time out in the sun unprotected, keep an eye out for any moles or irregular growths on your skin. If you do see something abnormal or see a distinct change in your body, see a doctor immediately. The faster you can identify any type of cancer, the better odds you have of getting rid of it.

Well, how do I protect my skin?

You need to take precautions to protect what skin you have. It’s important to stop further damage from occurring. The best way to protect your skin is to cover it up with hats, long-sleeved shirts and pants. This can sometimes be a bit much in the heat, so the second best thing is sunscreen. By using an SPF sunscreen of 30 or more and applying it as directed, you can help to prevent any further damage done to your skin. Also, wear eye protection, as the skin around your eyes is most sensitive and susceptible to damage.

There are some medications out there that can cause increased sensitivity to your skin. Know if you happen to be taking these medications and keep an eye on the UV Index, making sure to limit the exposure on days where the index is moderate to high.

Your skin is your most valuable resource. Because it is your largest organ, it’s most susceptible to repetitive damage. Making ourselves knowledgeable on what we can do to prevent any further damage is an essential step to staying happy and healthy. So go out and enjoy the spring and summer, just make sure that you bring your sunscreen.

The post Why You Should be Protecting Your Skin this Summer appeared first on Happy Healthy Hub.

#1. Be realistic about your starting point.

Overreaching, when it comes to starting an exercise routine, can cause injury and make an already difficult feat nearly impossible. Where you are now is entirely different from where you ended a month or two or a year ago. You need to know where you are now, even if that’s the very bottom rung. Start by evaluating what you’re capable of now in your everyday activities. If it helps, write out a chart that outlines any physical activity you do during the day. Even if it’s just climbing the stairs to your second-floor apartment, it counts. Determine if it’s low, medium, or high activity and chose a place to start to reflect it.

#2. Talk to your doctor before starting any kind of rigorous exercise.

This sort of goes without saying. If you have any kind of issues or illnesses, it’s best to speak with your doctor to discuss what would be best for you. If you’ve had knee surgery, your doctor would probably advise you not to do too much running. It can have a devastating effect on your knees. If you have an illness or other condition that limits your amount of activity, your doctor will be able to advise that as well. Be smart and make sure that what you’re doing is safe for you.

#3. Start low and slow.

Start small. Perhaps building your endurance through jogging or to help create a little strength in your body with some yoga. Move slowly, increasing difficulty over time. This is easier said than done. You don’t want to stagnate by leaving too much time before taking the next step up, so read your body and be honest about when you need to pull back or push forward. This may take some trial and error, but bringing it back to where you feel challenged but not overwhelmed is always an option.

#4. Try new things. Keep what sticks.

I would never have guessed that I liked yoga. It had always seemed weird to me, and with my anxiousness bestowing on me an inability to sit still, it just didn’t seem to be in the cards for me. That was until I found the Yoga with Adriene channel on YouTube. She integrates variants into her routines for those like me who find holding one position correctly still impossible. The value in trying new things is that you’ll walk away with experience and new knowledge about yourself. Even if you decide that indoor rock climbing isn’t for you, you got a great work out in and know to keep moving on to the next one. Perhaps rugby?

#5. Be consistent

They say that it takes roughly 21 days or three weeks to develop a new habit. If you can get yourself to build that habit, your brain slowly starts to rewire itself to make doing that thing more comfortable. This applies to both good and bad habits. That’s why being consistent in your exercise routine is so important. Try a 30-day challenge, if you can’t resist one. Every day for 30 days can instill a habit into your day. This will work for nearly everything you want to do. Pick a month on the calendar and go for it.

#6. Write down why you’re doing this.

Is it for health reasons? To get back into something you love? To bring a little more energy into your life? Whatever it is, write it down. Keep track of your goals as well, and how you accomplish them or they change over time. Make notes of what you enjoy and what you hated. If it helps you remember, write down why you didn’t like it. There will come a time when everything feels like it’s too much and you’ll want to quit. That’s when you pull out your list and remind yourself that you can’t quit. There’s a reason you wanted to exercise in the beginning, and you don’t want to give up. But when you do falter (yes, I said when), bring yourself back to center. Feel pride that you’ve worked so hard and that you’re coming back to the start.

When it comes to your health, it’s best to take charge and put exercise back into your life. Both exercise and diet are the most significant contributing factors in your body’s overall health, so make sure to include both. While that’s easier said, these few tips should help get you steps closer into making that ideal mind and body a reality.

The post How to Start an Exercise Routine and Make it Stick appeared first on Happy Healthy Hub.

I prefer using flank steak for this recipe because you can either cook it as a whole piece, to maintain the moisture, or you can speed up the cooking time by slicing it before you put it on the pan. (Protip: put the steak in the freezer for only about 10 minutes. This will make the steak easier to slice in thinner pieces.) There’s no real set protein for this dish, though. You can throw some sliced chicken or pork into the mix, but the steak is always my favorite.

For those of you following my meal prepping series, you can certainly prepare this for your freezer. Prepare your marinade and add it to gallon sized freezer bags. You can divide it by servings (2, 4, or 6) and put the steak and veggies in the bags. Make sure to mix everything thoroughly and freeze them laying flat on a pan. Once the marinade freezes, it won’t be malleable, so by freezing it flat, you can store them in stacks or lining the edge of the freezer. When you’re ready to cook, place your bag in the fridge and let thaw before cooking. Prepare as directed in the recipe.

These one pan fajitas can be an excellent recipe for a busy schedule because you can let your veggies and steak marinate in a bag overnight. When you’re ready to eat, dump the bad onto a sheet pan and pop it in the oven. Just collect all your favorite fajita toppings and vessels, and you’re ready to go!

One Pan Steak Fajitas

Serves 6

Prep Time: 4+ hours

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Marinade:

1 clove garlic

1 cup cilantro chopped (or parsley if cilantro isn’t to your taste)

3 Tbsp lime juice

¼ cup olive oil

¼ tsp paprika

½ tsp cumin

¼ tsp chili powder

½ tsp red pepper flakes

Salt & pepper to taste

Fajita Mix:

2 lbs. Flank steak

2 – 3 bell peppers (whatever rainbow of peppers you prefer)

2 onions (either yellow or red, depending on your preference)

To Serve (everything is optional. This is entirely based on personal preferences. Pick one or five or all of them if you’d like.):

Tortillas — corn or flour work well here

Sour cream

Guacamole

Tomatoes

Shredded Lettuce

Lime wedges

Cheese

Salsa

Avocado

Onion

Cilantro

Rice

Sliced Jalapeno

Directions:

1. Mix marinade in a gallon-sized bag by combining olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, cumin, paprika, chili powder, red chili flakes, and salt and pepper. Zip bag and massage the mixture with your fingers until combined. Don’t rub too hard, as you can bruise the cilantro or parsley.
2. Open the bag and add the flank steak, peppers, and onions. Zip tightly and toss together. Place bag in a bowl and into the fridge, letting it marinate for between 4 and 48 hours.
3. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Pour mixture on a greased or lined baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, tossing halfway through.
4. (Optional) If you like the crispy bits that you can get from fajitas at a restaurant, switch your oven to broil. Place the sheet under the broiler for between 3 and 4 minutes. When to your preferred crispiness, remove from the oven and serve!

I love to char some tortillas on a skillet or open flame and maybe even toss in a few lime wedges when I’m done to give them a nice char as well. These things are addicting and make a great meal option for a group who are very particular about their tacos, like me and mine. This low maintenance dish makes a great weekly meal for your busy family.

The post One-Pan Steak Fajitas Recipe appeared first on Happy Healthy Hub.

Once I noticed the constant motion of my brain, I couldn’t ignore it. It was like sitting on a boat and realizing after a few days that you can actually feel it moving beneath your feet. It’s disorienting and scary, and your first instinct is to want to make it go away. You don’t have to have my ailments to feel like your mind is racing. Stress, lack of sleep, even being hungry or tired can cause this in many people. One of the few ways that I’ve found to help with these issues is meditation.

What is meditation?

Meditation is like training your brain to slow down and take things one step at a time. It’s the act of creating a space in your mind to relax, to focus your thoughts on your body, and to teach your brain how to respond to different stimuli. Like any muscle, your brain must be trained on how to do nearly anything until it becomes muscle memory. Teaching yourself how to write is a great example. While your brain may recognize the shapes of the letters and even how they can be pronounced in a word, it takes time for your brain to maneuver your hand into the right shape or pattern.

This can translate well into mental exercises, too. If you tend to panic or get flustered at the slightest sign of trouble, you can train your brain to follow these steps. First, take a breath. Second, determine the root cause of the problem and so on from there. Meditation is meant to help your brain form a link between these steps, creating new neural pathways in the brain. Meditation is simulating control and calm until you can do so yourself.

How can I start?

Starting meditation is remarkably easy. You don’t need anything except yourself and a few quiet moments. Everything else is just extra and isn’t at all necessary. Depending on what makes you most comfortable, you can sit on the floor, on a couch or cushion, on a yoga mat or even laying down on a floor or bed or hammock. Blankets and candles are optional.

Once you’ve gotten everything together, just breathe. Try not to worry too much about controlling the breath and instead, focus on the movement of your body. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back. It’s more like popping a bubble than jerking a car back into its lane. If this sounds difficult or confusing, it really isn’t. It just takes some time to sit and get into the rhythm of everything.

There are also guided meditation apps or videos all over the internet. One of my favorites is Headspace, mostly because it has excellent exercises for myself and my kids. Available meditations include Anxiety, Creativity, Overwhelm, and Frustration. There are even short 1 to 5 minute guided mediation for kids. Take a look and see what’s out there. There’s something for everyone.

What if I don’t like it or am not good at it?

There are plenty of people who say that they don’t like meditation. That’s a perfectly valid choice. For me, though, when I had these thoughts, it was just my fear talking. I spent months avoiding my yoga matt and my Headspace app because it forced me to acknowledge that I had very little control over my mental state. It took a few long months, but I managed to come back and haven’t looked back since. The benefits for me have been staggering.

While meditation didn’t cure me of my ailments, what it did was to help me see what it was that caused them in me. My anxiety stems from a pang of ingrained guilt in myself that I was afraid that any wrong slip up I made would cause me to fail, to be less of a person. It was tough to know that I felt like that for so long, and I still do sometimes.

One of the first things that I see in myself when my anxiety takes a turn is that I’ll question my abilities, I start to doubt. Through meditation, I’m able to notice these signs far faster than before, and I can reach out to those who care about me and are there to help me through these issues. I get the help that I need faster. I’m even learning ways to help combat these emotions on my own.

Meditation is by no means an obligation. It’s not meant to be a chore. For those of us who do meditate daily, it’s a space that we create for ourselves that can help liberate us from the confines of our own mind. For me, it’s become a focal point of my daily routine, and I would recommend it to anyone, as well.

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