There's a website for that

holistically: mindful

Hello Interwebs

Just your friendly neighbourhood Social Work-esque blogger here.

We all know the phrase: "there's an app for that" (thanks, Apple).  Well, I believe that there is also a website for most things in life: cooking, loving, clothes, how-to's, organization, self-help, gadgets, gaming, resources, informational pages, etc. etc. etc.  If you've thought of it, there probably is a website for it.

Which brings me to my quest for "what will I resolve to do this year" (i.e. cliché New Year's resolution stuff). I'm not a fan of clichéd tasks, really: having a New Year's resolution feels uninspired and unauthentic.  Why?  Because we're force-fed resolutions by a plethora of sources (media, companies, advertising) that we "should" strive for: lose weight! look younger! get fit! be more [insert whatever trait society deems successful, beautiful, sexy, desirable, etc.]!  Not much room for change or creativity, eh?

Having said all that, I do see value in striving for self-betterment.  I believe in working on thyself and for thyself.  If you can't be your own employee, then whose can you be?

What does this all have to do with websites and the interwebs, you ask?

Everything *insert Inception noise here*

This is simply a start, folks, but while I was searching for ways to de-stress this year, I came across two websites (told ya this had something to do with websites!) that sparked my interest.

The first is through the Chopra Center.  Yes, I am referring to the Oprah-touted spiritual leader's website/community.  The specific program I'm referring to is called "De-Stress Your Mind and Body ... in 10 Days." (Catchy, non?)

So far, I'm on day seven.....ish (there's been a day or two in between each task for me), and I have been given small tasks to do each day.  They have been manageable and pleasant.  For example, one of the day's tasks was to be still and basically meditate for 10 minutes. Done and done!  With the astounding number of apps and websites dedicated to timers and guided meditations, you can find a way to do 10 minutes of meditation.

The 10-day program does center around Ayurvedic medicine, or the balance of mind, body and environment: http://doshaquiz.chopra.com/.   The beginning of the program starts out with this quiz, identifying which area(s) of your "self" is (are) out of balance.  This is not to pathologize, but moreso to identify where you may be needing to balance and channel your energy.  For me, my mind is in stressville, and my body is "heavy" with stress, congestion, sluggishness.. Fun, eh?

Something to note: your results can change from day-to-day.  For science's sake, I may do this over 3 random days and see what results come up the most.  Yay, science!

One of the main tips I keep getting from various resources over the last couple of years is to "be still".  In what way?  Well, by doing yoga, meditating, breathing (breathing is always good), etc.  Those activities almost seem like catch-phrases or clichés these days.  However, there is profound peace that can be attained by practicing those activities.

Bonus! You do not have to be a professional meditator (meditater? tater? I do love potatoes) or yogi to practice yoga, meditation, and deep breathing.  Nope! It's actually best to start out small, Pick one of those for now and try it out for a few weeks.  There are lots of materials of on all three, and lots of FREE videos on all three practices:

Ekhart Yoga: lots of free yoga videos from beginner to advanced
Positive Magazine Meditation Relaxation Inspiration: a variety of Guided Meditations and other instructional videos on meditation ... you get to learn how to r e l a x. Bam! That's some homework I don't mind doing!

Even do a search for "deep breathing" on YouTube.com and you'll get a wide list of videos instructing you how to deep breathe (and for various benefits, too).

Onto the second link in question: www.De-stress.ca.  Yes, you read that correctly.   There exists a website called "de-stress." This is a Manitoba-based website with lots of resources and information on stress and how to do simple, manageable things to de-stress.  It's also free, in case you didn't catch that.

What about other resources? Google-magic gives us a plethora (I love that word) of resources. For example, following the search "how to stress less," the first few options include (again) very simple, manageable tricks to identify stress triggers and minimize their impact.  To boot, these resources come from a variety of areas: the fitness world, WebMD, a site geared toward women, the Psych realm of the interwebs, and plenty of others. Men, I did a search including "for men" and found one for the guys, too.  Equal opportunity (i.e. Feminism), baby!

Folks, I will caution you against biting off more than you can chew.  With all of this information, please consider where you are in your life and what you feel like doing.  It may only be that you are able to stop at lunch to take 3 deep breaths each day.  Once that becomes a habit (i.e. it becomes automatic for you), then think about what you want to incorporate next.  Baby steps will help you make new thing habits faster than taking on too much, doing it for a week, then giving up.

Let me know in the comments If there are other resources you've enjoyed or heard about that have helped you!

Bonus: I came across the following app (and website!) called Calm.com.  It's such a handy, comprehensive app to take meditations with you wherever you go.  And, they range from 2-30 minutes.  Everyone has 2 minutes in their day :). I got the app for free from the Amazon Marketplace (on my Blackberry Q10).

ENJOY!