Festival of Sleep Day - January 3rd

January 3rd - Festival of Sleep Day!

 The writer's goal is not to put readers to sleep.

But when I teach relaxation that is sometimes my student's goal. In April I uploaded my Prelude to Sleep audio to Insight Timer's Free Guided Meditations. 

This year over 7,000 people have tried it and the reviews are great!
(Not sure how a sleeper can review, but I am not complaining.)

Try Prelude to Sleep.
 

Insight Timer is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. (free or with an optional upgrades) 

 Prelude to Sleep is also available 

as audio download track 

and even an old-fashioned CD. 

Buy Links 

 iTunes cdbaby CD album and MP3 download Amazon CD

   Insight Timer – Meditation Timer

I love this app! The bell quality is excellent. The options to set presets of times and bells is amazing. I can set the time I want to meditate, the number of beginning and ending bells, and choose interval bells - random bells to call my mind back from random thinking. Seeing who in the world is meditating now is nice support if you need reminders that you are not alone.

Developers say 1,400,000  meditators worldwide call Insight home and every day the community generates over 30,000 hours  of collective meditation.

Insight Timer is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play (free or with  optional upgrades)

I put 3,000 people to sleep!

 The writer's goal is not to put readers to sleep.

But when I teach relaxation that is sometimes my student's goal.  I uploaded my Prelude to Sleep audio to Insight Timer's Free Guided Meditations. Over 3,000 4,000 people have tried it and the reviews are great!
(Not sure how a sleeper can review, but I am not complaining.)

Try Prelude to Sleep. 

Timer is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. (free or with an optional $4.99 upgrade) 

 Prelude to Sleep is also available 

as audio download track 

and even an old-fashioned CD. 

Buy Links 

 iTunes cdbaby CD album and MP3 download Amazon CD

   Insight Timer – Meditation Timer

I love this app! The bell quality is excellent. The options to set presets of times and bells is amazing. I can set the time I want to meditate, the number of beginning and ending bells, and choose interval bells - random bells to call my mind back from random thinking. Seeing who in the world is meditating now is nice support if you need reminders that you are not alone.

There’s also a log or journal and statistics available for record-keeping meditators.

Some of the extras are a little odd. Like posting when you’re meditating on Twitter or sharing your milestones on Facebook.

Developers say 3/4 million meditators worldwide call Insight home and every day the community generates over 600 days of collective meditation.

 Insight Timer is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play (free or with an optional $4.99 upgrade)

How to Relax with your Dog

As a yoga teacher who specializes in relaxation techniques I’ve taught Kapalabhati, Viloma, Ujjaiyi, and my favorite Alternate Nostril Breathing (which will help you survive many crises).

As a dog lover I know dogs are great relaxation aids and enrich body, mind, and spirit:

• Walk a dog to get your body moving
• Sit and pet a dog to calm you
• Play with a dog to create joy

Here are instructions for a Dog Petting Breathing Technique

• ·       Find a quiet comfortable spot
• ·       Place hand on dog’s head
• ·       Inhale
• ·       Begin to Exhale
• ·       Slowly move your hand down the dog’s neck and back while silently  counting to three
• ·       When you reach the end of the dog begin the inhale
• ·       Repeat

It may take a few breaths to settle the dog and to find your pace. Breathe in with the inhale and out with the exhale. Begin to lengthen both the exhale and the inhale to at least a count of three for each. Let your belly move with your breath. Close your eyes if you wish. Continue as long as necessary.

Your dog will enjoy these breathing practice timeouts as much as treats.

Notes:

Adapting for the size of the dog - Breathing with a Chihuahua will differ from breathing with a Great Dane. For tiny dogs the movement has to be very, very slow. Or alternatively experiment with more than one petting movement on the exhale. Exceptionally large dogs may take more than one breath to complete the journey. 

No dog? Borrow one or use this practice with cats, horses, and other warm blooded pets (or a human friend.). 

Enjoy and Keep Petting!

Take Your Dog to Work

Plan to Celebrate the 15th Annual

 Take Your Dog to Work Day

 TYDTWDay 

 Friday, June 21st

Chris Favorite, owner of Favorite Clothing Company in Sedona,

brings Jackson to her store filled with designer clothes for women.

We all know being around your pets makes you happy, but now there's scientific evidence, pets can make you happier and healthier. 

A Virginia Commonwealth University study showed employees who brought their dogs to work experienced lower stress levels, reported higher levels of job satisfaction, and had a more positive perception of their employer. 

Dog owners who brought their dogs to work had the lowest stress levels. The most stressed turned to be dog owners that left their pets at home. With non-pet owners scoring in the middle.

Pet owners have been found to have lower blood pressure and fewer stress hormones circulating in their blood.   

  

Nadia Caillou, co-owner of Golden Bone Pet Products   

and co-founder of Golden Bone Rescue and Rehab

Karen Allen, Ph.D. (State University of New York at Buffalo) discovered the presence of a pet was more effective than a spouse or a friend in easing the effects of stress. 

Allen McConnell Ph.D. Professor of psychology Miami University in Ohio, coauthored a study published in 2011 showing that pets foster self-esteem, calmness, and a soothing feeling of acceptance. (I assume the study only included well behaved pets.)

  

Donna, my dental hygienist, brings Cowboy to work on cool days. He

 stays in her truck, just outside her window, while she works and sometimes sings to her.

Thinking of getting a dog or cat? 

Check out local humane societies and rescue organizations.