Take time to smell the roses and have some fun. This may be one of the best ways to relieve stress. Engaging in things you like or enjoy are a natural way to de-stress and allows your body and mind time to reset.  So the next time you feel like you are too old or have too many responsibilities to go out an play remind yourself that you are being a responsible adult by taking care of yourself.  Go Have Some Fun!

What kind of dog chases anything red?

A bulldog

How can you train your mind? Well meditate. There are few activities that have shown as much influence on working with your mind thought, emotions and physical response as meditation.

Clearing your mind, regulating your breathe and directing your thoughts not only produces a physiological response of promoting muscle repair, decreasing your heart rate, and increasing your lung capacity it also has potent effects on your self-esteem, self-confidence, relationship dynamics, and ability to achieve goals.

Meditating is a simple way to influence your life and is not just for the yogi masters.  There are a number of ways to meditate, leaving the when and how up to you.  You can meditate in the morning, before bed, after a workout or by taking small moments of meditation throughout your day for a mental boost.

The only thing you really need to remember is like Nike “just do it”.

I hope you enjoy many Gratitude Moments this holiday.

Self-acceptance can be one of the most difficult things to embrace but it doesn’t need to be.  Self-acceptance is allowing yourself to be human with all it’s frailties and mistakes.  Not seeking perfection but progress allows you to be OK with every step you make along the way.  By doing your best and rising to challenges instead of shying away from them helps you to realize how strong you are without regrets.  By remembering and accepting that your current actions and thoughts are from a past place allows you to make mistakes, change from them and continue to get better and better. Self-acceptance doesn’t need to be a quasi-spiritual, out there experience, it is as simple as accepting, embracing forgiving, and living your life as the best person you are in the moment and then putting that on repeat.

A dog’s tail wag is like their emotional body language that can communicate their feelings to us. Here are some meanings …

• Tail moving fast is excited
• Tail wagging to the right means a dog is feeling pleasant and is encountering something or someone known to him (Stanley Coren Ph.D., 2011).
• Tail wagging to the left means a dog is encountering a person or other dog that isn’t known to him, and he wants to show dominance (Stanley Coren Ph.D., 2011)
• Tail wagging in broad strokes is happy
• Tail wagging with short stokes is anxious or uptight
• Tail held high and still is alert and dominant
• Tail down is submissive and concerned

This is just a general guide. Remember that your dog is as individual as you are with their own habits and communication. So, pay attention to their tail wagging they will be sending you secret messages.

Reference:

1. Stanley Coren Ph.D., F. (2011, Dec. 5). What a Dog’s Tail Wags Really Mean: Some New Scientific Data.Retrieved from Psychology Today.