Relaxation Technique I Don't Teach

I suffered with anxiety all of my life.  From a very young age I began researching and trying different relaxation techniques to try and reduce stress.  This search is probably what led me to study Social Work and want to share what I had learned with others.

I have tried many techniques and have always been very optimistic about their benefits.  Unfortunately for most of these tools, once the placebo effect wore off, the actual changes were not enough for me to maintain the practice.  

Only a few have passed the test of making a significant change and being easy enough for me to maintain them for more than a year. 

If you read my blog or watch my YouTube channel you know the two techniques that have changed my life and that I teach: ASMR and Guided Meditation.  

There are a few others though that I do not teach.  One is yoga.  I have done yoga periodically throughout my life but it has only become a regular practice for me in the past several years.  

One reason this finally stuck is that I created an easy 10 minute routine that I do the first thing in the morning, often before I even get out of bed.  This is a Kundalini yoga routine that keeps my back flexible and allows me to start the day off relaxed.  

I do not teach this routine because I am not a yoga instructor.  I do show a little example of it in this silly video.

The book I used to create this routine is Kundalini Yoga by Shakta Kaur Khalsa.  If you want to create your own routine, this is a good book to check out.

I often suffer with low back problems and I highly recommend trying this active type of yoga.  Again, I am not a yoga instructor so definitely seek some expert advice to help you create your own routine.  If you want information from someone who does teach Kundalini Yoga check out Kundalini Yoga School: http://kundaliniyogaschool.org/2016/07/18/how-can-kundalini-yoga-totally-de-stress-you-in-only-33-minutes/ 

This is one of the relaxation tools I use daily, and in combination with ASMR, Guided Meditation and probiotics (which I will discuss in a later blog), I have reduced my anxiety to nearly non-existent. 

If you want to delve deeper into the techniques I teach, I hope you will join me for "Zenvigorate - a Relaxation Workshop" starting on September 17, 2016.  This is a seven week online workshop with relaxation tools you will be able to use at any time and live support and videos.  

I hope to take this journey with you,

Jessica Cross
www.jessicacrossasmr.com

How to Relax Workshop - Zenvigorate

Relaxation Workshop for Motivation

Learn to Relaxation techniques to Reduce your Stress and get the energy to stick with your goals.

I reduced my own stress to be able to focus on my family while pursuing multiple careers and hobbies without feeling depleted and I will show you exactly the method I used. 

I have 20 years experience teaching stress reduction with individuals, groups, and businesses.

What is Zenvigorate?  Zenvigorate is a system to reduce stress and then use that relaxed state for motivation.  

One definition of Zen is "a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition." While this workshop is not Buddhist, it will focus on meditation and intuition for relaxation.

In this workshop you will:

• Learn how to control your stress with relaxation techniques.  
• Explore something you have been wanting to start but have felt too overwhelmed to begin.
• Maintain motivation to keep working during and past the seven week workshop.

You may want to start a new job, hobby, or spiritual or health pursuit.  

Is there something you have always wanted to learn but just haven’t had the energy to start?  

Are there projects you have started but have not continued because it was too difficult? 

In this workshop we will explore the tools that will help you relax and regain energy.  

We will learn about stress and how it affects your brain and body.  

I will show you the two relaxation exercises that I learned as a child and have never forgotten.  I have studies relaxation tools since then and will provide recordings of all the techniques I have found that work long term.

Once we have found a relaxed place, we will use guided meditation to discover and start a new goal.  Don’t worry if you do not begin this workshop with a specific goal in mind.  Once you release your stress the goal should become apparent in meditation.

If you struggle with maintaining momentum once you start something new, you will have the support of the group during the workshop to keep you going.  Meditation recordings/videos will be provided to maintain your motivation long after the workshop is over.

• Over seven weeks you will receive weekly relaxation recording/videos and guided meditations.  

• Once a week (usually on Friday evenings at 8:00 PM EST) there will be a live Google Hangout with the workshop members to meditate together and discuss progress.  These will be recorded if you can’t make them live.  

• Written material and activities will be sent weekly and we will check in regularly through a private Facebook group and emails.

• Take this seven weeks to make a habit out of relaxation and find the motivation to move towards your goals.

The Workshop begins September 17, 2016 - $49

Save My Seat

Take a Break Every Day!

Listen on Spotify

If your goal is to stop all of the stress in your life, that is unlikely. Stress will come no matter how much we cut back on work or say no to additional projects. Those things can definitely help but emergencies are bound to happen.  

Therefore it is imperative that you find a way to manage your stress levels when problems arise. Stress may pile up little by little or may come on all of a sudden with a major problem.  The strategies to relax must already be in place or they will be hard to implement when you are overwhelmed.

To prepare for this inevitability, write down five things you can do in five minutes to reduce stress, five things in 15 minutes, five things in a half hour and five things in an hour.  Then you need to schedule those into your calendar on a regular basis.

I think the 15 minute or less stress relievers are the most important, as they are the ones you can do daily and it is a bit unreasonable to say you can't find five minutes to relax.  The important thing is to maximize those short relaxation sessions.  

I hope you have included relaxation recordings and meditation sessions into your 5 -15 minute relaxation plan.  I really believe they give you the biggest bang for your buck and allow you to return to your day with a new mindset.  Try this simple meditation as an example of a quick way to shift your outlook.

Read through the meditation and then close your eyes and remember what you can.  Make sure to let the meditation go in the direction your intuition leads you.

Meditation

Take a few deep breaths. Find yourself walking through a house. What does the room you are in look like?  What is on the floor? What color are the walls. What furniture is in the room? 

Continue walking through the house as you know a friend lives here and you are looking for them. Walk towards the kitchen where you hear the sounds of activity.  

When you enter the kitchen the wonderful aroma of dinner, freshly baked bread and dessert fill your nostrils. What do you smell? What of these smells are most appealing to you? How does the idea of someone cooking for you make you feel?

Your friend stops cooking to come over and give you a hug. This may be a friend you recognize, or may be a guide who is new to you, yet is still your friend. Your friend asks you to sit, and brings you over a plate of food and something warm to drink.  As you eat you feel refreshed and cared for.

Your friend comes to sit with you and says they have a message for you. What do they tell you? It may come in the form of words, feelings, or thoughts. Take whatever is given.  

Once you feel full of the food and drink, thank your guide and walk back through the house to the front door. Exit the house and look back at the house. Smile, feeling grateful for this nurturing break.  

You may now drift off to sleep if you are tired and have the time, or begin hear the sounds around your physical body.  Wiggle your fingers and toes, and when you feel ready open your eyes.

It is often good to eat or drink something after meditation.  You may also want to write your experience down in a journal, as this helps to clarify what you have learned.  

I hope this has allowed you to take a break from your concerns. Reducing your anxiety about a problem can also allow you to come up with more creative solutions.  

Thank you for taking this time with me.  I will be so happy if I can help just a few people let go of some building stress.  

Take care,

Jessica Cross
www.JessicaCrossASMR.com

Relax and Become More Focused - JessicaCrossASMR.com

Learn to relax and then Focus your Mind with Meditation.  Click the Picture above and take just 15 minutes to focus on where you want to go.  

If you want to begin a new project or find a new hobby this meditation will help you head in that direction. For creativity to flow, it is important to relax your mind and let your intuition come forth.  Meditation is a wonderful way to release the worries that crowd our mind and open up space for new ideas.  

Join me for this brief meditation and see what interesting ideas have been hiding behind the worry! Have a wonderful journey and don't forget to write down what you learn.

Take care and connect with me on Facebook for daily updates: https://www.facebook.com/jessicacrossasmr

Jessica Cross

Change of Season Meditation - JessicaCrossASMR.com

We are getting ready to change seasons and it is time to think about how you connect to this time of the year.  

- How is the earth changing around you?  

- Have you accomplished what you wanted to this season?  

- Are you building up your reserves to move into the next season?

I want you to take some time outside this week and look around you.  

Touch the earth or a tree an feel yourself as a living thing connected with the earth.  

The seasons affect your whether you celebrate them or not.  

Your disposition will influence how the seasons affect you.  

- Is there one season that is your favorite? 

- What is it about that time that you love?  

- Is there one season when you are most productive, creative, spiritual, or insightful?  

Consider this when making plans for the year.

For me, during this time of year I complete projects I have been procrastinating about for months.  I prepare for one last big push before I tend to hibernate.  

Look back over the year so far on how you have felt and what you have accomplished so far.  If you are unsure how the seasons change your emotions and productivity, start a journal to see how the cycles of the earth influence you.  

For more insight, read through the following meditation.  Then close your eyes and remember what you can.  It is fine if your meditation goes a different direction.  Let your intuition guide you. 

If you would rather listen to the following meditation click this link: https://youtu.be/qLB0dKIZzpg

Meditation

Take a few deep breaths.  Find yourself walking on a path by a pond.  The grasses are dense around the pond.  You can see the water but there is not an easy way to get there.  Continue to walk around the pond gazing out into the beautiful blue water that looks so enticing.

As you walk you see a frog on the path in front of you.  It hops along the path and seems to pause to wait for you along the way. The frog jumps towards a tree along the pond.  The grass is high in front of the tree but you see that there is a small entrance through the grass that leads to a path around the tree.  Follow this path and the frog that leads you.  Behind the tree the path leads easily down to the water, with a flat rock to sit on and dangle your feet into the pond.  

The frog waits off to the side of the rock.  Look down at the frog and thank the frog silently for the guidance.  Wait to see if you hear anything back.  The frog may respond with words, either spoken aloud or simple understood, or you may see a picture, receive a thought or a feeling . Take whatever is given.  

- What does Frog represent to you?  
- What qualities does Frog have that you could learn from?  

Thank Frog and with a nod the frog jumps into the pond and disappears.

Feel the cool water on your feet.  Release any feelings that have been weighing you down into the water.  The water can effortlessly carry them away.  Feel refreshed and invigorated by the water.  

When you are ready, stand and walk back to the path.  Walk along the path enjoying the beauty all around you and the gift you have been given on this journey.  

You may now drift off to sleep to gain more insights in your dreams or begin to hear the sounds around your physical body.  Wiggle your fingers and toes.  When you feel ready open your eyes.

This is a good time to write down anything you have learned in a journal, and use it to help set goals for the year to come.  

Congratulations on taking this time for yourself.  It is very important to refuel in this way.  If we don't take time like this to figure out where we want to go, we will never get there.

If you enjoy these meditations join me online for seven weeks of relaxation tools and meditations to change your stress levels for good: Find out More  Relaxation Workshop - Zenvigorate Sept 17!

Take care,

Jessica Cross
www.jessicacrossasmr.com

Virtual Spa Visit - jessicacrossasmr.com

I was able to visit a spa yesterday for a massage.  It had been a while!  I wanted to share a spa experience with you, in case it has been a while for you too (or even a first).  If you want to change your day just jump in to the video above, the treatment starts at 8:30 minutes in.  Try it for just a few minutes and see how your mood and day changes.

In this video I will introduce you to a Creambath.  This is a treatment I have had many times in Indonesia and needs to migrate to the US!  You receive a deep conditioning hair treatment, which includes a head, arm and hand massage.  It is amazing and you don't have to get undressed.  I hope you enjoy it.  If you want to download the video or audio to listen offline just click here and it is available without any commercials: https://gum.co/cJacU.

Take some time to relax every day.  It is not an indulgence, you keep yourself healthy and are better to all the people in your life if you refuel.

Take care,

Jess