Stress: Stay present Stay focused

          Stress / Overload/ Slow down/Breath 

Asia (horse) Brings awareness to Feminine Inner Power   

 Can you recall a time that you felt completely overloaded ? Perhaps you can relate to the holiday time of year . I know I can . We celebrate Christmas and being a single parent for over 13 years, sure has its challenges especially during the holiday's . 

When the days grow colder and longer I have this need to purge my house of clutter , reorganize and paint . As I release material things I no longer need I'm able to release beliefs and emotions I have been holding onto.  What a relief and energy booster. What do you need to let go of?

This December I've repainted hallway and kitchen , plus rearranged all my kitchen cabinets,  found new homes for all the overload of dishware I accumulated this year. Where am I going with all this , how does stress fit into the equation ? 

This is the busiest time of year for the horses and I with Equine Human Connection. I wasn't aware that I was feeling overloaded until the other day when I realized  I haven't bought any gifts , I have a green Xmas tree in my living room, assisting my college son with getting school loan , house needs a new roof.  My ex-husband is a severe alcoholic our kids need my emotional support at the moment which is very draining on me . Nick my oldest child is challenged , he's so worried about his dad that he's up all night long . Nick can be a runner so when he's up I need to get up to make sure he stays in the house .  

I believe I'm handling this all very well until I get a new client  that unconsciously reminds me of my ex-husband .  I'll call client Alan not his real name . While we're working with the horses I am aware that I'm feeling very frustrated . Alan is having a challenging time with the horses due to his fear of the  horses and fear of success .

Josie reminds you to have compassion for self and others  

The herd helps Alan so much , he leaves session overwhelmed with lots of information on how to release fear and go forward into success. This is where priority and focus come in . I take lots of photos during the sessions to enable clients to continue their learning at home . Alan will pick one photo and that will be his focus to acknowledge his feelings from the session and how he can take this information and implement it into his life. 

After Alan leaves I am very confused with how challenging the session was for me . I go to the cupboard to make tea and I went to the cabinet that housed the tea three weeks ago . Went to reach for my teacup once again I went to the cabinet that it was previously in three weeks ago . 
I started to laugh , this is the important part , I was overwhelmed , on auto pilot , parts of Alan's session with the horses triggered past unpleasant  memories from when I was married. That trigger took me back to the past , when I was going for the tea , I thought tea for a moment and then my focus was gone due to my brain trying to figure out my emotions I went back to the old habit , the old routine of where the tea was in the past . This happens when your on auto-pilot.

Tea is very simple and silly , I believe it's vitally important to find humor in life . What I want you to have awareness of is when your stressed , overloaded  the mind to protect itself goes on autopilot , which takes you back to the old way of feeling and doing majority of the time . The holidays can be a very hard time of year for many people due to going back to old non-honoring patterns like my tea cupboard story . 

Here are some tips to help you stay focused , calm and know your triggers.

1) Slow down , BE purposeful about everything, what you think, eat, how you move, who you talk to, what you watch on TV , read , the company you keep etc . Being purposeful will help keep you focused.
2) Limit sugar and processed foods , they cause brain fog. 
3) Breath deeply and slowly . On your exhale let go , shake off anything that doesn't feel or think honoring.
4) Do an active activity outside , purposely breathe in fresh air and purposely exhale.
5) Know what triggers you or sets you off. When you acknowledge your triggers you give yourself permission to be in control of them.
6) Acknowledge all your strengths.
7) Limit your to do list to your top 3 priorities for the day and star your number one priority.
8) Keep your focus , thoughts on your top priorities.
9) Having a hard time focusing start saying or singing everything your thankful & grateful for in your life . Bring on the happy.
10) Know your spending budget/money management and stick to it . How creative can you be with your money? 
11) Learn or master meditation and Visualization ( Check out Youtube) 
12)  Pray throughout the day for yourself , others , community , your country , animals , and the world. 

Willie ( the pony ) teaches you how to allow opportunities into your life . Shadow is behind Willie Teaches you the importance of removing judgement , life is experiences you like or do NOT like . 

How can you bring joy into your life today ? Smiles and laughter are to your soul what water is to a plant . Nourish your soul and grow. 

Many Blessings to you ! Health*JOY*Freedom...Peace...Lisa