Tip 1. Success or failure?

Tell the world that you’re successful and get new business.
Show me what your body looks like when you bend over your laptop or text on your phone. Go on – do it. Now show me what depression looks like. Yes. I’m asking you to move into that hunched over position that resembles someone on their phone.
Now sit up and imagine that you’ve just had an interview and got a fabulous new job. Spend a few minutes in this position. SMILE Be that successful person!!

How does your body feel? Wonderful.

Be that successful person. Your mind listens to your body. Success Starts with You! “What message are you sending to your brain?”

2. Superhero

If you really want to energise your brain and get that feel good glow, stand for five minutes every day in the superhero pose. Come on, we’ve all got time. Start a trend in the local cafe when you’re waiting for your coffee. Hands on your waist; knees slightly bent; shoulders back but soft and not tense; feel as if the vertebrae in your neck are growing so that you stand tall. Think about that fabulous job you’ve just won (even if you haven’t yet). Just standing tall or ‘sitting tall’, allows more oxygen to reach the brain. How good is that?

3. Produce new neural cells to boost brain power

Let’s do a few squats. Oh no I hear you say, but look at the benefits:

“Engaging lower body muscles sends signals to the brain to produce new neural cells. Some of the very building blocks that allow us to handle stress and adapt to challenge in our lives.”

I’m lazy so I’ve signed up at the gym several times, only to find that I don’t make it more than three times. Doing 100 squats a day pumps up my heart and has really made a difference to my fitness. Commit to doing squats every day – you can do 100 in seven minutes- to improve bone health, encourage the production of new neural cells and strengthen your pelvic muscles. How good is that? You can do 20 squats in no time at all so make a start today.

4. Make your goal visible

Changing habits is something we can all do. I challenge you to create a tick sheet and put it on your fridge to show 21 days of activity. Without that constant reminder, your brain goes back to the default pattern. Replace your old habit with a new visual reminder. Choose one of the tips above to put into action. Or even better, do both of them. 21 days is all it takes to create a new habit.

5. Create new neural pathways

When I was challenged to do 100 squats a day for 30 days, my first response was – Bullshit – you’re kidding me. I’ll never be able to do that. I hate squats! I was persuaded to start small and that worked well. By the end of the second week, I was onto it and even better, my brain was onto it. Can you believe it? I’d just lie down in bed at night and my brain would go ‘DING’ ‘You haven’t done your squats.’ I’d feel compelled to jump out of bed and stand in the bathroom or at the side of the bed, stark naked, doing one hundred squats as fast as I could, not really caring how they were done. What a sight.

My point is that my brain had formed new neural pathways to get that message to me. WoW. How amazing is that! So get that mind body connection going and change your mindset to reduce anxiety. unexpected-benefits-squats/ Find more articles at elenalennox.com

Elena is a Wellbeing Coach and Resilience Trainer who is passionate about staying well.

“Business owners need to switch off.” WHY do we need mindfulness?

Is your mind full of STUFF? How is that fragmented jumble of thoughts coming and going affecting your ability to focus? Often our mind jumps from one thing to another, thinking about something we could have done better or we’re concerned about what we’ve got
to do. The body becomes tense, shoulders tight, breathing shallow.

HOW can you know what to do?

The cartoon of the child shows that he or she is looking around and probably enjoying the moment. The senses are engaged and the person is ‘present’, not thinking of yesterday or tomorrow and problems yet to come.

Can you afford to feel permanently tense? What are the stress hormones doing to your body?

WHAT can you do to be more present?
Sitting in your office chair, it’s a bit hard to relocate to a space in nature but Awareness Training can teach you strategies for noticing when you are tense and ironing out the irritations that seem to wind you up.

KEY TIPS.

If you can’t do anything about it, let it go Notice how your body feels at different times and let go of the tension.
Stop for a minute – that’s all it takes.
Relax your shoulders, sit up straighter, sigh and breath deeply. Think of something that makes you smile and your brain will change.

Mindfulness can improve productivity