Another inspiration of mine is my little brother Jason. If anyone knows how to relax it is Jay. He perfected the art of relaxation one summer and actually grew a dreadlock on the back of his head, from relaxing on the couch for so long. Jay chills hard. Any time I catch myself trying to do too much, I think of my little brother, take a deep breath and silently say to myself RELAX! I am actually thinking about bringing him into the yoga studio to do workshops on relaxation but in the meantime here are some of his tips.

TAKE DEEP INHALES AND SMOOTH EXHALES– Jay sure can inhale completely and exhale slowly. He practices hard. He practices every day. Learning to breathe properly propels us on a path of healing. Studies show that proper breathing techniques reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and give us an overall sense of well-being. In that case, Jay is going to live forever.

LAUGH– Laughter IS the best medicine. Jay is the funniest person I know.

MEDITATE– Even though Jay meditates on football and golf it still counts! I have never seen such focus.

LET YOUR MIND GO EMPTY– Some people find it helpful to visualize a calm, beautiful place such as a garden, and for others an empty mind comes more naturally.

FIND THE TIME– I have never seen my little brother stressed out about fitting things into his daily schedule. His pace is controlled and Jay definitely sets time to do things he enjoys.

So inspired by Jay I am going to keep this post short and sweet so I can go do some relaxing of my own.

There is more to life than increasing its speed. – Mohandas K Gandhi

Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are. – Chinese Proverb

Don’t underestimate the value of doing nothing. – Winnie the Pooh

Peace, peace, peace

NAT

NEXT WEEK! Home remedies from the motherland