Tag: lisa y coaching

Mindfulness lesson 7

Hello~

How are you today? Good I hope. So, here is lesson 7.

Fall

So, it is not exactly Fall yet, but it is close enough. I really love Summer, but Fall brings back memories of childhood. First of all it is back to school time. Then we have Halloween. When I was a child, we lived across the street from an apricot orchard. We kids loved to play in there. When I take a walk this time of year, with the crispness in the air, I go back to those days. As I practice mindfulness on the walk, I feel young again. After a walk in the Fall air, I feel so refreshed.

In this busy world, we don’t generally have the opportunity to take a walk in an orchard, on the beach, along a river or on a mountain top. Most of us take a walk around the neighborhood or downtown perhaps. With the sound of traffic, it can be challenging to put the outside world out of mind and find it relaxing. It isn’t  just noise either is it? There is the smell of food cooking. There are kids on skateboards and bicycles. There are all sorts of distractions. But with practice, you can learn to put most of the distractions out of your mind by watching your breath. Pay attention to your breathing. I am breathing in. I am breathing out.

If you have a friend or coworker who would join you on the walk, it can help. But you must both keep silent. The idea is to be mindful of your walking buddy instead of the traffic and distractions you encounter. It is always easier to learn a new skill with a buddy. You can talk (after) about your success and challenges as well.

Walking with distractions is good for you

Although we would all love to be able to walk along a quiet beach, in the forest, or even in a park, walking along a noisy street is good practice. Why? Well, in order to get great at mindfulness, we need to learn to do it under all circumstances.

One of the important things to do when training a dog is to do it with distractions. It is one thing to train your dog in the privacy of your quiet yard. But often it is challenging to get your dog to do what you ask when you are out in public. When out in public, your dog has millions of wonderful scents to check out. There are other dogs. There are cats. There are other people. A dog is only well trained if it responds to your commands with all these distractions.

As it is with dogs, it takes true mastery of mindfulness to remain silent, focused and aware with distractions. So, when you are limited to walking in and about town, take pleasure in the opportunity to practice mindfulness among all the distractions.

How is your mindfulness going?

I would like to know how you are doing with this new skill. Leave me a message. www.facebook.com/lisaylifecoach

Yeah!

Lisa Y coaching

Mindfulness lesson 6

Hey there~

How are you today? I took yesterday off. Did you miss me? *smile* So, have you been practicing your mindfulness? Good.

Path and Destination

Mindfulness has two faces. It is at the same time the path and the destination. Mindfulness is the path toward the ability to build up awareness and concentration. Mindfulness is also the the destination of a life of awareness. Mindfulness releases forgetfulness and to live fully. The more you practice mindfulness the more mindfulness you have.

Are you breathing?

Your breath is your life. Breath is what keeps you alive. It is so essential and yet it is something of which we are generally unaware. Most people usually only notice it when we have a hard time breathing. When we become winded or congested and it is difficult to breathe, that is when breathing is noticeable.

Have you ever heard a fitness instructor say “don’t forget to breathe”? Some people think that is a silly thing to say. But when you become aware of your breathing, you will notice there are times when we hold our breath. Doing weight lifting is one of those times. Fitness trainers are well aware of this, and so they remind people to breathe. When we get excited, and we have something to tell others, we often talk a lot without taking a breath. Have you ever told someone something, and had them interrupt you with “take a breath”? I have.

When people get nervous or excited, or do some challenging task, (like weight lifting) they sometimes hold their breath. What happens is that your brain becomes scattered. You are not concentrating. Taking a breath actually centers the mind. If you follow your breath, you will actually do better than if you don’t hold it.

Proper breathing

The key to proper breathing is using the diaphragm. When you breathe using the diaphragm, you increase your energy as you improve the oxygenation of the blood. The diaphragm is an energy mobilizer. Improved movement of the diaphragm through applied kinesiology improves the meridians which in turn improves energy flow.

How to breathe properly for the maximum benefits is easy. As we inhale, the diaphragm contracts. This enlarges the thoracic cavity helping the lungs fill with oxygen. As the diaphragm relaxes, we exhale forcing the carbon dioxide out of the lungs.

Ideal breathing is abdominal breathing. The focus is on the belly button and not the chest. When you breathe properly, your belly will rise more than your chest. Test your breathing. Take a few slow, deep breaths. Concentrate on letting your abdomen expand fully with the incoming air. You may want to visualize that the air is actually coming in through your belly button and not your nose. Your belly should rise and fall about an inch with each breath.

With proper breathing, you will become more relaxed, reduce blood pressure and your heart rate, and deliver more oxygen to your body tissues.

How to mind your breath

Take in a fairly long breath. Feel your lungs expand. Now exhale being sure to get all the air out. Now wait a few seconds before you take your next breath. You will notice air coming in without taking a breath. Did you notice? Now do this for a few breaths. Be aware.

I am breathing in. I am breathing out. I am breathing in. I am breathing out. I feel my lungs and rib cage expanding. Imagine the air circulating throughout your entire body. Can you feel it? When you breath properly, your entire upper body should move.

That’s all for today.

Take time to mind your breath a few times a day. It is a good habit.

Tell me how you are doing. www.facebook.com/lisaylifecoach

Yeah!

Lisa Y coaching

Dryer Safety

Hey~

How are you?

Today I want to talk about dryer safety.

Special Features

Clothes dryers have come a long way. Today they have a lot of features. The drum rotates this way then it reverses. They may continue to move the drum every once in a while in case you forget. They sense dampness, have steam cycles, and wrinkle guard settings and more. Me I am not that particular about my clothes. As long as they come out clean and dry, that is all I care about. But if you care about these things, your first move is to read the manual. Otherwise, you may not get the most out of your new dryer or old dryer if you have yet to read the manual.

Clothes tags

So, I used to work in the dry cleaning industry. I know how important following the labels can be. The best way to wash and dry the garment is listed on the label. It will tell you at what setting your dryer should be set. How warm could be very important. Is it delicate? The right setting can make a big difference. It can keep your clothes from shrinking and wrinkling.

Shove it

I know what it is to use the laundry mat down the road. You try to get the most out of each load. Am I right? But if you do your laundry at a laundry mat or at home, don’t just shove everything and anything together. If you care about your clothes, you want to wash and dry like items together. If you have too many things in a dryer, it is harder to get them dry. A dryer should not be more than half full. And you may not want to dry delicate things with not so delicate things otherwise you may do damage to the delicate things. Some clothes need to be dried at one temperature and some at another. Shoving them all together could ruin some things.

Pockets, zippers, drawstrings

OK, you should have done this before you washed the clothes. But check the pockets. That is one of the top rules we had in the dry cleaning industry. After reading the label to be sure the garment could be dry cleaned, we checked the pockets. You don’t want to leave anything in the pockets. Although people don’t use pen and paper much anymore, you don’t want it being washed, And if you find money, it’s yours. Think it as a tip. You did just have to search through someone’s pockets after all. During cold and flu season, you may find some snot rags. Ugh! I know right, but it happens. If you have children, who knows what you may find. Crayons, lip gloss, erasers, glue, who knows what you will find, but you don’t want it going through the system. One more thing is to zip up zippers to keep the teeth from snagging and tie drawstrings together to keep from getting knotted or lost or drawn into the garment and you have to fish them out.

Lint trap, brush and vent

OK, so you should know the dangers of not removing the lint, right? I clean my lint trap after every use. I have two dogs. I almost need to do this in the middle of drying a load. In other words, I have a lot of dog fur in my lint trap. But in addition to cleaning the lint trap you really should invest in a lint brush. How does a lint brush work? Well, a  lint brush is a long, thin, and flexible brush. You remove the lint trap, and use the lint brush to remove any lint that got past the trap. And finally the lint vent. If this gets clogged up, your airflow will be blocked and the dryer will not be working at top efficiency. This can be cleaned by you with a vacuum or you may want to hire a professional. It should be done every 6-12 months depending on your laundry and how many loads you do. The more you use your dryer, the more often it should be done.

Dryer sheets

Dryer sheets can make your clothes nice. But they also create a chemical coating on your lint screen and on the moisture sensors in the drum. The moisture sensors are the two metal bar strips in the drum. Just use a little soap and a towel to wipe them off from time to time. And for that lint screen, wash it with some mild dish soap. Make sure to get it dried before returning it to the dryer.

Dust bunnies

One final thing for dryer maintenance and safety. You don’t want lint or dust to get into the dryer. Any lint or dust around the dryer can get in as the dryer pulls in the surrounding air. So, make sure you clean around the dryer from time to time to keep it clean.

Did you learn anything?

So, most of this stuff is rather basic. You may not have learned anything new. But sometimes we don’t think about these things, and it is good to be reminded from time to time.

I would love to hear from you. If you appreciated this, let me know. Thanks. www.facebook.com/lisaylifecoach

Yeah!

Lisa Y coaching

Mindfulness lesson 5

Good day!

I hope all is well for you.  Today’s lesson is sitting quietly.

Buddhahood

When one thinks of meditation, often Buddha comes to mind. We have all seen the Buddha statue of Buddha in his mediation lotus position.

In meditation, as with anything, posture is key. Sit upright. The goal is to create thought. It is said that praying is talking to God, and meditation is listening to God.  But we can get in the state of mind. If you sit and meditate, you will get enlightenment and join the Buddhahood those who gain enlightenment.

Bodhi spot

So, the Bodhi spot is where Buddha obtained enlightenment. We can’t all go to this spot. It is far away for one thing. We live busy lives. But we can find a nice quiet place to sit  and tune out the world for a while. find peace of mind, find a bit of happiness, and listen to God whatever that means to you.

Mindfulness in every day situations

To me, it would be ideal to live a very simple life. I think society in general has made this world a lot more complicated than it needs to be. But, that is the world in which we live.  We have so much to do. We have work, home projects, yard work, house work, the kids have to go here and there. It is enough to make your head spin. Just when you think you have it all under control something happens. Am I right? You may be wondering with all this going on how can I take time to meditate. My question is how can you not? Now I admit, I love meditation. I like it more than most. If I could make money meditating, I would be rich.

Meditation, mindfulness actually helps you to get through all those other every day things. Remember, meditation is all about being alert. When you live in mindfulness, you are aware and focused. You are more capable of handling anything that comes your way better than with out it.

With meditation, you have better judgement. You are more calm. You are more self-controlled. Put that all together and you have good results in all actions that you take. You take things one at a time. You are not trying to resolve several issues at once. When you do that, you handle it right the first time. You don’t have to waste time doing anything again to get it done right. You will be in control of your world instead of the world being in control of you.

Be whole

We are pulled in so many directions. Does it ever feel to you that you are falling apart? Well. with meditation, you become whole again. When your mind is focused, your entire being is focused. When one meditates, your mind brings everything back to center. You feel whole again.

Baby Steps

Do you remember learning how to walk? I do. I can remember my mom placing me on  my feet and my dad, crouched down saying, “come to papa”. I also remember thinking how hard this walking thing was. I was probably only trying to walk 8-10 feet. But it seemed a lot farther. But I also remember the sense of accomplishment I had when I made it to papa.

This is how it is with meditation. If you try to meditate like Buddha, you are going to be very frustrated. Buddha was a master. If you try to be enlightened right away, you will get discouraged. So, take baby steps. Just start by sitting quietly. You don’t have to sit in the lotus position either if that is too hard. But do sit up straight and have good posture. Now, just close your eyes and relax. Don’t think about anything. You may want to set a timer. That way you can keep meditating without wondering about how long you have been sitting there. I suggest you start with 10 minutes. That may not sound like much, but it takes time to work up to 20 or 30 minutes.

Just sit there. Don’t think about anything. If a thought comes into your head, acknowledge it and let it go. Now, what do you notice? Unless you are in a sound proof room, you will hear something. You may hear cars. You may hear birds. You may hear an airplane. Maybe you can hear children playing. What do you feel? Can you feel a breeze? Can you feel the sun? What is your body doing? Sense your breath. Sense your rib cage expanding, your lungs. We take breathing for granted we rarely think about the mechanics of it. How about your muscles? Are they relaxed or tense? If you feel tension, let it go. Did your shoulders just fall a little? How about your jaw? Now, are there any smells? Are you baking something? How about the neighbors? Do they have something cooking, a BBQ perhaps? And just about now, your 10 minutes are probably up. That was not so bad now was it?

You did it!

You just meditated.

I really want to help people to become mindful. Let me know how you are doing. I could really use the feedback. Thanks!

Remember, these are just the first steps. We will get deeper and deeper as time goes on.

Take Care!

www.facebook.com/lisaylifecoach

Lisa Y coaching.

mindfulness lesson 4

Welcome back!

Keeping your consciousness alive

When you are new to mindfulness, it is challenging to keep from getting distracted. In this world, most people can only keep their mind on one thing for only a few moments. Until it truly becomes a habit, you will slip up often. It does take a lot of effort to keep in the moment.

You need to keep reminding yourself of that which you want to be aware. Until it becomes a habit, you can’t just once think I am doing this activity and stay aware. This thought needs to be repeated regularly. But you don’t want to repeat it like a machine. You are not a robot. Instead, you want to think of each action of the activity you are doing.

Let us imagine that you are eating. Your thoughts would be something like this. I have the fork in my hand. I have the knife in my hand. I am cutting the meat. I am putting the knife down. I am taking a bite. Now, remember, smile while you are thinking these things as if you a playing a game. Pretend you have a secret and no one knows what you are thinking, and they would want to know. This will keep it fun. Fill the activity with wonder and joy. Open your heart.

Life is a blessing

Think about how special it is just to be alive. It is a blessing. Look around you. Everything is a blessing. If you can eat and feed yourself, that is a blessing. If you can walk, talk, or dress yourself, that is a blessing. So no matter what it is you are doing, while practicing mindfulness, just thinking about how blessed you are should put a smile on your face.

I would love to hear about your experiences. www.facebook.com/lisaylifecoach

Yeah!

Smile for me!

Lisa Y coaching

Right voice VS annoying voice

Hey~

Annoying voice

So, I get inspired by the world around me. Any big brother fans? Anyone? Well, one of the reasons so many people don’t like certain house guests is because of their voices.  One voice was very high pitched and she sounded like a little girl. One voice well, she whines.

I have heard people with high pitched voices say they can not help it. That is just how they talk. But I am here to tell you that is just not true.

Your voice matters

Why does it matter? Well, people find certain voices annoying. If people are annoyed by your voice, they stop listening. If you whine, you sound like a nag. And if you sound like a child, it is hard to think of you as an adult. And so, you have a harder time being taken seriously.

This problem seems to be more of a problem women have. But there are some men who have an annoying voice. What to do?

Right Voice

You need to find your “right voice”. Well, it is simple. Say the word I. Again. Good. Now, the funny thing is we say the word I in our right voice. Yep! I don’t know if this is self-importance or what,  but it is true. It is also your right voice because this also works when you say the word right. So, if you want to be in your right voice all you have to do is warm up by saying I. Now, keep your vocal cords right there. Don’t lower your voice and talk out of the bottom of your throat. Don’t raise your voice and talk out of your nose.

Just like anything else this is a habit you can easily make. Before you know it, you will speak in the right voice.

Talk to me

If you found your right voice, or if you helped someone find their right voice, let me know. I would love to hear from you.

www.facebook.com/lisaylifecoach

Smile for me!

Yeah!

Lisa Y coaching

Mindfulness lesson three

Hey~

Habit of Mindfulness

So, as I mentioned in a previous post, everything is a habit. Bad habits are easily breakable (when you understand the why behind them), and good habits are easily made for the same reason. (I can help with that by the way) The same is true with mindfulness. Once you consciously start mindfulness, you soon will automatically do it. It will become a good habit.

Mindful in everything

You may want to put sticky notes up for a few days as reminders. But here is what to do for starting mindfulness.

When you wake up, be aware that you are awake with “I just woke up.” When you stumble to the kitchen for that coffee, be aware of going to the kitchen with “I am going to the kitchen for coffee.” (This may be a challenge you did just wake up, but try) Other daily ablutions Going to the bathroom, brushing your teeth, washing your hands, taking a shower, eating while doing these things be aware.

Sitting, standing, walking, lying down these are all things of which to become aware. Become aware of your breathing, your chewing, what you see etc. Are you standing or sitting with proper posture? Stop being a zombie just going through the motions of life. Notice the world around you. Mindfulness is not about being in a meditative state. It isn’t about taking 10 or 20 or 30 minutes a day to sit and be quiet. Mindfulness is about being aware. It is about the position of the body, your thoughts, your feelings, and the world around you, and it is about every moment you are awake.

“I’m aware”

I know it seems like a lot of thinking. It really isn’t. You just are not used to being aware of the world around you. Give it a try. Think about that game “I spy” that you play with the kids. Now turn that into the “I’m aware” game you play alone or with someone else. Try to see how many things of which you can become aware. Smile while you play the game. I think you will find it fun to see how unaware you normally are and how aware you are becoming. Make goals. Today I was aware of 50 things today, tomorrow I will be aware of 51. Before you ask, I don’t know if there is an app for that. Use your brain power and just keep a mental note.

I would love to hear from you. Tell me what you have noticed. www.facebook.com/lisaylifecoach

Yeah!

Lisa Y coaching

Public Service Announcement: Is your house grounded?

Hey~

I just want to make a quick public service announcement:

Is your house grounded?

I am in the process of getting solar power. Yesterday, the city came out to inspect the installation. To my surprise, it did not pass inspection. Why? Because my house’s electrical system is not grounded. What?

My house was built in 1972. So, it is not too terribly old, but old enough to have not been built with grounded electricity. I assumed that it was because the outlets are three pronged. But that may not mean anything.

Change in electric cords.

For safety purposes, more and more electric cords were designed to be used in grounded outlets. More and more appliances used three pronged electric cords. In order to use these cords, there were two basic options. They needed to use an adapter which would convert the two prong outlet into a three prong outlet. Or the house had to be re-wired to add ground wires. It seems that sometimes people will replace two pronged outlets with three pronged outlets without the grounding wire. I have only had this house a year. I did not do this, but apparently some previous owner did. 

What does it mean to you?

I am no electricity expert, but I do know that the purpose of the three wire grounding system is to prevent power surges and electrical fires. You say hey, I have power surge protection. But, from my research, if your home is not properly grounded, they may not work. You may also be like me and have those GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) outlets. But that still does not make your house as safe as being properly grounded.

What to do?

Well, you should contact an electrician. First, if your home is older than when grounded wires were automatically built into the home (check your local inspector for information) have your outlets checked. Remember, those three pronged outlets may not be grounded, and that alone is dangerous. And do it yourself inspections are not reliable. Second, if your home is not grounded, ask the electrician what would be best for you. Could be re-wire the home. Could be what I am doing and getting grounding rods installed. It could be getting your water line grounded. Hey, this is electricity. Don’t fool around. Be safe.

OK, I hope you found this helpful.

Lisa Y coaching

www.facebook.com/lisaylifecoach

Regular “To Do” things and how to remember

Hey~

Busy. Busy.

So, in this day and age we all seem to have so many things to remember. Seems that life is getting busier and busier. I don’t know that I like the trend. I like a more simple, quiet life. I think we would all be a bit happier if we did not have so many things going on.

I forgot

Don’t use “I forgot” as an excuse.  It really means, “I  chose not to be responsible and it makes others not want to give you more responsibility, $, etc. Really, do you forget to pay the rent or the mortgage? Do you forget to pay the cable or internet bill? Do you forget to pay the utility bills? If not, why not? Because it is important to YOU. You don’t want your car to be repossessed. You don’t want the water or electricity to be shut off. You want your internet access.

Let me ask you this, how would you feel if it were pay day Friday, and your boss forgot to pay you? You would not be very happy would you? How long would you wait to see if he or she would remember? Days? Weeks? Hours? You would not go home that day without making sure your boss remembered to pay you. So, have the same consideration for others. Don’t forget.

Late for dinner

When I was in college, I had a standing dinner date with my two best friends. We met every day at 5:00 unless we were going out on Friday then we met at 4:00. One friend and I always got there early. We would chat. The other friend would almost always be late. It was probably 15 minutes or so. Every day she would say “Sorry I am late”. One day I told her it was unnecessary to apologize every time. I just expected her to be late. I was just glad to be able to enjoy her company at dinner. But it really was inconsiderate. Hey, everyone is late sometimes, but a habit all the time really says this is not important to me. But it should be. Lateness is just rude. When you are late, you are telling the other person that you and your needs are so important.

No excuses

In this day and age, it really is inexcusable to forget. Really, we have smart phones with calendars built right in. There is an app for that. Our computers have calendars. Either one of those things can be set to remind you of any and all appointments. If there is something you need to do every day, every week, every month, set the calendar on that phone or computer. It is that simple.

Some people today are so hooked on electronics they seek out the latest software. Frankly, I think all the special software and apps are too much. They tend to complicate things. The other day a man said his answer was sticky notes. I like that. It is simple and yet it works.

Bills

You don’t need fancy spreadsheets to keep track of your money. You know that you have certain bills every month, right? There is the housing expense, the credit card(s), the phone etc. A simple calendar will work just fine. Each bill comes due the same time every month. My utility bill comes the 11th every month. All I need to do is mark the calendar that the utility bill is the 11th, and I look for the bill in email, then I pay it. Make one day a week the pay the bills day. It really is that easy.

How about things like car payments? If you have a car, unless you have it paid off there is a monthly payment, right? How do you keep track? Do you have some new software? Why? When you purchase or lease a car, there are so many payments. All you need is a simple document. You can call it “car payment”. And as you make your payments, make a note something like, January 15th made payment 21 of 36. Or you can have a list of the months. It could look something like this: (  ) January 2016 and after you make the payment put a little check mark in the ( ). It really is that simple.

But if you really have a hard time remembering, auto bill pay is a great idea. But you may want to keep track in your “car payment” document. Why? So you know exactly what you paid and how much you still owe.

Be Responsible, be considerate

By being responsible, you are actually being considerate. It may not be important to you if you make that car payment on time, but it is important to the car dealership that put that car in your driveway. Just because they are a big company it still matters to be responsible and pay them on time. Remember, they have bills too.

Don’t forget.

Money help

If you need any more money tips, I love helping people with managing their finances. Really, do you want to manage your finances or do you want your finances to manage you? Let me know. www.facebook.com/lisaylifecoach

Yeah!

Lisa Y coaching

mindfulness lesson two

Hello~

How are you? Doing well I hope.

So, this is lesson two in the mindfulness class.

Washing the van Vs Cleaning the van

In the last lesson, I talked about washing the van and keeping in the moment. The idea being to have more time by concentrating on the task at hand and not a future activity.  Today I want to talk about the difference between washing and cleaning.

There are two ways to  wash the van. You wash it to get it clean, or you are washing it to wash it. What? Confused? Don’t worry. Let me explain. In mindfulness, you wash the van to wash the van.

Enjoy life

In the last lesson, I mentioned that we may want to reward ourselves with a beer after washing the van. But we don’t want to rush through washing the van. We don’t want to rush through one activity to get to the next. If you are rushing to get something done, you are not really doing that activity. You are actually on to the next activity. In mindfulness, the idea is to truly enjoy what it is you are doing in that moment. When you can do that, nothing is a chore anymore. And you are more alive when you are living in the moment as you are not skipping over the time you are in, the present.

If you continue to fast forward through out the day, you will never enjoy anything. Even though you are looking forward to the treat of the beer afterward, you will probably not really enjoy it as you will already in your mind be on to the next thing on your list. Learning to enjoy the activity at hand is to enjoy the miracle of life, and to not be pulled into the future.

And a bag of chips

So, you have a bag of chips. When you eat that bag of chips, are you fully enjoying the chips? Are you eating one at a time? Or, do you have your hand on the next chip as you eat the one in your mouth? I tend to want to eat very quickly. I don’t know why, but one of my biggest challenges is to eat slowly. If I were not practicing mindfulness, I would probably eat my entire meal before other people get even half done. I have to slow down just to not be sitting there done eating while others are still eating. This is another example of mindfulness.

When eating, take your time. Take a chip or a bite and enjoy it. If you are eating food with utensils, put down the fork. Don’t play with your food to get the next bite on the fork. And with that bag of chips, don’t pick out the next one. Why? Because if you do you are not living in the moment and you are not truly enjoying the food in your mouth. You are thinking about that next future bite or chip. If you are not eating one bite or one chip at a time, you really are not eating at all.

Practice

Now, practice living in the moment. Wash to wash. Eat to Eat. Drive to drive. Enjoy what you are doing. Keeping a half smile is helpful. Pretend you have a secret. You sort of do, you have the secret of practicing mindfulness.

Let me know how you are doing.  www.facebook.com/lisaylifecoach

Yeah!

Lisa Y coaching