It’s a time for reflection with 2011 coming to a close. We think about what we accomplished, the good times we had and the challenges we made it through. It’s common at this time of the year to take inventory so we can move ahead to the next year, make plans and enjoy an even better life. We see where we would like to make changes, and set resolutions and goals.

Forty to 45 percent of American adults make one or more resolutions each year. Among the top New Year’s resolutions are weight loss, exercise, and to stop smoking. Most people who make New Year’s resolutions don’t keep them. Eighty percent of people who set New Year’s resolutions fall off the wagon by Valentine’s Day!

Are you someone who struggles with weight loss or labors to create your “ideal body?” Do you wish you looked and felt healthier? I came upon a video that addresses this. I was very impressed when I saw it. This is the way I would teach people to achieve their “ideal,” and that’s different for everyone. It’s not some trendy diet to follow or anything like that. This is a video that simply shares how powerful our minds are and how to apply it toward losing weight and being healthier. I would encourage you to watch this video if you’ve ever struggled to create your ideal body. You will gain a lot of insights and probably have an “ah-ha” moment like so many others have had while watching it.

Go here to check it out

If you are a person who makes New Year’s resolutions, here are some tips to ensure you keep them.

• Make the goals realistic and set a time line.
• There is power in the written word, so write them down.
• Accountability helps here, so tell people, or get a buddy to help keep you on track and ask about your progress.
• Take time each day to notice the progress you are making and be aware of the baby steps.
• Be kind to yourself. If you fall off the wagon, that’s OK, just get back on.
• Keep the long-term benefit in mind.  
• Celebrate your successes along the way.

PS: Just a reminder, the special introductory offer of more than 50 percent off the regular price for my “Break Free From Stress Today” program ends tonight at midnight, CST, December 31, 2011. You can get details here.

In my past few entries, I have talked about the negative impact stress can have on us. Chronic stress can be harmful to our physical and emotional well-being. But there is something we can do to change this.

I have noticed how increasing health care costs and high insurance deductibles are preventing people from seeking the professional help they need to learn how to better deal with the negative impact of stress. In fact, these factors can add to the stress they already feel. So I created an affordable coaching program that teaches the most effective tools and strategies to better deal with the stressors in their lives.

Stress is not so much about what happens, but rather, our reaction to it. That is something we can control! There is so much we can learn to better deal with stress, and improve our health and well-being. This six-month membership program is not a substitute for medical care, but empowers you to take better care of yourself.  

I would like to offer a holiday gift to you. It’s a special introductory offer on my Break Free From Stress Today (six-month membership program.) You can learn more about it here.  I am offering this special price (a savings of over 50% off the regular price) until December 31, 2011, so there isn’t much time left.

If you missed my last two radio shows talking about the impact of stress, and what we can do about it, you can click here to listen. I have added a bonus handout so you don’t have to take notes. You might find the information here is enough to help you manage stress better, but if you would like additional information and coaching, you can sign up for the program. Of course, it includes a money-back guarantee. You also can access some free stuff on my website at www.bonniegroessl.com.

Happy Holidays and enjoy the health, happiness and abundance you deserve!

Bonnie

. 

It’s that time of year when many of us find ourselves very busy. We are trying to get everything done for the holidays, worried about making everyone else happy, and finding little time for ourselves. With today’s economy, many people are facing even more financial worries than in the past.  

Perhaps we are looking back on the past year and feeling sad about all the things we wanted to do, but didn’t get to. Or maybe, we see all that we did accomplish, and that leaves us feeling exhausted, knowing there will be a tendency to want to repeat it next year. For students and teachers, it’s final exams, grades and extra work that comes with the end of the year. Businesses needing to do the end of the year tasks of accounting and inventory. December can be a stressful time.

As 2011 comes to a close, we look ahead to 2012 and think about the goals and resolutions we want to set. There seems to be no time for a timeout in the midst of all this. Our lives have become so busy and filled with stress, it’s no wonder we look back over the holidays and feel like they went by so fast. Most of the time, we are thinking about what happened or what we feel we need to do that we really don’t spend any time here, in the moment and just enjoying our lives right now. You would be hard-pressed to find people who truly relax this time of year.  

One thing you can do is take 1-2 minutes and do nothing. Just sit and focus on your breathing, for just a moment. Let all the other things go. We deserve at least 1-2 minutes! Be mindful of how you feel in your body, notice your breath as it comes in and goes out. As thoughts come in (and they will), just acknowledge them. Let them go and return your attention to the breathing, without scolding yourself. You might have to bring yourself back to the breath a hundred times in those 1-2 minutes. That’s OK. You can’t do this wrong. Just be kind to yourself and avoid scolding. This simple exercise will create some space for you in this busy time of the year.

If you want more information and tools for dealing with stress, you can find it at www.bonniegroessl.com . I have several free gifts for you on the site.

I am offering a special early bird price on my 6-month “Break Free From Stress Today” membership program. You can check that out while you are there.

Be Well,

Bonnie

We generally use the word "stress" when we feel that everything seems to have become too much – we are overloaded, have too much to do and not enough time.  Anything that poses a challenge or a threat to our well-being is a stress. Stress can undermine both our mental and physical health. The holiday season can be a stressful time for many of us.

I will be doing a free Blog Talk Radio Show on Monday, November 28 at 1:00 CST. I will be talking about the effects of stress. More importantly I will share tools and strategies that you can use to stay well and avoid the negative impact stress can have on us. I have seen how these easy-to-use strategies can help you enjoy the health, happiness and abundance you deserve!

I will record the show if you can make it on Monday at 1:00 Central time. You can call in 714-816-4716 or listen online at  http://tobtr.com/s/2568155

Be Well,

bonnie

It seems like you hear it all the time from nearly everyone you know:  “I’m SO stressed out!”  This may be even more of an issue as we approach the holiday season. Today’s lifestyle is full of hassles, deadlines, frustrations and demands. There is so much to do. We don’t feel like we have enough time to get it all done, much less take time for ourselves to sit down and relax. For many people, stress is so commonplace that it has become a way of life. Sometimes we just feel overwhelmed by life, and we don’t enjoy it.

The lack of sunlight this time of year, shorter daylight hours, and the isolation of staying inside more in the winter time can be a challenge for people living in the northern parts of the world. This can lead to depression, anxiety and fatigue. I think most people realize that how we perceive stress affects our emotional health.

How you react to stress may also be affecting your physical health. We often blame illness or a virus for a nagging headache, frequent insomnia or digestive issues.   Chronic stress suppresses the immune system and we get sick with colds and flu more often when we are feeling stressed. In a recent survey, 90 percent of visits to a primary care physician were for stress-related disorders.

Failure to deal chronic stress can lead to chronic inflammation, which in turn leads to chronic disease. If you look at the leading causes of death in any developed country, and you won’t find the words “chronic stress” listed anywhere. Yet many well-respected studies have linked chronic stress to a host of degenerative diseases that cause fear in many of us. Stress that's left unchecked can contribute to health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes, even cancers.

Stress is a part of daily life. It’s not so much what happens, but our reaction to it. It’s that reaction that makes the difference in how well we maintain our health and well-being. Challenges occur throughout life and those challenges cause stress. You need to realize that you will never completely eliminate stress from your life, but you can learn coping techniques to turn that stress into a healthier situation.

On Monday, November 28, at 1 pm CST, I will be doing an internet radio show about effective ways to deal with stress. I will share some tools and strategies that will help you cope better with the stressors in your life. There is no registration or sign-up, and the show will be recorded and archived so you can listen to it at your convenience. 

Click here to go to the radio show page. You can sign up for a reminder to the show there.

Be Well,

bonnie

As children, we start out happy. We naturally daydream about things

that make us feel good; we have imaginary friends and all sorts of adventures

in our minds. Children laugh more than three hundred times a day while

adults laugh an average of fifteen times a day (and that’s on a good day). I

know few people who giggle like a child. When is the last time you had a

good belly laugh? Children are so uninhibited; they say what they think.

Generally, people think they’re cute and don’t punish them.

Laughter is healthy for us. Laughter reduces the level of stress hormones

like cortisol. It also increases the feel-good hormones, like endorphins, and

strengthens our immune system. It helps manage the physical effects of

stress. Have you experienced the cleansing feeling you get after a good

laugh? Laughter provides a physical and emotional release. A good belly

laugh exercises the diaphragm, contracts the abs, and even relaxes shoulder

muscles. It provides a good workout for the heart, as well. Distraction is a

wonderful tool, and laughter takes the focus away from stressful situations

and negative emotions. Laughter can even burn calories, about fifty calories

in ten to fifteen minutes of a really good laugh.

Humor gives us a more light-hearted perspective and helps us see things

in a different way. It can change potential challenges into opportunities,

and can be fun and exciting.

Laughter connects us with others and is contagious. Have you ever

found yourself laughing when you hear a child giggle? No one can resist

that sound. I always catch myself starting to laugh. If you bring more

laughter into your life, you can help others as well. By elevating the mood

of those around you, you can reduce your stress level as well as theirs.

See how much you can laugh today!

Be Well,

bonnie

Let’s face it. Our lives are busy and stress is everywhere. We can’t live without it. Our lives are full of hassles, deadlines, demands and frustrations. Stress is a natural function of the body, but not all stress is bad stress. Eustress refers to what many call good stress or healthy stress. Eustress can motivate people to be excited about something.     

Physical exercise is an excellent example of good stress. This type of stress prepares the muscles, heart and mind for the strength needed for whatever is about to occur. Engaging in physical activity, such as walking, running or working out in a gym, places stress on the body. It also releases endorphins that help elevate mood and protect individuals from depression.

Distress is a negative type of stress. Acute stress is the type of stress that occurs immediately when something changes and we have not yet adjusted to it. Chronic stress occurs if there is a constant change or traumatic circumstances. Almost everyone with a severe, life-threatening or chronic illness can recall some significant, long-term stress about eighteen to twenty-four months before discovering their illness. It may have been a bad relationship or divorce, or a long period of time caring for someone else and not attending to his or her own needs.

When we are constantly running in the fight-or-flight mode, our mind and physical body pay the price. Chronic stress can cause major health problems and weaken our immune system. Life in general is stressful. Have you ever been stressed for a prolonged period of time and find it just zaps your energy and tires you out? Stress actually takes our energy away.

Almost everything – from playing sports, falling in love, getting ready for the holidays, to being on the frontline of war – involves stress. Therefore, to have stress is to experience life. People who define and manage stress with a positive attitude and see the glass half full rather than half empty, enjoy greater amounts of eustress. As a result, they enjoy a full and enriching life. Stress is a necessary part of life. Its effect depends on you.

How do you define stress in your life and what effect does it have on your well-being? Please take this brief, anonymous survey to help me gain a better understanding of how stress impacts your life. Thank You!!

Click here to take survey

Be Well,

Bonnie

Prayer can take many forms. One of the benefits of prayer is that it
encourages us and gives us hope. Hope heals our soul where hopelessness
can kill us. We probably have heard about people with life-threatening
illnesses who lost hope and gave up. They did poorly, and perhaps died
sooner than if they had been hopeful. Prayer can be everything from
praying for ourselves or others, to focusing and giving total attention,
to doing something for another, and everything in between.

Meditation and prayer are often discussed together. It is said that when we
pray, we often ask God for something, and during meditation, God speaks to us.
Prayer can have specific words, such as those in the Lord’s Prayer; it can
be repetitive, or it can be just talking to God. Prayer also can be silent,
without words, and simply a feeling.

In his book, Prayer is Good Medicine, Dr. Larry Dossey (www.
dosseydossey.com) says that prayer is what it needs to be. Using brain-scanning
technology, researchers can pinpoint which parts of the brain
are active during prayer and meditation. Yoga, prayer and meditation may
actually turn off the genes activated by stress.

Prayer and religion are not necessarily intertwined. How we pray is not
as important as the unconditional love we integrate with the prayer, both
love for others and ourselves. Prayer benefits us in many ways: reducing
stress chemicals; improving healthy behaviors, such as not smoking;
and enhancing spirituality, defined as a person’s search for the sacred.
Spirituality and the sense that there is something bigger than yourself,
no matter your belief system, can be linked to less depression, increased
longevity, and better medical outcomes when treatment is necessary.

Take advantage of the benifts of prayer, regardless of the method. You can't
do it wrong

Be Well,

Bonnie

Some 30 million Americans suffer from some form of chronic pain. It may be back pain, headaches, joint pain, or fibromyalgia, but it’s pain that persists and is with the person all the time. Most people think of pain as resulting from physical injury or disease, but psychological factors play a huge role in pain perception. Pain is influenced by many things; including one’s emotions and memory. For people with chronic pain issues, there is often something underneath the pain that adds to their suffering.

Tapping, most commonly known as EFT or Emotional Freedom Techniques, is a type of energy psychology that combines eastern medicine and modern psychology. I often describe is as acupuncture without the needles. It is extremely effective with both physical issues (back pain, headaches, etc.) and emotional issues.

If you have suffered with physical pain, wouldn’t you like to be rid of it? October 3, 2011 starts the Pain Relief World Summit. You can click on the banner below to learn more about this free online event.
Be Well,
bonnie