Feeling like crap? Here's what you need to do.

Are you feeling overwhelmed, irritable, exhausted, depressed, stressed, anxious, or just plain crappy and aren't sure why, what to do, or where to start to begin feeling better?

One tool that I use personally, and professionally with my clients, is looking to the Balance Wheel, or the Wheel of Life. This is a wonderful tool to use on a regular basis, and especially when we are feeling out of balance, and any of the above emotions on a regular basis.

Are you neglecting any areas of your whole being? As you can see in the diagram above, someone who's life is primarily dominated by their work life, has little time for anything else.

If you are struggling in some area of your life, or feel like every area is a mess and just don't know what needs your attention, turn to this exercise.

Sit down with a pad of paper or a journal. Pick a time where you won't be disturbed and reflect on all of the bubbles in the diagram above. To narrow it down in the beginning, I suggest focusing on the 4 main dimensions to get you started: mental, emotional, physical, spiritual.

Make 4 columns on the page to represent each dimension, or copy the format above, whatever feels right for you, and list the activities and practices you regularly practice to nourish and feed each dimension.

If it is obvious your work life dominates everything, and you have no time for anything else, it is time to take action and implement some balance back in. If all of your free time is spent exercising or playing sports for example after work and on weekends, and this leaves little time for relaxation or family, again, how to can you put some balance back into your life?

This is a quick awareness exercise, and can be really eye opening. Remember this rule of thumb: When we are extreme in any area of our lives, we are out of balance.

What are some things you can begin doing this week to care for your whole being wellness?

I facilitate regular workshops on creating life balance, stress management, as well as offer one-to-one coaching sessions to help you get on track. I love helping others to regain a healthy balance into their lives!

Leanne is a Holistic Counsellor & Soul-Centered Life Coach. She teaches regular classes related to whole being health, personal development and natural healing and offers one-to-one coaching programs.

Visit: www.soulworkcounselling.com for upcoming events.
She can be reached at: 250-319-3630 | soulworkcounselling@yahoo.ca

5 Tips for Inner~ Success and Being an Awesome Person

I have always been a person who thinks deeply, and considers others. Even in school when I witnessed the meanness that was going on around me with other girls, I would keep quiet, or I would say something to stand up for the ones being talked about behind their backs.

To this day, I stick very closely to this same belief, and know how being even slightly gossipy or
disloyal to another feels within me, so I choose every single day, and in every single moment to be as kind, loyal and true to myself, and real with others in all of my interactions and relationships.

I have learned some really big lessons this past year, and some of them were very difficult, painful and uncomfortable. I have learned that I must retreat, and take a mini break from my life during these times of deeper learning, to go within, and absorb the lessons.

1) Not everybody is going to behave the way that you do. Not everyone has the same love in their hearts, or sensitivity in their souls to have empathy and compassion, or appreciation for another. Not everyone is interested in self-reflection, and looking at their own behavior, or digging deep to learn how to be better and kinder to others. We all have our own shit,  but we can always choose how much of that we are going to carry around with us in our life, and throw at others. We ALWAYS have a choice in how we treat others and how we are going to show up in the world.  All we can do, is choose love and kindness in every situation we encounter, and especially love, kindness, compassion toward ourselves. How others treat us is their karma, how we respond is ours and is our responsibility- so let go of what others are doing or how they behave, and focus on your own inner growth instead. Use the poor behavior of others to ask "How can I use this to make ME even better?" Or " What am I learning in this situation?"
Remember this: how we treat others is usually how we treat ourselves. So be kind and love YOU, so you can be so full of love, that it just overflows into every area of your life.

2) You can not please everyone. It is not your responsibility to turn into a human pretzel or stand on your head to make everyone happy. When we are always trying to bend, twist, and give everything to others, we are often not putting ourselves into the equation. What do WE want? If we are spending all of our energies "people pleasing" where are we pleasing ourselves? We can get really lost and confused when we are focused on others, what they think and what they want, and lose sight of our own inner knowing, truth and desires. Stop trying to stand on your head for people who wouldn't even do a jumping jack for you. No matter how hard you try to appease others, they are still not going to be happy, and will always find something else to complain about. So best to focus inward, and please YOU, and make YOU happy.

"You will find that people will always have opinions about your decisions. Don't take it personally, it's simply because they're not courageous enough to take action in their own lives. Be a leader in YOUR life and pay no mind to those who lack the courage to do the same in theirs"---Steve Maraboli

3) We can not change others. We can only inspire others to be more, and be better, but in the end they decide if they are going to step up and make changes. Let go of judgments and trying to control others, and bring the focus back onto yourself. What can you work on? What is it about the others behavior that you can also see exists within you? Almost always, what drives us crazy about others, there is some element of that behavior that we can find within ourselves. Not always easy to look this honestly at ourselves, but what we can learn a lot from this practice. I a not saying that this is true in all circumstances, but try it out, and see what you discover about yourself.

4) Self-Awareness is the key to all other life transformation. In all of the above points, and anything else we do for our relationships, health, wellness, and eating habits, having a good relationship with our~ SELF is essential. If I am feeling agitated, angry, or activated by something someone else says or does, it is my job to pause, look inside, and see where this reaction is coming from- then decide how I will respond, rather than react in the moment. If I am reaching for the chocolate chip bag almost unconsciously, it is my job to pause and look inside to see what is going on emotionally, am I stressing or ruminating about something that is bothering me? Would a walk, meditation, talk with a friend, or a cup of tea be a better solution? We are always responsible for our own behavior no matter what is happening outside of us. That is where our true power lies- within.

5) Time passes. Life is change. Thinking too much is counterproductive. Learning to let go is never easy. We must feel our way through life, not think our way through life.
It is very difficult to let go, and flow with change. But what I do know, is that it is much easier to flow with the emotions that arise during these difficult transitions, than it is to fight them, and cling to the past, or hold so tightly we suffocate ourselves and others. We have one finite amount of time on this earth, in this body. Instead of cutting ourselves off from the pain, sadness or difficulty, it is better to feel our way through it. Allow ourselves to feel what is present. If we do not allow the emotions to flow, they become stuck and stagnant and create dis-ease within the body and mind. Take it moment to moment, day to day, and honor the process of life, and the inevitable changes that will occur. To feel is to be alive. When we are cut off and disconnected from ourselves and others, are we really living?

One theme you may have noticed here, is that all self mastery begins within us. We gain success in our lives by mastering the art of INNER~success. Once we are able to feel successful from within, it will be reflected in our outer world. Start looking inside yourself, and you will find all the answers you are looking for. 

An amazing book I am reading right now that will assist you further in achieving true INNER~success: "Success Intelligence" by Robert Holden

Wishing you abundant inner~success!

Leanne

Leanne is a Holistic Counsellor & Soul-Centered Life Coach. She teaches regular classes and workshops related to whole being health, personal development and natural healing and offers one-to-one coaching programs in person, over the phone and Skype.

Visit: www.soulworkcounselling.com for upcoming events.
She can be reached at: 250-319-3630 | soulworkcounselling@yahoo.ca

3 things to start practicing today for greater happiness, balance and stress management

There was a time in my life, not so very long ago, that I never could have imagined I would be writing about, coaching or advising anyone about living a calm, grounded, joyful, and happy life.

While I have worked very long and hard to get to a place where I am able to guide people out of the darkness they may be experiencing, and I can teach people how to find greater joy, health and well-being through my personal experiences and knowledge, I still have times when I find myself in a hot mess. Usually this is because I have gotten too busy, and let the practices go that keep me grounded, and balanced. But I am more OK with that now, because what I now know, and am about to share with you, is how to regain my emotional balance, ground my inner equilibrium, transform the darkness into light, depression into hope, anxiety into grounding, and inner turmoil into refining and resetting my priorities. I am continually assessing my life, to see what I need to let go of, and what I need to start doing more of, to restore my inner balance.

 Here are 3 things I do that work for me, and you can start doing today, to bring more of a sense of calm, contentedness, and happiness into your days.

1) Create a personal sanctuary.
One of the first homework assignments I like to give my clients, is for them to create a sacred healing space. A place they can come to again, and again, to connect with themselves. It can be simply a corner of a room that is created just for the purpose of reconnecting with, and replenishing yourself.

No matter what is happening in my life, I have this space to center myself through meditation, writing, reading, or just sipping my morning coffee or tea in pure silence. The kids know that no toys are allowed in this room, so I encourage you to set this boundary in your home as well, if you have young children that tend to take over the house!

In a space like this, it is nice to be surrounded by beautiful things that you love, and are meaningful to you, such as photos, memorabilia, flowers, plants, healing crystals, candles, incense, your favorite books, quotes, whatever it is that has meaning for you. The coffee table in the photo is from the early 70's, and was my Grannies. I have so many memories of having tea with her at this table as a little girl, and so many of my family gathered around it in her living room. It has huge personal meaning to me, and I love this piece of furniture because of the good memories it evokes.

2) Make your Self-Care a high priority every single day. If all you have is 30 minutes make it count. It is easy to fill that time with dishes, or texting, or working, and so on, however we will be much more content, productive and present for those who need us most, if we take this time for ourselves every single day. The dishes, laundry and emails can wait, better to invest in filling ourselves up so we have energy to give to those we love, and to the tasks that truly need our attention.
Take a hot bath, have some time in your sacred space doing whatever fills you up, make tea, stretch, read a book, go for a walk. It doesn't matter what it is you do, as long as it is something that brings you joy and a feeling of being replenished afterwards. My promise to you, is that if you make the time for YOU to do these things every day, you will feel like a different person.

3) Practice tuning in to your nutrition intuition. Love your body enough to feed it with love, and high-vibe foods such as raw veggies, fruit, salads, nuts and seeds. Are you craving salads suddenly,or more fruit, can't get enough smoothies or green juice? Put off of meat and gravitate toward more vegetarian foods? Or the opposite, is your body craving meat suddenly?Is the thought of a green smoothie sickening when you've spent the past month downing them no problem? Listen to these messages. If you don't

normally eat meat, and your mouth is watering at the site of a big juicy burger, or steak perhaps you are low in iron? If you do choose to eat meat, do so in moderation, and go for ethically raised, hormone free, organic when you do. (Best to avoid any extra hormones or antibiotics throwing things off in our delicate systems!)

Our body is always telling us what it needs- if we can just tune in and listen. As long as those cravings are not for doughnuts, cakes, cookies and food that does not nourish the body, mind and soul, go for it. Of course indulgences are necessary, it is not about perfection, but how can you allow for those indulgences, in a healthier way?
Some of my favorite treats come from the  Oh She Glows cookbook and blog. Seriously, if you want some healthy treats, and want to try out some scrumptious animal free recipes, this is an amazing place to begin!You can eat healthy and delicious, it just takes getting into the kitchen and creating real food at home, rather than food that comes out of a package.

Nourishing our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual self on a daily basis, is the way to living healthier, and happier, and is the key to healing any health issue of the body, or mind such as depression, or anxiety. My experience is that when life gets busy, I tend to move away from my practices, and everything starts to go sideways. Once I get back to making myself a priority, especially when I am busy, everything flows so much better in all areas of my life.

If you are struggling, feeling stuck, or just feel burned out, worn down, and not sure where to start, try out these tips.

If you would like more support, I work with people to assist them in achieving greater happiness and fulfillment in their lives through holistic coaching and counselling. For a limited time, I am offering FREE 30 minute phone consultations addressing your 3 top health concerns.
Contact me to book your appointment.

Wishing you an inspired day,
~Leanne

Leanne is a Holistic Mind-Body Health Coach and offers regular classes, workshops, and one to one coaching programs to assist others in finding greater health, happiness, and well-being. 
Visit: Soulwork Holistic Counselling for services and upcoming programs.
Contact Leanne: 250-319-3630 | soulworkcounselling@yahoo.ca
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