healthy tips

Falling Still
This was a great discovery for me, basically, take time to become very still, to focus and become clear.
When you fall still, you become aware of your body and your mind. This awareness creates the space for calming, healing and balance.  We are constantly on the go, rushing around and interacting with others, or we are constantly being stimulated from the outside and our minds never really seem to get a chance to be quiet and un-stimulated.  This is an often-overlooked and incredibly damaging phenomenon.  We are not meant to be constantly moving, thinking, talking, watching, plugged-in and busy.  We are meant to have some moments of quiet for our brains and our bodies to recharge and stay strong for all the challenges we face daily. 
The benefits on our health and our well-being have been documented again and again through studies on meditation and relaxing techniques.This study from Psychology Today states, "Neuroscientists have found that meditators shift their brain activity to different areas of the cortex - brain waves in the stress-prone right frontal cortex move to the calmer left frontal cortex. This mental shift decreases the negative effects of stress, mild depression and anxiety. There is also less activity in the amygdala, where the brain processes fear."So how do we begin to access these incredible benefits?
It's really simple, as you might imagine when you think, "falling still". No fancy equipment or setting required, you need absolutely nothing, except what might be the hardest thing of all to gather: time.·    To fall still you need to turn outside distractions off for a few minutes. This is where we find falling still to be more accessible and different from outright meditation. In another Psychology Today article, "In a few decades meditation had gone from an obscure set of mental exercises practiced by Buddhist monks in the Himalayas, and by their Christian counterparts in isolated and austere monasteries, to a widely accessible set of exercises as easy as breathing or eating a raisin."
This is true, meditation has become widely practiced and accepted and almost trendy as part of a healthy and new age sort of lifestyle.  But many try and can't stick with it or it becomes a chore, and even if it integrates beautifully into a wonderful and beneficial part of your life, there is something that is very much aligned and just as wonderful, with maybe a bit more practical application for everyone. . .the practice of taking a few moments throughout your day - whenever you need or want a kick start or an infusion of energy, balance and relaxation.
Wherever you are - before a meal, at your desk, between classes, in the middle of dinner preparation, stuck in traffic, before a presentation or test, before you fall asleep and when you wake up. . . anywhere, anytime you can simply stop and be quiet. No one will know you're falling still and essentially giving your body the healthiest dose of medicine possible by just letting your mind fall silent and steadying your breathing. There's no set time, it's whatever you can take and whatever feels relaxing.  If it's stressing you out to fall still for a set amount of time, you're reversing the positive benefits, so don't stress and know that if you fall still for one or two minutes, you're reaping the good effects just as much as falling still for two hours.  What matters is that you take that amount of time for YOU.  For your breath.  For nothing else to come into your body and into your mind except the stillness deep within.  Knowing thatthere is nowhere to be, and nothing more important than right now, and this moment.
·     You can close your eyes or simply lower them.  It' best not to be actively watching the world around you simply to avoid distractions that won't fully allow the stillness to be felt. ·     You can sit, stand, lie down or curl up.  Body posture doesn't matter so much as long as you're comfortable or cozy or grounded. . . whatever feels right or needed, knowing that it can certainly be switched up every time you do it.
Note: You can wrap up in a fluffy blanket or you can just put down the pencil in your hand, push away the keyboard or pull off on the side of the road.  You can be standing at your locker or you can step inside a public restroom and shut the door.  The place and the environment doesn't matter either.  This is another difference between falling still and outright meditation.
The goal is not to completely empty your thoughts or last in a cross-legged position for a set amount of time, but rather to recharge, calm and bring that balance to all parts of you so you can continue with beauty and grace throughout your day.  You have so much to give the world and there are so many demands on your time and your energy, it's important for you, and I would argue all of humanity, for you to perform your best as you live.
Falling still gives you that recharge (better than coffee and much healthier!), that soothing sensation (benefits similar to an hour long massage from a few minutes of simple breathing), ease of physical discomforts or illnesses (without medicinal side effects), and more of a grounded presence and ability to connect with those around you in a loving and warm way. Because after all, isn't that what life is really about - those connections and moments when you're doing good, contributing positively, empathizing, caring, laughing, listening, creating, working at something amazing, nurturing, nourishing. . . simply being. 
Over the next few days...
Whether you are at home, in the workplace, feeling stressed, or just been in front of the computer for a few hours, take some time for yourself and Fall Still.