September 05 Stress Busters: The Backbone of Life
In This Month's Newsletter
Thought For The Day
Did You Know?
30-Second Stress Buster
News And Offers
Thought For The Day
"If you don't stand for anything, you'll fall for anything..."
Did You Know? - That average length of the adult spine is about 71 cm in men and 61 cm in women.
- Our language of strength and fortitude revolves around our spine: we say that someone who is paralysed by fear or unable to act is 'spineless', or that someone who is strong, confident and reliable is 'the backbone of the company or family'. We say our ability to live through adversity and change is compared to our ability to "stand up in the face of..."
- Surveys with Zen At Work clients have shown that most of us spend more than 80% of our waking hours sitting down: eating, commuting, working, relaxing watching TV, and so on, and that when we sit we tend to collapse the spine.
- The natural stress response: flight or flight, involves curving the spine to protect the soft belly organs. When we collapse the spine we are mimicking the stress response.
30-Second Stress Buster Exercise For 'Backbone'
Our spine is central to our well-being, and to our ability to cope with stress.
The spinal cord is a continuum of the brain: it connects our thoughts with our physical body. There are thousands of nerves and channels running in and out of each of our 26 vertebrate.
If, through our daily posture, we constantly compress one area of the spine, while over stretching another, we are not only causing physical problems but affecting our mental processes as well. You will know, if you have attended one of our seminars, just how much we can change the way we feel by altering the way we hold our spine. - How are you sitting now? You have probably pulled yourself up straight. But if you are honest with yourself you know that in 5 minutes from now you will have probably slumped again...
Here is a simple exercise to help you straighten the spine: -
Breathe in: take note of how you are sitting on the chair.
Exhale: tip your pelvis under and sit on your tailbone - notice how your back collapses
Inhale: now roll your pelvis forwards slightly so that you rest on your sit bones - notice how much taller you feel, and how open your chest is
Exhale: and tip back to sit on your tailbone - compare how you feel
Inhale: sit on your sit bones again - notice how much better it feels
Exhale: remain sitting on your sit bones
Inhale: lengthen though the crown of your head
Exhale: feel the tension drop away from your shoulders
Continue breathing in your own rhythm and maintain this posture for as long as you can.
If you find it a challenge to remain sitting on your sit bones all day in the office - you can modify your chair; and we don't mean hightech or expensively. You will find it much easier if your knees are lower than your hips. Simply raise your hips by rolling a towel up and sitting on the edge of it, alternatively fold a cushion in half and perch on the edge of it. - For more 30-second stress buster exercises that you can do at your desk, see our archived newsletters on our website.
News And Offers- Health Fund Rebates: Did you know that some of the health funds will give you a rebate for classes such as yoga and pilates? Check with your provider and give us a call to see if your teacher or masseur is registered with your fund.
- Motivational Speakers: Did you know that we have some top level athletes on our team who can provide inspirational and motivational speeches for you and your staff? Rachael Sporn (the Australian Olympic medallist basketball player) has recently completed a series of talks for the staff of one of our clients in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. Ben Darwin, the Wallaby player who crushed his neck in the last World Rugby Cup, is also an inspirational speaker.
- New Service Offer: Ever suffered from the 11am or 3 pm slump? Ever lost energy and drive to complete tasks, just when you needed it most? In addition to our popular Stress Buster seminars and nutritional lectures we now have developed a series of 30-second exercises that can be used to revive and refresh you. Ask us about our "Revive 4 Five" series. These exercises have also been successfully used at conferences run by the CMA and MBF, as breaks in between speakers, in order to keep the audience alert and motivated. Anyone booking a "Revive 4 Five" seminar or conference break during October will also receive 2 hours of complimentary massages at their workplace.
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