Massage

[isserley]

Hey guys, I hope you had a lovely weekend.
Mine was overall crap and slightly traumatic BUT today I went for my first massage and it was so amazing!
I love Lush so went to Lush SPA (there's 2 in London) and had a full body massage (80 minutes), I can honestly say it's really helped lift my mood, even if only for a few hours...
It's made me realise how much simple things like the right music, lighting and scents can make a really big difference to your mood.
I can't afford massages (this was paid with a voucher that was a gift), but I am going to try meditation/relaxation at home.
Does anyone meditate/has tips or links to good sites about it?
Anyway just wanted to say: If you can, get a massage, they helped me!
Isserley x

[Got]

I meditate.

The best thing to do to start of with is probably a simple breathing meditation. Sit down in a comfortable position, keep your back straight, as this will help stop you feeling sleepy. You can close your eyes (not tight) but traditionally it is done with the eyes ever so slightly open.

Start off by breathing normally. When you mediatate, you need an 'object.' In this meditation, your breath with will the object, and you will concentrate on this breath. Start with breathing in, feel the sensation of the breath enter your nose, then out thorugh your nose, feeling the sensation of it exiting. Keep concentrating on the breath. When a thought enters your mind, you feel distracted, or your mind wanders, return your concentration back to the breath, do not get frustrated, just relax. It will take practice, but if you do this for 10-15 mins everyday, it is a very effective excersise that will help you be calmer and more relaxed, and with time, you will find it easier and easier.

There are other meditations, but I recommened that you start with this one first.

[Zaf]

I go for aromatherapy about every 4-6 weeks, I started to do that after my first breakdown many years ago when I realised that I needed to do something for myself occasionally.

I also meditate and practice yoga and the short form Tai Chi,  all of those help me too.

[cornish]

as strange as it sounds my way of meditating was shooting targets, i used to find it really relaxing now i cant do it anymore as im soo jumpy and i dont trust my self with a gun anymore.

[Zaf]

I guess it was the concentration?

[dlg78]

Never had a traditional type massage but have had sports massage as part of a physio routine, due to hyper tension my neck/back muscles tend to lock up and a while back I saw a chiropractor for this, but it ended up costing too much.

I do recall though that the deep tissue massage helped no end and felt good.

I would like to try meditation but really don't think I can concentrate on breathing for anymore than a few seconds lol!

[Zaf]

its surprising how you can increase your time with meditation if you find that works for you,  I currently do about two and a half hours a day if I possibly can but have to admit about an hour and a half is my comfortable sort of limit at the moment (but I have been practicing for about 8 years!)

[Got]

Bloomin eck Zaf.....you need to change your profile name to Buddha!

[Zaf]

    I started off with 20 minutes twice a day and try to fit in at least an hour and a half daily, but usually do that twice a day if I can.

It seems telling to me that when I fell ill again in July that I had been neglecting my meditation for several months and how important it is to me so I've built it back up to the levels I used to do the previous winter

[cornish]

I guess it was the concentration?

yeah just sitting and shooting card targets/ cans and other random things,  never anything living unless it was genuine pest control

[Zaf]

is there anything you could replace it with as you dont feel happy using a gun any more?

[Lol]

How about archery Cornish?

[Laura]

It's definitely worth checking yellow pages for a local beauty college. They often have a massage course and they need victims... er volunteers :) so you can often get a massage (or all sorts of other treatments like haircuts) for a fraction of the cost you'd pay in a salon or spa.

I recently saw something on YouTube called something like one minute meditation. I think it's a good place to start!