10 Ways to Increase Your Stress

10 Ways to Increase Your Stress

1. Become inflexible. Demand that everyone do things your way. Don't listen to other opinions or ideas. Dismiss them as irrelevant.

2. Try to do twice as much as you can actually accomplish. Multi-task your multi-tasking. Fill your schedule and then try to fit in more things.

3. Worry about anything and everything...especially those things over which you have no control. Fret, fume and feel as if the whole world is out to get you.

4. Take things personally. Don't wait for things to bother you. Go out and look for things that will annoy you and let them get under your skin. Any mistake or problem should be taken as a personal insult.

5. Demand perfection from everyone and everything around you. Be sure to expect much more than is possible. Be as miserable as possible when things go wrong.

6. Abandon your sense of humor. Try to treat every matter as the most important thing in the world. Every minor thing should heighten your anger level.

7. Be cynical about the world. Look for events and situations that back up your view. Ignore any good news. Be pessimistic about other people's motives. Be suspicious of everyone.

8. Watch television, especially reality shows. Turn the volume up during commercials. Eat lots of junk food and drink soda.

9. Abandon your ability to change and adapt to the world around you. Be rigid in your body and mind. Don't allow anything to disturb your misery.

10. Hold your breath, don't exercise. Tighten your shoulder muscles and slouch. Frown, scowl and be sure to crease the lines your forehead.

NOTE: Please consult your personal physician before undertaking any stress-increasing activities.

WARNING: Failure to follow these guidelines can result in occasional bouts of peace, harmony and a desire to check out the relaxed breathing and movement of Zen Yoga. www.artofzenyoga.com

Elfeya

Finally some time to catch up on things.
I wanted to take a moment to introduce someone very special in my life. Elfeya and I met in 1998 when I was living in Australia. Our lives were on different paths at that time and while we ran into each other a number of times while I was living there, we never really had a chance to spend any time together. It wasn't until last year that we truly connected. There comes a time when we meet someone who is just right for us and in Elfeya I have met that girl.

Elfeya and I were married on April 7th in Australia this year. We had a traditional buddhist ceremony in our beachfront apartment on the Gold Coast.
I have been traveling back and forth to Australia for many years and Elfeya was ready to join me in that adventure. We held another wedding ceremony in Vermont on June 7th in the Mystic Glade, the sacred meditation garden that I have been building for many years.


Not long after that my father contracted colon cancer and my mother broke her wrist. Thankfully my Dad's surgery was a success and he is in the recovery process. We decided that we would make our home here in Vermont for the forseeable future and begin to expand our Zen Yoga retreats and programs to further the spirit healing work I have been doing for these many years.

Elfeya is an animal spirit guide counselor and helps facilitate connections to the animal world through lectures, guided meditations, and private consultations. In addition to being a Zen Yoga instructor, she is a natural beauty therapist well versed in herbal medicine and aromatherapy. She leads the Zen Yoga Online Courses for personal development and spiritual deepening. She is a fantastic cook and provides all the meals at the Zen Yoga retreats.

My wife...Elfeya

till next time...wishing you much peace,
Zin

Reconnecting with Nature

The Zen Yoga Reconnecting with Nature Retreat held the last weekend of July was a wonderful chance to step out of the craziness of the world for a little while and get immersed in the natural world. Even while the rain made things a little soggy the first night, it couldn't dampen experience of stepping out into the natural world and breathing the lifeforce energy. Highlights of the weekend included learning the basic Zen Crane Qigong form, an animal spirit guide talk and meditation, death arrow fire ceremony, and Elfeya's fantastic home cooked meals.

Having such a successful event has really sparked us to organize some new events and update the website. We have added some lessons to the Online Course for Spiritual Deepening and updated the Instructor Training Program.

In addition we have scheduled the Zen Warrior Retreat for September 18-20 just before the Autumn Equinox. We have also scheduled a Pre-Holiday DeStress Retreat for December 4-6.

We are hoping to have the new book...The Zen Anti-Diet, 2nd Edition completed and printed by the end of the year.

More posts coming soon.

wishing you much peace