When feeling hunched over and tense in neck, shoulders and back I highly recommend you break throughout the day and do quick immediate chest and shoulder opener. You just need a doorway! Here’s a short clip from my online video course called “End Your Back Pain Flexibility Course” You will feel your heart and chest open right after!

Good posture increases circulation which can help speed up healing. In Yoga, it's referred to as your "back body." Stacey Posture Strap Comes in size Small (24-34) Medium (28 - 38) and Large (38 - 49). In stock! Ready to ship!

You can work out with the Posture Strap or use it for daily living. You will feel the difference from the moment you put it on. 

When we feel calm, centered, and balanced this enables us to tap into our inner knowing where intuition guides inspired thinking and action. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is famous for his theory on flow and as one of the pioneers of the scientific study of happiness. In his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (1990), he concluded that happiness is not a fixed state but can be developed as we learn to achieve flow in our lives. According to Csikszentmihalyi, "The best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile."

When we focus our attention on a consciously chosen goal, our psychic energy literally "flows" in the direction of that goal, resulting in a reordering and harmonizing within consciousness. This higher state of consciousness makes what would seem too difficult suddenly effortless and allows us to advance into new achievements in sports performance and all the arts.

The flow state is like a moving meditation. Action and awareness merge when the athlete, artist or performer becomes totally absorbed in what they are doing. They have all the skills necessary and can stretch their abilities to meet the challenge, while focusing attention on the task at hand. Time seems to fly. It can also feel like there is no time.

An example of this can be seen in the martial arts or watching the Olympics. The competitor seeks to lose all distractions of ego, fear, and self-referring thoughts, immersing themselves completely in the activity. This state allows the chi (energy) to flow through the individual and support the movement or task.

The flow state applies to dancers, athletes, writers, teaching, tech world, inventions, artistic creativity, and just living in a state of inspiration (in spirit) There's no one way, whatever works for an individual and brings the desired results is correct for them. Here are some suggestions that work like a charm for me and the athletes I coach:

5. Treat food and spices as medicine:

Eat an anti-inflammatory diet. It can take about 30 days to create a new habit. Cut out sugars and replace It with no calorie organic
monk fruit or stevia. These are natural without the dangerous chemicals in artificial sweetener. Make a grocery list of foods that heal rather than mindlessly throwing unhealthy choices into the cart.

When in this state of grace or flow state, you are in your natural state of well-being. One may notice how divine order and harmony carries into all areas of your life by:

* Working in complete harmony and cooperation with everyone you interact with.

*Drawing the highest and best from people.

*The right people, places and things show up.

* Financial abundance flows easily.

* Aches and pains are gone; the body and mind feel balanced.

During times of stress, it is easy to go into fight or flight mode. One gets tense, which changes body chemistry and negatively affects the cells of the body. Even changing the smell of ones sweat.

A useful definition of stress is "the actual or perceived threat to well-being"

Stressors need not be physical, and indeed most stress comes from a psychological perception of "threat to well-being", with the physical stressors being less obvious in the form of chronic pain or illness.

You can become a reactive being to all outside circumstances and allow this to dictate your emotional, mental, and physical states. This can allow hurts, disappointments, and the appearance of things to run the show, creating the illusion that it is all coming from "out there". This leads to so much stress; it can incapacitate you or lead you to disease.

Stress is a pressure cooker that needs an outlet to leave your mind, body, nervous system, and affairs. Deep stretching is one of the quickest ways to release this because you can literally “Let it all go” and breathe it out of the body.

I find the quickest way back to center is to shut out the outside world completely -- all noise and needless chatter, and meditate or sit in prayer, asking for the truth of the situation to be revealed, and feel the support of the entire Universe operating through me. I also ask for Divine Right action and Divine Right outcome for the Highest good for all involved. Then relax and let the unseen forces go to work.

Exercising is the second half of this process. Meditation builds confidence from the inside out. A fit body contributes to a fit mind and builds confidence from the outside in. Even a walk can be peaceful and amazing guidance and insights may come to you, as you continue to release tension and tune in. Or an activity that requires skill and focus such as: golf, tennis, yoga, martial arts, dance, shifts you out of stuck mental/emotional states.

More on how food can also play a role in feeling stable, clear, and focused; there are foods that weaken and foods that heal. Staying away from preservatives, artificial sweeteners, processed foods, hormone-filled meat (from tortured animals treated like non-feeling beings, best not to digest their sadness and stress), refined sugar, and white bread. These foods can cause inflammation, which shows up as uneven blotchy skin, redness, bloating, disease, and pain.

Stick to anti-inflammatory foods such as organic fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grain, and beans. That will keep the weight off and help you manage your energy, emotions, and alertness. Eating breakfast also helps. Sumo wrestlers skip breakfast to gain weight! Studies show a 5% drop in metabolism in people who routinely skip breakfast.

Eating small meals every three to four hours stabilizes blood sugar and keeps the metabolism going, like throwing another log on the fire to keep its heat steady. It also keeps you from going wild at dinner time and eating everything in sight because you are starving.

Another major healer and provider of important lessons about unconditional love is spending quality time connecting with your animal companions. Just petting them lowers blood pressure and benefits the animal as well.