Relaxation

Using Mindfulness Techniques in Counselling

Whether the approach is highly structured or not, and whether the practices are formal or informal, bringing mindfulness into helping roles has several general principles. This article explores these, along with some of the benefits, limitations and contraindications of mindfulness practices. »

Identifying and Managing Therapist Burnout

It’s a new year, we’ve all renewed ourselves with a fabulous holiday break, and we’re raring to go again, having said goodbye to the factors stressing us in 2020, right? Or maybe not. Much of the developed world has, at this writing, only recently come out of lockdown from the COVID-19 pandemic, and many countries are still in the middle of it as they battle a second or even third wave. The constr... »

The Benefits of Intentional Daydreaming

Your fitness tracker reminds you to walk away from your computer every hour to get needed movement – and then counts how many steps you do all day. In conjunction with the app on your phone, it tells you how well you’ve slept – or not, and whether you’ve gotten your heart rate up enough on your daily run. Other apps on your computer remind you when it’s time for meetings, help you focus to meet de... »

Helping Clients Relax: Techniques that Focus on the Body

Most relaxation approaches understand that the main point is for the relaxation practitioner to attain a greater state of focus and concentration. What’s up for grabs with each technique is that which is focused on, and how. In this article, we explore techniques where the practitioner focuses in some way on the body, either just observing it, or in some cases, actively tensing and then relaxing i... »

Relaxation, Meditation and Mindfulness Techniques to Manage Study Stress

Relaxation, meditation and mindfulness stress management techniques involve learning how to control our body’s response to stress. It is about learning to consciously relax the body and still the mind. Like learning a new language, a little bit every day is far better than a mega-session occasionally. Burgeoning research studies support practitioners’ contentions that multiple advantag... »

Essential Steps to a New You

Not feeling like you’re living it up to your full potential? Below are some essential tips to get out of your rut and towards renewal. »

Doing the “Re” Thing this Summer

It’s that time of year again: the end-of-year project deadlines are looming, you’ve just found out when the in-laws will be visiting, and your inbox is clogged with ads flogging fares to everywhere from Madagascar to London. Yep, the holidays are coming. »

Relaxation Strategies for Counsellors

It is important to be aware of the way in which stress may be impacting on you and your counselling work. Which aspects of you are more susceptible to the influence of stress? »

Finding Balance Between Work and Life

According to the Australian National Occupational Health and Safety Commission Report, December 2003, high stress levels lead to thousands of stress-related WorkCover claims every year. »

Anger Management Strategy: Relaxation

The body tends to respond in an innate flight or fight response when faced with an anger-provoking situation. That means that reactions within your body call you to ask yourself whether you should leave the situation (flight) or use your newly produced adrenalin and cortisones to get through (fight). »

Infidelity: Getting Through It

Have you had to deal with infidelity? How did you cope? This post is directed to those who are facing such situation or still suffer from a past instance. It is a personal and up-close perspective aiming to support those in need. Others can use this information as reference to help a friend, or to have a better understanding of the situation. »

Recovering Gently from a Relationship Breakdown

If you are not yet ready to do a lot of loving things for yourself that will make you feel better and help you inch back toward your pre-breakup level of self-esteem or better, you may be feeling self-destructive. That’s normal. This section is about passing some time safely. »