Category Archives: Spirituality

Find Balance this Spring

Find Balance This Spring With Stillness

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By Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

It’s been a while since I’ve written on my website/blog. With the state of the world the last couple of years drenched in chaos, uncertainty and fear, I felt the best way to get to the truth is to sit in stillness often. In stillness you find balance. In stillness you are better able to listen to your intuition. When you are reactionary, you put yourself in stress-mode, increasing your cortisol levels and lowering your immune system. Spring, however, is a reminder to come out of the darkness, reach for the light, and learn from those dark moments. Reflecting on times of chaos brings wisdom. Fear then disappears and returns one to a state of balance.

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Reiki for Better Breath and De-Stress

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Until I practiced Reiki I never realized I held my breath when I was tense or stressed. Holding your breath when stressed doesn’t allow the body to get enough oxygen, compromising your well-being, and increases your chances of fatigue. Reiki helped me improve my breathing habits.

Lack of oxygen to the brain does not allow it to think clearly. Things can get confusing, foggy and tiring quickly. Our bodies tense up and often lead to poor sleep patterns. We can also begin to compromise relationships, whether at work or personal, if we don’t cope with that stress.

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Express Positive Impressions

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We often admire qualities and traits of others from afar, but don’t express them to those individuals. Sometimes it’s because we don’t know them well. Other times we assume that person has it all together and doesn’t need positive feedback. Yet, we are human, we have good and bad days, pings of self-doubt and self-destructive thoughts. It’s on those days that your positive impressions of others are needed most.

Something like this happened to me today. My son often talks about how much he loves one of the older child-care workers at my gym, Ms Sandy. He gets upset when she is not working when I put him in child-care there. He’s painted pictures for her when at home, and often talks about how much he likes her. So I let her know today.

Ms. Sandy’s response was quite surprising to me, but not negative. She told me she had been having a bad morning and really needed to hear that feedback. She almost burst into tears. “You don’t know how happy that makes me feel. I was really feeling bad about myself. Thank you for telling me that, I really needed it today.”

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Response to a Senseless Act

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Perspective on Las Vegas Shooting October 2017

Does the killing of innocent people who are enjoying themselves at a concert make sense?

No, it doesn’t. Nor is it right. Many lost their lives senselessly by a man who had no criminal or psychological record.  From the outside he looked like he had success in business. What would push someone like this to harm others?

We have free will. We all have the ability to make the choice between being kind to people, or doing them harm, either physically or mentally.

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Weather Influence on Health

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Why being a lump on the couch on miserable days  is not healthy

The other day the weather was miserable, foggy, rainy and cold. First thing in the morning I got news that a friend was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer. It was one of those moments in life where you just want to throw your hands up in the air and just shut down. Curl up on the couch with a blanket and hot cup of tea, and watch feel-good movies to forget. But, I didn’t. I looked after me, my health, and forgot about the weather – both outside and in my life at that moment.

Everyone knows someone close who is suffering, but our duty to those we love who are suffering is to stay strong for them. If we do not nurture ourselves we won’t have the energy to be strong for others in their hour of need. Our health is our priority – physically, spiritually and mentally.

My choice that day was to drive through the fog and get to the gym. A great metaphor for life. Just push through those unclear moments and you will find a positive end.

I did a spin class. I’m not good at it, but I felt good after it. My mood changed, and it gave me the energy to be there for a family suffering with some pretty horrible news.

Don’t shut out the world and the problems that you encounter by neglecting your health. With rain comes growth and new beginnings. Stay focused on your health no matter the weather. Your healthy balance keeps those around you balanced. In your time of need they will be there too.

 

 

 

Photo Credit: Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

Don’t Let People Take Your Fire

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I had the honor and pleasure of participating in a yoga session at my gym a few days ago with one of Colorado’s best Yoga Instructors, Gina Caputo (www.ginacaputo.com). She taught our class of over 60 people about the metaphors of yoga in daily life while in our practice. For me, the most important metaphor that resonated was not letting people take your fire.

Ms. Caputo let us understand how each section of our yoga session connected to daily life. Yoga sessions begin slow and get to a point of fire, where our muscles are burning and aching and we are certain we are going to fall over and lose our balance. Just as in life, things can get tough. We feel like the pain and suffering we are going through at certain points in our life (or people in our life are causing), are going to do us in, knock us over and not allow us to get back up again. But we do get through those painful times. The fire we feel ends at some point. No more straining. We find ourselves breathing normally again, finding a calmer point.

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Reiki for a Balanced Life

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Finding Balance in an Overwhelming and Stressful World

When you feel overwhelmed with everything in your life – work, family, community involvement, etc. – and you just don’t have an extra minute to give to yourself, it’s time to find balance in your life. Reiki helped me look deep inside myself to understand how I got into my frazzled overwhelming world. Reiki also helped me understand how to get in control of my life again and feel balanced.

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Reduce Menopause Symptoms with Reiki

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By Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

Your brain feels fuzzy, you’re exhausted, emotional, have moments of depression, and sometimes you feel like you no longer have control over your body that now feels like an overheated car. Women at various stages of their lives have felt at least one of these symptoms, but before, during, and after entering menopause all these symptoms can hit you at once. If you aren’t ready to take supplements or medication for your stage of menopause, Reiki may be something you want to try to manage your symptoms.

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Presence Over Perfection: Recovering from Postpartum Depression

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First Published on June 13, 2015 on the website of Reiki Expert Pamela Miles at:  http://reikiinmedicine.org/daily-practice/reiki-helps-postpartum-depression/

Reiki Helps Postpartum Depression – by Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

On the morning of my first Mother’s Day, I was sobbing uncontrollably. My mother and mother-in-law were trying to console me, but my hormones were on a roller coaster ride. I had postpartum depression.

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Yoga Poses for Menopause

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By Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

First Published on May 28, 2015 at: http://menopausemission.com/yoga-poses-for-menopause

Yoga instructor since 1983, and author of the book, Alpha Omega Yoga: The Art and Science of Self Transformation, Angela Kolias suggests two key yoga poses for everyone, but for women going through menopause these are quite helpful for getting through menopause symptoms.

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Menopause and Yoga

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By Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

First Published on April 20, 2015 at: http://menopausemission.com/menopause-and-yoga

Exercise is essential when going through menopause.  It helps keep the blood circulating properly, strengthens muscles, decreases stress and mood swings, and most importantly it helps keep your mind centered.  Yoga is a great form of exercise to do during menopause for all these reasons, but as for helping to keep your mind centered, it is probably the best form.

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Menopausal Healthy Holiday Season

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Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

First published in December 2012 at – http://menopausemission.com/menopausal-healthy-holiday-season

You’ve been trying to get control over all the changes your body is going through and now it’s the holiday season and you are overwhelmed with the thought that eating healthy and finding ways to exercise and relax are out of the question this holiday season.  Don’t fret, there are a few things you can do amongst the chaos of the holiday season to help you from going overboard and help you ease into the New Year without feeling completely guilty that you overindulged.  Remember getting your body in balance does not happen overnight and certainly is not easy to begin over the holiday season. Here is where you can begin your first steps:   Continue reading →

Meditation for a Balanced Life

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Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

First Published at http://menopausemission.com/author/constadina-vasiliades/page/2         September 2012

Far too often when people hear the word “meditation” images of a toga-draped Buddhist sitting in an incense-filled room chanting “OM” comes to mind, but the main goal of meditation is in fact to shut off the mind and focus on breathing.  Our daily lives consist of a variety of stresses leading to us unconsciously holding our breath when we feel tension. This briefly prevents oxygen from getting to our brains, sometimes making us dizzy, confused, and disoriented, and sometimes more stressed.  Stress has a major effect on our hormones and when you are at the stage in your life where you are either about to enter menopause or already going through it, adding one more factor to change your hormone levels can in fact influence how your body copes with various menopause symptoms.   Continue reading →