Joyful benefits of Yoga

It's great to know that yoga is alive and well at Joy Miller & Associates. Morning classes on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday provide a connection to other people, a place to feel into your body while improving posture and breath. But yoga is more than just another exercise program.

When practiced regularly, yoga reliably increases your sense of physical health, emotional well-being, mental clarity, and spiritual connection. Combining yoga postures with the breath benefits you at an essential core level of physical functioning. Improved breathing allows toxins to leave and increased vitality to enter. Metabolism is increased and aids not only in processing food more efficiently, but in energizing your entire immune system. No wonder a feeling of lightness occurs a the end of practice!

Stress happens when we feel restricted and overwhelmed. Taking time apart from daily activities, turning off the phone and intentionally tuning in to the present moment reduces stress hormone levels. The body is returned it to a physically stress-free state, making it less susceptible to illness and more prone to resiliency and vitality. Our hearts and minds respond with acceptance and openness as the body gives way to contentment.

One of the great things about our classes is that anyone can participate. Unlike attempting to become a pretzel or working yourself into a frenzy, yoga at Joy Miller & Associates is focused on your particular physical abilities and needs. Our teachers have advanced training in therapeutic applications. Come in for a class and find your inner light grow into outer joy.

Is your job toxic?

Work environments have really changed. Job sites were once a place where employees felt secure economically and were assured of their job placement. Today, many work environments are places of tension, anxiety and heightened fear. Tonight we will look at the work environment and give you some tips on how to stay sane when there is negativity all around you.

What are some of the main reasons why job environments are so negative these days?
• Career builders.com notes 3 reasons for the heightened negativity.
1. People are feeling anxiety, fear and pressure in the world and within their relationships and they tend to bring their own emotions to the workplace
2. Employees are being asked to do more with fewer resources which puts everyone in a place of heightened anxiety and feeling overwhelmed and under appreciated
3. Employees feel like they must perform under the pressure or that they will be pink-slipped, laid off or replaced by outsourcing employees. These things only add to the negativity on the job site.

So what can we do to keep ourselves sane in the workplace?
• Don’t be part of the problem. Learn to stay away from gossip and complaining. When you become part of the problem you increase your negativity level which leads to heightened “insanity”
• Try not to over react. When we feel stressed in the workplace, we tend to react to things around us. Tempers fly, people become irritable and terse and that’s the time to slow down, evaluate the situation and be calm and stay away from the drama
• Try to align with positive people. If you are in a toxic environment, the worse thing you can do is align with others who are toxic—this only fills you with the fuel of unhappiness.
• Workplace negativity can make you sick. If you notice you are getting more backaches, headaches, upset stomachs and the likes it might be that you need to get some distance from the job. Set some limits on hours you work, boundaries with other workers, and maintain a life outside of your job
• Talk it over. Many work places offer Employee Assistance Programs or benefits to see counselors. Most therapists are trained to help with stress management, boundary settings and helping you find a real balance in your life. Typically you can get some real helpful techniques in 1-2 sessions.
• The tough choice. If it is unbearable you need to change your viewpoint or move out of the environment. This may seem like a horrible solution to the problem, but some workplace environments are too toxic and it’s not worth your mental or physical health.

Consumer Reports Endorses Therapy

A 2010 Consumer Reports survey reveals the power of therapy...

One of the most respected consumer protection groups has now endorsed talk therapy as a means of lowering stress, anxiety and depression.

1500 participants took part in a 3-year study reported in the June 2010 issue of Consumer Reports. The findings concluded two important elements. First of all, respondents who attended AT LEAST 7 sessions had marked improvement in their anxiety and depressive symptoms. And those who took medication in correlation with therapy had the highest improvement. Secondly, the "type of therapist" did not matter. Whether a psychologist, social worker, or professional counselor, the therapy had identical results in the helpfullness ratings.

The survey also concluded that anxiety was up for Americans with 58% reporting symptoms in 2010 compared to 41% to 2004.

Consumer Reports went on to say that counseling was "a good investment. Talk therapy offers two advantages over medication: no drug side effects and tools you can use for the long term. People who struck with talk therapy for a least 7 sessions had significantly better outcomes than those who went six or fewer sessions.

Victim or VICTOR?

Happiness – How you look at life has a powerful effect on your mood

In our last Happiness segment we discussed being grateful and the power of seeing the positive elements of our life. Tonight we will expand on how we look at life, and just what we can do to enhance some of the techniques related to our inner thoughts.


What can you tell us about American’s view of their life?
• A survey in by Keyes in 2005 showed that 54% of Americans say they are just moderately happy and that they feel they lack the enthusiasm for life
• These Americans say they have touched happiness but don’t know how to recreate that feeling
• Lastly, the research of shows that Americans feel like they are stuck and in a rut
So what can we offer our audience to enhance their happiness ratio and get them out of their rut?
• We’ve talked about the importance of seeing life through a half-full vs. half empty glass
• We’ve discussed being grateful as a means of seeing the world in a different way
• But, one important key to breaking out of a rut is changing your thinking related to being a VICTIM vs being a VICTOR
• Unconsciously many of us look at our job, our relationships, our government, and the world as hostile and a place where someone else is exerting pressure, control or power over our life
• Happy people have one important trait—they BELIEVE THEY HOLD THE POWER TO CHANGE THEIR OWN CORNER OF THE WORLD. HAPPY PEOPLE SEE THEIR CHOICES AND BELIEF THAT CHALLENGES ARE NOTHING MORE THAN OPPORTUNITES TO GROW.

So what is our assignment for this next week?
This may be a hard one for many of you out there, but this week I would ask you to commit to looking at yourself no longer as the victim, but someone who has the creativity to discover your own power. I challenge you to look for a solution versus placing blame…

COMMIT: I’m asking you to find just one challenging thing that upsets you each day and instead of letting it control your mood, CHANGE YOUR VIEWPOINT- PUT ON A DIFFERENT SET OF GLASSES in 2010 and brainstorm some creative ways to change the way you look at the situation so you see options and possibilities…Then take the risk to act on those possibilities and make a empowering change.