sleeping happy ever after

Some beautiful tricks for all of you who have difficulties falling asleep, find it hard to relax, experience high tensions in the neck, pelvis, calf and stomach/ diaphragm area.

Schöne Tricks für alle, denen es schwer fällt einzuschlafen, sich zu entspannen oder die extrem angespannt sind im Nacken, Becken, Achillessehnen und Magen/ Zwerchfell Bereich. (deutsch weiter unten)

a gift to the tensed neck at the end of a long working day -
entspannt den Nacken am Ende eines langen Arbeitstages

Sleeping - one of my most favourite solutions to literally every problem. Hence, it gets me completely annoyed, when falling asleep is difficult, especially in times, when I am extremely stressed and could very well use my dose of sleep.

release the diaphragm and allow for deep breathing
entspanne das Zwerchfell für eine tiefe Atmung

Some time ago I noticed, that one or more of four main muscle groups are extremely tensed, when it appears to be difficult to fall asleep. Namingly the neck, the pelvis, the calf-tendons and the stomach/ diaphragm. When the muscles in these areas are relaxed with blood flowing through them I fall asleep within seconds.

The muscles in these regions are essentially linked to the functioning and implementation of the three reflexes our system uses to survive: the fight (neck & Arms, flight (calf-tendon and pelvis) and freeze reflex (diaphram) reflexes. When the muscles in these areas are tensed, our system is in survival mode. When they are relaxed, our system knows that we are secure and that it is safe to fall asleep.

So here we go:
- I couldn't be annoyed again as I realised that my body was just doing its work by not allowing me to fall asleep.
- I found a trick to make those areas relax within minutes by putting a hot-water bottle on the respective muscle groups.

relax the back-pelvic muscles with heat
wärme entspannt die hintere Beckenmuskulatur

Of course there are beautiful Brain Gym(r) Exercises as #QuickFix -

  the hot-water bottle relaxes calf-tendons also works great to get rid of cold feet
eine Wärmflasche lockert die Achillessehnen/ Waden und hilft gegen kalte Füße

for the neck: Owl /// for the pelvis: Rocker /// for the diaphragm: Belly Breathing /// for the calf-tendons: Calf Pump
OR a personal Balance for your individual longterm solution.

And I am sleeping happy ever after ...

für meine deutsch-Liebenden ...
Schlafen ist eine meiner Lieblingslösungen für alles. Umso genervter bin ich, wenn ich nicht einschlafen kann - besonders wenn ich extrem gestresst bin und den Schlaf brauche. 

Vor einiger Zeit ist mir aufgefallen, dass vier Muskelgruppen sehr angespannt sind, wenn mir das Einschlafen schwerfällt: Nacken, Becken, Waden und Magen/ Zwerchfell. Sind sie entspannt und durchblutet, schlafe ich innerhalb kürzester Zeit.

Die Muskeln in diesen Bereichen sind mit unseren zentralen Überlebensreflexen verbunden: dem Kampf- (Arme & Nacken), Flucht- (Becken und Wade), und Todstell (Zwerchfell) Reflex. Sind die Muskeln angespannt, sind wir im Überlebensmodus. Sind sie entspannt, weiss unser System, dass wir sicher sind und schlafen können.

Und so kam es, dass:
- ich mich nicht mehr über das nicht-einschlafen-können aufregen musste, da mein Körper ja das macht, was er machen soll
- ich den Trick entdeckte, eine Wärmflasche auf die angespannten Bereiche zu legen um diese schneller zu entspannen
- ich bis an mein Lebensende glücklich und zufrieden einschlafen kann ...

Natürlich gibt es auch wunderschöne Brain Gym(r) Übungen als #QuickFix: für den Nacken: die Eule /// für das Becken: die Beckenschaukel /// für das Zwerchfell: die Bauchatmung /// für die Achillessehnen/ Waden: die Wadenpumpe
ODER eine persönliche Balance in der deine individuellen langfristigen Lösungen herausgearbeitet werden

the planets inspirations

screen shot from here

Admittedly I do not understand everything of what Chani writes.

Sometimes I do not understand anything, get bored and click it away. 

But there are many times,

that her words inspire, encourage and let me understand what is happening, what is going on with myself - what is going on in my life.

Chani's writings actually made me start liking horoscopes in the first place. I started to appreciate information and gists. Reading it, I see why it makes sense to pay attention to the stories of the planets and stars that constitute the canopy to our bodies here on earth. And use it as supportive stories for myself as well as for the people I coach. 

Since, understanding instead of judging what we are doing and how we are feeling is such a powerful tool to self-growth and happiness.

And she has the same blog theme color as I do, which defiantly connects :-)

Saturday, July 25

Venus (conjunct fixed star Regulus) stations retrograde at 0 Virgo 46’23” at 2:29 AM PST

This is the biggest event of the week by far. It’s also one of the biggest events of the summer and even of 2015. Venus will be retrograde from July 25th to September 6th 2015.

Within our lifetimes (thus far) Venus has gone retrograde between the signs of Virgo and Leo once every 8 years. Therefore you can look to see what of significance happened in your life 8 years ago to get a feel for what this retrograde cycle could be about.

Venus deals with issues of love, connectivity, art, pleasure, pleasing, what we value, how we feel about what we value, creating culture, erotic energy, Goddess, anyone who identifies as a woman and all things to do with relationships. When Planets slow down to station retrograde, they tend to have a powerful effect on our lives (especially given the topics they govern).

This Venus retrograde begins in Virgo. Venus in Virgo is said to be in its fall; it is said to not “work as well,” meaning that all this Venus wants to do is work. That’s not what the goddess of love and hanky-panky usually likes to do though. Therefore this Venus station retrograde could have us working over time.

I suggest utilizing the energy of Venus in Virgo stationing retrograde by doing intentional ritual (Virgo loves a good structured, devotional practice) that is focused on purifying, cleansing or cleaning (Virgo wants it tidy) out old baggage from past loves. That could be emotional messiness, physical objects that are cluttering up your energetic space or habitual patterns that cause romantic casualties.

The other point to note in this situation is that Venus is stationing retrograde on the fixed star Regulus. Regulus is known for it regal effect and its rock-star-like qualities. It amplifies this particular retrograde cycle and marks its importance in our lives.

For extra astro points take note of the houses in which Venus will travel through during the retrograde period (look for the houses that contain Virgo and Leo) and note their significance.

For extra, extra astro points take a look to see what houses Venus rules in your chart (those that contain Taurus and Libra) to get another layer of how this retrograde will be significant for you/what areas of life it will impact.

Mars in Cancer square Uranus in Aries

Normally this alone would be a stand out aspect for the week as it tends to create chaos, kerfuffle and likes to throw wrenches of all shapes and sizes into our plans. What this might do is lend an extra zing or disturbance to Venus stationing retrograde, removing the option to ignore what is going on. Mars square Uranus grabs our attention and can swallow our compassion in a flash. Keep your wits about you.

Mercury in Leo sextile North Node in Libra

By the evening there is a little aid from Mercury making a sextile to the North node and helping us to make sense of some of the events of the day.

- See more at: http://chaninicholas.com/venus-stations-retrograde-horoscopes-for-the-week-of-july-20th-2/#sthash.QaN1B6cr.dpuf

Did you ever try listening to your body ...

Healthy Food - inspired by my dear one's fable for ThaiViet cuisine and by my stomach.

... on what you should eat?

I think it is amazing, that the body is quite well able to communicate to the brain, what kind of nutrition it needs. Just as amazing as it is able to communicate the kind of nutrition it does not need. Have you ever tried this? Have you ever tried to listen to your body, when considering the kind of food to eat? It is fun, I can tell you this!

In this case my body was calling for

Rice Patthai

BrownRice - Vollkorn Reis

Vegetables - Gemüse

Sprouts - Sprossen

Shrimp - Scampis

in a delicious lime/olive oil sauce.

in Limette/Olivenöl sauce.

Ist es nicht faszinierend, dass der Körper dem Gehirn kommunizieren kann, welche Nährstoffe/ Nahrung er braucht - und was er nicht braucht? Hast du es schon mal ausprobiert deinen Körper zu hören, was er sagt, wenn du deine nächste Mahlzeit planst? Es fühlt sich super und total witzig an!

Probier es aus und erzähl mir deine Geschichte
Try it and tell me your story