Relax...

I need to relax! Since holidays won't be here until about 3 weeks time, I have to find new ways to relax. Let's see what I can find in the 1001 Ways to Relax book...

• Wake up naturally, without an alram clock, at least once a week if you can. This will help you reconnect with your bodily cycles. Note that going to bed an hour earlier will not necessarily bring forward your natural waking time by an hour - you may find that you lie awake, worrying that you can't sleep (so true!!!). If your circadian rhythms make you a night owl at heart, go with the flow and have a weekend lie-in when you need one. If you're a lark, spring out of bed when the time seems right - you may find there's time before breakfast to do some worthwhile meditation.

• Do less, experience more. In our fast paced modern world, there is a constant pressure to do more in less time. Consequently there is little time to appreciate what we are doing, to enjoy the experience of being alive.

• Enjoy chocolate. The main constituent of chocolate is cocoa - a substantce first consumed by the Aztecs, who recognized its stimulating and restorative properties reseving it for warriors, priests and nobles. Today cocoa is known to be rich in antioxidants, which protect us from cancer-promoting free radicals. Good-quality chocolate tends to be high in cocoa and low in sugar, so you can nibble it without feeling guilty. (Girls must be happy to hear this, keke. So what is good-quality chocolate?)

• Shake a snowstorm bubble and examine the miniature scene of the blizzard within the plastic dome. Whenever your life seems chaotic, imagine that you are observing the chaos from outside like this - calm and centred despite the confusion. (*shake, shake, shake* *stares*)