To get to that happy place, you can start with some slow, deep breathing. Five or six reps should start you on your way to relaxing, and then close your eyes and go to that special place.

2009 Monthly Tips

2008 Monthly Tips

Stress Management Tips

March 2010 - "Visualize"

Grandma Gilmore got it right when she told her grandson to “go to your happy place”. Maybe you didn’t see the movie Happy Gilmore, but in it, any time the lead character, Happy Gilmore, was having a bad day, he would remember what his grandmother told him as a child. She would say, “Go to your happy place”. Happy would then visualize his fond memories that made him happy and he would relax.

Visualization helps us because when we are thinking about something that makes us feel good; our brain tells the rest of the body it can relax because all is well. The rest of the body listens to what the brain tells it to do. A natural feel good chemical called endorphin is released into the body to make us relaxed and happy.

I tell people who attend my programs, about my happy place. I think about holding my grandsons in my arms when they were infants. It’s so satisfying because they had total trust in me. It would be quiet and I would watch as they slept so peacefully. What’s your happy place? It might be a sunrise or sunset casting bright colors out over a lake; standing atop a mountain looking down the snow covered slopes or simply sitting on your front porch holding hands with a person you care about. Whatever your happy place is, go to it in difficult times and let your mind relax your body. Life will seem a lot brighter once you do this.