The Quickest & Easiest Way to Switch Off – and It’s Fr*ee!

I am lucky enough to be in The States at the moment and spent the week-end with some dear friends in New Jersey.

On Saturday, we visited the New Jersey Shore at Cape May, a beautiful Victorian seaside resort not far from Philadelphia. After a great, out of season walk on the beach in the sunshine, we were standing by the Ocean and spotted a flock of what must have been several hundred small birds flying in formation on the edge of the water.

It was phenomenal to watch as the birds moved in perfect unison, twisting and turning this way and that and catching the light as they turned in a joyous ‘dance’. We must have watched them for 20 minutes or so and were captivated by them. It was as if they were putting on a display especially for us.

Watching this flock of birds was a true delight and something really quite special and extraordinary. One couldn’t help being uplifted by it and we gasped and laughed as we watched them.

The point of sharing the story is to remind you that one of the easiest, cheapest and most effective forms of relaxation is to be with nature and just observe.

When was the last time you just stood for a few minutes and enjoyed nature? When did you last take a walk in the park, on a beach, by a river or over the moors and just really notice what is there and how beautiful it is?

One of the disadvantages for we city dwellers these days is that we are detached from nature somewhat and yet there’s no better calmer of nerves and no better way to appreciate what we have.

As soon and as often as you can, get to the nearest green or natural space and just observe for 10 minutes or so. Look at what you see as if you were doing so for the first time. Notice the sounds, the colours, the movement and see what effect it has on you. It’s the best and quickest stress relief ever – and it’s free and right under our noses!

Have a lovely week.

With love

Annie x

Author's Bio: 

Following a corporate career spanning 20 years with Board level appointments and a series of personal challenges of her own, Annie has become a passionate specialist in Stress Management, also qualified in Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy, Reiki, EFT & NLP. She enables clients to achieve greater peace, focus, wisdom and insight through challenging periods with relationships, career, ill health, during crises of confidence and at major crossroads in their lives. Working with Annie enables people to relax, develop a positive focus and unlocks the confidence to create the life we deserve and to step into our personal brilliance .

Annie’s corporate experience allows her to work equally well within corporate life, delivering exceptionally well-received workshops and Soul-to-Soul coaching/counselling sessions. Her intuitive approach means each session is tailormade to the individual and every person who attends a workshop or Soul-to-Soul session leaves with new insights and proven tools that they can use immediately and which work!

She loves what she does and it shows! Seeing the ‘pennies drop’ for clients is a major source of delight for Annie . Many clients view their emotional recovery to be truly transformational and life-changing.

Her popular range of Stress-relieving CDs and downloads are available via Amazon. Telephone coaching and teleseminar programmes in addition, means her work is accessible to anyone, anywhere around the World.

Says Annie, “The people who seek my services are extremely capable people, but have often become overwhelmed by situations in their lives or by the sheer number of responsibilities they find themselves holding. This is often the result of a subconscious and untrue belief about themselves. The consequence is that they find themselves with an (often unconscious) negative view of themselves and their lives, which holds them back from being all that they might be and from enjoying life to the full. In raising awareness of these issues and in exploring different thought processes, it is my great pleasure to empower people to find a different route and to find their true purpose”.

Annie is a Member of the Complimentary Medical Association and the International Stress Management Association. She is also a Member of the Worshipful Company of Marketors and a Freeman of the City of London. She is an inspirational confidant, seminar leader, article writer and motivational speaker.