2. Breath awareness: Bring your attention to your breath. Breath awareness will make you more aware to notice various aspects of stress, situation and its effects on your body-brain system. Breath awareness will bring understanding of dominant nostril. At any given time, we have one dominant nostril and one blocked nostril. The dominance and blockage can be of varied degrees.

3. Change dominant nostril: This is one of oldest secret of “Shiv Swarodaya” or Swar Yoga. As you become aware of stress and dominant nostril, simplest thing to do now is to block dominant nostril by pressing thumb on that nostril and breathe through other nostril for twenty one times. Normally this is sufficient to change nostril and stop setting in of stress. This simple method works in a miraculous manner to manage stress!

4. Practice “Nirmal Kriya”: Nirmal Kriya is one of most powerful methods to eliminate stress instantly. It takes only half a minute to practice it. Here is how you go about it… Start with a couple of deep breaths. Now start with four short breaths and end with a long breath. During long breath exhalation, create friction in throat region. (This is known as Ujjayi Pranayam). This makes train of five connected breaths. Repeat such train five times and you have completed 25 connected breaths Nirmal Kriya. You can do it standing, sitting or sleeping positions. You can repeat it every hour or anytime you feel you are drifting into stressful situation.

5. Change your Attitudes: Become more positive towards stress management. Look at every situation in a positive manner, including stressful situations. In fact we learn our best lessons of life from worst situations!

6. Set your Goals right: Practice SMART Goal setting. Let each of your goal be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound. Pursue realistic goals which are meaningful to you, rather than goals others have for you that you do not share.

7. Manage your Time: Practice Time management techniques and manage your life accordingly. Prepare list of things to do every day morning. Set your priorities right. Follow your own system to extent possible and also be flexible to change your system to suit your new environment.

8. Improve your EQ: Emotional quotient is based on Emotional Intelligence. Reduce intensity of your emotional reactions to stress. The stress reaction is triggered by your perception of emotional danger. Are you viewing your stressors in exaggerated terms? Are you over-reacting and viewing things as absolutely critical and urgent? Work at adopting more moderate views; try to see stress as something you can cope with rather than something that overpowers you. Put situation in perspective.

9. Take care of your body: Exercise for cardiovascular fitness three to four times a week Moderate, prolonged rhythmic exercise is best, such as walking, swimming, cycling, or jogging. Practice Yoga regularly. Eat well-balanced, nutritious meals. Maintain your ideal weight. Avoid nicotine, excessive caffeine, and other stimulants. Get enough sleep. Be as consistent with your sleep schedule as possible.

10. Take it easy: Mix leisure with work. Take breaks and get away whenever you can. Develop some mutually supportive friendships and relationships. Frustrations, failures, and sorrows are part of our life, for learning lessons. Always be kind and gentle with yourself -- be a friend to yourself. For more information please visit http://www.premnirmal.com/stress_management.htm

It is also well advised to refrain from making major commitments and signing important contracts during this period. Careless thinking, misinformation, haste and poor communication impede ability to make wise decisions.

Often people feel pressured to make an immediate decision. It is best to wait if possible.

It is likely that you will change your mind after Mercury changes direction as new information comes to light or a different perspective is revealed.

HOW TO USE THE ENERGY OF MERCURY RETROGRADE

There are many positive uses for Mercury Retrograde energy. This is an excellent time for introspection - looking towards past. Your focus may change and alternative ideas may come to light.

Mercury Retrograde is an optimum time to focus on people, issues and projects that are already established or from past.

It is an excellent time to initiate contact and meet with people who have not been in your life for a while. In fact, it is not uncommon to be contacted by long lost friends and family at this time.

This is time is to take on any activities that entail review or revision of old or already established projects.

Cleaning out reviewing and reorganizing records is an excellent example. Another is gathering your financial information together from past year in preparation for filing your tax return.

WHEN DOES MERCURY GO RETROGRADE?

Mercury makes his retrograde dance approximately three times a year for a period of three weeks. You may feel its effects up to a week or so before it makes its retrograde station.

Here are periods when Mercury goes retrograde for 2005 and 2006:

2005

March 19 to April 12

July 23 to August 16

November 14 to December 4

2006

March 2 to March 25

July 4 to July 29

October 28 to November 18

Use this information to optimize your planning and efficiency.

Self-Employment 101: It's about making a living and creating a life! ... Observations, information and resources for those of us who are self employed or just thinking about it.