beth's blog

I am on the go a lot.  But something I do give myself credit for is being slow sometimes.  The thing that allows me to be slower is that I give myself time. You may call me a putzer. On the days where I can be the putzer that I remember being as a child, life is so much less stressful. Everything goes a lot more smoothly. I think to some people this may sound unrealistic.  But it is not really unrealistic at all.  And it keeps you calmer...which in the end gets things done the right way and in return you feel at ease and less anger arises when something does not go right. Because if you are rushing and have less time, when something doesn't go the way as planned, it is so much more stressful finding a solution than if you had actually given yourself time in the first place.  Think about it... isn't it strange how every time you are driving and you are running late every driver around you seems to be moving too slow? It makes you angry and anxious. It seems every driver around you is a jerk and doesn't know how to drive correctly. If you really took the time to reflect, that mostly occurs when you made the choice to leave the house at the last minute. Every driver out there can't possibly be getting in your way on purpose. Right? Isn't it funny how when you wake up at the last minute you rush around so much that you spill things which take time for cleaning....the coffee seems to take longer when it is brewing and the toaster just isn't toasting your bagel fast enough? That is not a way to start your day. Why not make the habit of setting your alarm a little earlier?  If you are a big time snoozer then set it even earlier. To me, it is worth it.  Getting up a little earlier is nice.  Waking up my daughter is less hectic and sometimes I can even hop into bed and lay with her for a couple of minutes and slowly wake her up.  The battle goes away and there is a calm beginning of the day that you can already feel affecting your mood immediately. It sounds like torture to some people when I tell them what time my daughter and I get up in the morning to get ready for school. But I believe we do not feel as much stress as others getting ready in the morning. She takes time getting out of bed, we take time getting dressed, we can relax and watch cartoons, we eat a full breakfast sitting down, and we putz. The funny thing is, with all of this time, I still sometimes find us rushing right at the very end:)  But I think you get the idea here. Every second after opening my eyes is not a hectic rush..., which I know, can be the case for a lot of people. So for this blog I will simply suggest for your health...give yourself more time in the morning. And then continue this time allowance throughout your day.  Some more examples of what I do for myself so I can be the putzer I was meant to be is I leave for work with an ample amount of time to not feel stressed while driving. Along with a nice drive, I can even find the time to do nice things for other drivers such as letting cars in front of me and other little favors like that. I also give myself more than enough time to be at work before the day gets busy. It is a grounding thing for me. There I can slowly set up the massage room I will be working in that day, chat a little with my co workers and maybe even help them set up and complete anything else that needs done with ease. We work to teach stress relief and to give stress relief and this is one way that I can suggest the reduction of stress that I actually try to do in my life. Of course this is not always the case for me...but it is something that I know from experience, works and feels good and definitely brings me some peace in my life....extra time gives me time to putz without feeling stressed. I love it!  It works really well while hanging out with my family:)  My husband, who is a chill man originally from the south and my seven year old girl are slow movers and it is a good feeling to be on their wavelength:) Good luck with putzing....and remember to be a successful putzer, you must give yourself the time!

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No matter what, at the Pittsburgh Center for Complemenary Health and Healing, we have warmth awaiting you in session. Always, we have the "grandma bags" filled with heated water on our tables.  But there are some specific sessions and some other beneficial add-ons to a session that you might be missing out on that could be very fitting for your needs. 

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At this time of year, it is hard to bake or cook a nice hot meal in your home.  Especially if you are like me and have zero air conditioning. Even if your home is air conditioned our bodies will thank us for a small, light, and cool meal for lunch or dinner rather than something heavy and piping hot like the summer air can feel. To anyone who does not know, I am getting married at the end of the month:) Matt, my fiance, regardless of the heat... is a baking fool!

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About a week ago, I was running quite a bit early to pick up my friend in the middle of the afternoon.  She mentioned that she would call when she was done getting ready.  Respectful of her space and time and feeling a bit sleepy, instead of calling and rushing her, I parked my car on the street on the side of her house and decided to recline the drivers seat to a laying down position. All of a sudden, it started raining.  I turned up the volume on my radio slightly and laid back in the seat. I was perfectly cozy.  The station I was listening to at the time was 89.3.

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Just because I work at a place of peacefulness and calmness does not mean it is always easy to keep that kind of cool outside of my work.  Work is beautiful for the employees at The Pittsburgh Center for Complementary Health and Healing.  We are surrounded by wonderful aromatherapy, quietness, and happy clients as they leave.

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