.png)
Hello, everyone!
I hope you are all doing well and breathing well. I didn’t have my usual podcast episode last Monday evening. To make it up to you, I shared the YouTube link to my interview in Safe Space — a vodcast by Carmina Mones. We discussed how breathing can help us manage stress.
As a wellness coach, I have dedicated myself to living a life of wellness and encouraging others to do the same. Even so, I am still human. I still have my ups and downs. I have my fair share of panic attacks and other mental health bouts.
I had episodes when I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Even though I knew that I was, my mind was telling me that I was not — and my body would start to panic. It seemed like I was drowning! There were instances when I had to stick my head out of the window to assure myself that I wouldn't run out of oxygen.
So how did I get over the feeling of drowning? It started with the right frame of mind coupled with breathwork.
Prayanama or breathwork is vital. We need to go back to basics by breathing properly — inhaling through the nose and expanding the belly, not our shoulders or chests.
Have you noticed that our bodies allow us to take deep breaths when we’re stressed? In Filipino, it's called 'buntong hininga'. It is our bodies’ signal to give ourselves a break. It's reminding us to pause and breathe.
Belly breaths or fully yogic breathing is a powerful tool to combat stress. Try slowing down your breathing pattern and be mindful of the oxygen going in and out of your nostrils. It helps bring us to the present moment where we find peace and joy. A place with no regrets about the past and worries about the future.
Remember to practice your breathwork every day and take pauses. Stress will never go away— especially at work. Create a powerful morning ritual and integrate breathwork into it. It jump-starts our day for us to become purposeful and intentional. It can help us face our daily challenges with ease and flow.
To wrap it up, I always remind everyone to be BFFs with our bodies. Ask what it can do, test it out, and see what works for you. Remember to focus on your breath every now and then — and create a mindfulness space for self-love wherever you are.
If you are looking for something special this holiday season, feel free to check out the gifts of wellness I have for everyone. Visit joanaalberto.com.
Love and Light!
Despite the technical difficulties during the last podcast episode, I am still glad that I was able to share the power of prayer. In this episode, I discussed how praying impacts our wellness. I want to share my insights because this topic is very close to my heart.
First, let me ask you a question. How do you pray? What benefits does it bring you?
In my case, I follow the ACTS (Adoration, Contrition, Thankfulness, Supplication) guide. First, I give praise and adoration. Then I confess my sins and ask for pardon. Afterward, I express my gratitude and then ask for something I need.
Why? Prayers give me strength. Being able to connect to God or a higher being assures me. Even if things don’t go as planned, I can still breathe easily. I know someone up there is in control and will bless me with something better.
Prayer and meditation give us the same benefit. When we pray, we enter into a state of meditation. We focus our energies on a single thing, and it centers us. I shared this article from Westmont, written by Gayle D. Beebe, Ph.D , that says prayer is a science.
As I have enumerated, here are four ways that praying affects us.
1. ) It creates a profound impact on our brains. Twelve minutes of prayer enhances our social awareness and compassion.
2. ) Allows our brains to keep evolving. Our brain is nimble. We keep changing as we experience more and engage more.
3. ) We become mindful of how we change. We either check if we are improving or not.
4. ) It brings personal balance in life. When we pause for prayer, we give ourselves time to breathe and commune with a divine being.
Then I talked about the study conducted by Crystal Park. Here are four benefits of praying for our emotional health:
It offers us a sense of purpose. We go beyond our day-to-day lives.
Provides social support.
Lifts the spirit. I suggest listening to worship songs to feel lighter!
Helps us cope with difficulties. Life can be challenging. Even so, it is always comforting to know someone has our back. Even if we are alone.
I always remind everyone to pray! Why? For me, prayer is a free and fast way to climb the emotional ladder. Prayers allow us to converse with God. It’s a direct line to the Divine. It’s like having a 24/7 buddy who doesn’t say no when we need to talk.
Remember to match it with breathwork for quality prayers. Prayers allow us to self-reflect and unlock the hidden truths in us.
For the #TeamReplay, feel free to watch my recorded video on my Facebook page @wellnessangel.
I’d also like to invite you to our Wellness Tribe for a life filled with fulfillment and wellness. You can also gift yourselves and your loved ones with gifts that keep on gifting. Feel free to check out my page and this website for more details!
Love and light!
For our last episode on Wellness Angel, we talked about flying high. It is about how we can soar literally and figuratively. In this episode, I invited Sir Mond Ortiz. He is an aviation digital content creator and an entrepreneur.
What has passion done with wellness? Once you feel like you have found your soul purpose, it motivates you to wake up each day. It makes you feel whole.
Mond shared how he started working on his dream. It all started with the toy airplane gifted by his uncle. He fell in love with airplanes and would talk about them non-stop. He initially aspired to be a pilot. Due to restraints, he decided to take another path and enter the corporate field. Then the plot twist? His corporate work would circle him back to his first love: aviation.
Mond also explained how he resigned from his corporate work, without many plans. He tried out so many things and met different people until he built his brand as an aviation digital content creator.
I also asked him what are his gifts or his "genius". He replied that he considers himself "thick-faced". He didn't mind what others think as long as he does what he can do toward his goal. He was also his teacher and self-taught a lot of things.
To wrap up, here are the realizations we discussed in this episode.
We can always seek out our purpose, even in our companies.
We have to find a sweet spot. We have to know the people we want to serve.
Finding your passion is like finding where it feels like home.
If you are not doing any of your life gifts or what you are supposed to be doing in life, something from within will eat you up.
There is wellness in loving the work we do.
It feels priceless whenever a stranger thanks us for inspiring them.
Relationship-building is important! Without these people, how will we be able to serve them and share our life's purpose?
Living our life's purpose is not just for ourselves but for the people we surround ourselves with.
Our deep joy is something that cannot be taken away from us.
Our purpose will serve as our anchor. It will help us withstand and conquer challenges.
If you are an aspiring cabin crew or want to learn more about aviation, stay updated with Sir Mond's content! You can follow and subscribe to any of his social media platforms.
Facebook: Mond Ortiz
Instagram: mondortizph
Youtube: Mond Ortiz
Tiktok: mondortizph
If you want to be a part of the #TeamReplay, you can check the recorded episode on my Facebook page: @wellnessangel
Want to give yourself or your loved ones the gift of wellness this upcoming holiday? You can head to my Facebook page for more details!
Love and light!
