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The Key Tool Kit page hopes to take you beyond the foundations you built in the "10 Keys Tool Kit" of the first 10 Blog Keys and supporting Keycasts. You have come this far because you want to know more and go deeper into the world of mindfulness and meditation. Hopefully, this page will give you a little more support and inspiration for your journey, which in turn, I sincerely hope will enhance your life.
"You Are Special."
"You Are Lovable."
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5:2:10
5:2:10
5:2:10
The more you practice mindful breathing in your controlled environment, the easier it becomes to bring your mind into a mindful and meditative state. Through regular mindfulness and meditation, you change the neurological pathways in your brain for a better cross-brain connection and relationship with your PNS. Also, you will improve the speed with which you can bring yourself back down to ground zero after you've had a spike of anxiety or anger or fear. But what if you could stop yourself from experiencing those spikes in the first place or at least decrease the intensity or longevity?
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Experiencing an anxiety attack can be a terrifying experience. The good news is that you can learn to overcome them and manage them and in time, lessen the intensity or even stop experiencing them altogether. During an anxiety attack, your sympathetic nervous system is in overdrive, hence your increased heart rate, shortness of breath, physical shaking, sweating and feelings of losing control. One way to help navigate such attacks is by engaging your parasympathetic nervous system. You can read more about this in Blog Key 3 - "Bye, bye stress, hello new life!".
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Enter your "Emergency Button Breathing" technique. I call this your five to ten, or literally, 5:2:10. You will understand this from the breathing technique training you learned in the 10 Keys Tool Kit. Basically, whenever you feel like you're close to tipping over the edge with fear, anxiety, anger, rage, feelings of being overwhelmed, recognise your trigger and remove yourself from it, and immediately do 1-2 rounds of 5:2:10 breathing. The reason for this ratio combination is because, in just one round, you'll do almost 20 seconds of breathing. Try it now, and see how after just one round, you immediately feel more relaxed. Then try two rounds and see how you feel. Use what you've learnt, closing your eyes, diaphragmatic breathing etc.
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You can take this "emergency button breathing" tool with you anywhere. Try it on your city commute on public transport, or in-between stressful or challenging meetings or if an argument is about to brew with a partner or loved one for example. It really will help you.
"Today is Your Day."
"Dream Big, Walk Tall."
Come usare questo sito
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Palo Santo
Palo Santo is wonderful to burn for a mindful breathing session or even just to add a gentle scent to your room. Use it by burning part of it for a few seconds then blow it out and let the smoke fill your room with a gentle aroma.
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Make sure to buy genuine Palo Santo otherwise you'll get one that has been covered with a fake scent and it will leave a black smoke and ash bits will cover your room. So be careful to check reviews.
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One I have found to be good can be found HERE.
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You can also try Palo Santo wood chips. However, you'll need a burner that allows you to burn charcoal discs. See below.
Cones
Cones come in two types, backflow and regular. Backflow cones have a hole in the bottom going up into the cone, whereas the regular cones does not. What's the difference? It's about how the smoke flows out. In backflow cones the smoke comes out of the bottom and with regular cones, from the top. So with a proper backflow cone holder you can display wonderufl smoke displays as the smoke travels through the holder. See one example here. Regular cones just need a normal heat-proof surface to burn on.
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With all incense, it is a personal choice on scent. However, I can recommend Stamford as a good company to buy from and here is one of my favourite regular cone collections.
Sage
White Sage, (Salvia Apiana and Artemisia Ludoviciana), is most commonly used for cleansing, purification, smudging and enhancing your ability to focus in your mindful breathing sessions. Often used to cleanse a room or ourselves of negative energy, it is good to do this every now and then. Like Palo Santo, you light it, and after it has burned for a few seconds, blow it out and let the smoke do its work. Use a heat proof dish to rest it on and to catch any hot embers that fall from it.
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When burning sage, intention is important, so make sure to get your mind and spirit in the right place beforehand.
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I can recommend these White Sage Smudging Sticks.
Burners
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Choosing a burner will depend on the type of product you want to burn. You can use one burner to burn charcoal, regular cones, resin and granules etc. Backflow cones need a backflow burner. Heating crystals or oils or Florida Water, requires a common tea light burner. So decide what you need.
I use a wooden case burner for both incense sticks and regular cones. I use another burner for charcoal so I can heat Frankincense and Palo Santo wood chips. I use another tea light burner with a glass dish for oils, granules, Florida Water. and essential oils.
Burning Granules, Resin & Bakhoor
Granules can be put in a dish and heated with a tealight candle burner. They release their scent as they heat up.
Resin is burned on charcoal disks. Make sure that whatever you choose to use as a burner, (see burners), that you remember the charcoal gets very hot and so will any metal it comes into contact with. Light the charcoal, sit it in your burner, (I find each used disk leaves ash, which is useful for creating a heat-absorbing layer under new disks). Leave the charcoal for a few minutes until it has gone grey and then place a piece of your resin on it.
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You can also burn Bakhoor. Burn it on charcoal, (or a metal burner), in the same way as resin. I recommend the beautiful scents of Dukhni Bakhoor but experiment and find the ones that suit you.
Florida Water & Other liquids
I love Florida Water both for using in an oil burner and for use in breathing techniques. A little bit on your burner will fill your room and is great for going to sleep with or meditating with.
To use for breathing, rub a little in palm of your hands, rub hands together and the heat will release the scent. Cup hands over your nose and mouth and do your breathing techniques.
Many people are familiar with oils so I won't cover them in detail other than to say, make sure you buy a good quality one, both for health reasons and to not leave bad residues in your burner. Obviously, mix with water to reduce potency.
"Make Today Count."
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Yes, that's right, you'll get first access to short guidance videos.
Watch this space!