Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Double Hammock

The Double Hammock Technique For Life

It’s 5 o’clock and you’re finally heading home from the office. If you live in a major city such as Los Angeles or New York, finishing work may be the end of your work day, but only the beginning of another stress inducing time, called “rush hour” traffic. And who thought of that? Anyone who’s been in it knows that it’s an hour drive even when the traffic is moving.

What are you going to do to ease the tension of sitting in that hot car…waiting for miles of bumper to bumper traffic.

Maybe it’s time for you to consider a “mental” stress break in your double hammock.

While you’re waiting for the traffic to get moving, take a moment to travel with your imagination.

Taking The (Mental) Journey

Where do you have your double hammock set up? Is it under a mature maple tree or between two palms by the pool? And as you’re imagining that balmy, warm, summer breeze blowing through your hair while you’re lying in your double hammock, take a deep breath through your nose and then release it with a sigh….Ahhhhhhh.

Maybe you have a book that you’ve wanted to read. Your double hammock is perfect because it’s versatile. If you sit sideways in it, it can act as a double hammock swinging chair.

Did you know, more and more people are buying the tubular “rockers” to convert their double hammocks into a “rocking double hammocks” for even more relaxing sway.

And because it’s a double hammock, it means that there room in it for your some one special. Who would that be? Is it your spouse? Is it boyfriend or girlfriend? (Maybe you’re thinking, “May they never meet!”)

While imagining your “mental” stress break, take another deep breath. Breathe deeply through your nose and out through your mouth, this time with a loud groan. Let out the tension. Let go of the stress.

Feel the release of those knots in your shoulders as you visualize yourself in your hammock.

Breathe some more.

And allow yourself to come back to the grid-lock of rush hour traffic. Stress inducing. Slow. It’s a waste of time. It’s a waste of gas and at $4 a gallon that adds even more tension but not to you. Not this time and it’s because you’ve taken a mental break in your double hammock.

Your brain is amazing. With practice you can become like the dog in Pavlov’s bell experiments. By ringing the bell, the dog knew that lunch was coming and it would begin to salivate.

With practicing this technique, just the thought of your hammock will cause you to lighten up and let go of some of the stress of the day.

A word of caution is in order. Just remember that this visualization technique (maybe it should be called “the double hammock technique”) is extremely effective and useful in getting rid of stress. Be careful not to visualize too deeply because you could end up falling asleep at the wheel and that would cause you and your wallet a different kind of stress.

Would that be called, “the reverse double hammock” technique?

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