ZriiNationApril 2010

How to Find SolitudePage 2

2 // Restoring Balance to Your Dosha2 // How to Find Solitude3 // Blog: Brands Apply to People Too 4 // Making it Easy to Do Business with You is Hard4 // Ask Dr. Simon

Contents

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ZriiNation April 2010

Restoring Balance to Your DoshaBy Laura Plumb, Zrii Independent Executive Continued from How to Balance Your Dosha, March 2010 Zrii Nation

As a science of the elements, we learn to restore balance with the opposite elements. For example, Pitta intensity can be softened by the element of space. Simple exer-cises include gazing at the sky, walking through open landscapes, staring at the moon. Water tempers the heat of Pitta, so swimming is great exercise, and a fountain in the office will help keep “dear Pitta” chilled. The air ele-ment helps Pitta loosen the grip. Simply observing the flow of each breath, the spaciousness of the inhale, the release of the exhale, is a cooling, any-time-of-day elixir.

Waking up groggy or lethargic is a sign of Kapha Dosha. The weather in Springtime is Kapha season and ex-tended rainy days can make any of us feel the weight of Kapha. Heavy foods, lack of exercise, and emphasis on material comforts can also increase Kapha.

We balance Kapha with fire, as in aerobic exercise that makes you sweat, spicy foods that increase the digestive flame, and mental challenges that require focus.

The air element balances wet, heavy Kapha with strong breathing exercises that also build heat, powerfully clear the respiratory channels, and increase circulation. In fact, all activity that increases circulation is great for Ka-pha, including circulating in the world, getting out more, trying new things, meeting new people, and exploring new ideas. The Kapha tendency towards stagnation and attachment can be balanced with regular detoxification programs that include purging the body, mind, heart—and closets!

The winter is Vata season. It is a time when our system can be weaker and prone to colds, flu, respiratory ail-ments. It is an important time to rest, replenish, restore. Hearty foods with sweet spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger fortify, ground and warm fragile Vata. Slow the pace, find time for stillness, stare at a fire or candle to concentrate the distracted mind, and mas-sage your skin daily with lots of warm oil to counter the drying effects of Vata.

Ayurveda offers remedies through food, herbs, body movement, breath practices, stress reduction exercises, vibrational therapy, relationship, career and lifestyle

guidance – in other words, natural, safe, holistic rem-edies that empower and nourish the whole you.

Our health and well-being is determined by the state of our dosha, so knowing your own special combination of dosha and the tools to restore balance will help you live with optimal health, mental clarity, emotional stability, and vibrant radiance.

How to Find SolitudeBy Leo Babauta, Zen HabitsYou start by disconnecting.

“I never found the companion that was so compan-ionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers.” ~Henry David Thoreau

Take every means of connecting with others, and sever them. Disconnect from email, from Facebook and Twit-ter and MySpace, from forums and social media, from instant messaging and Skype, from news websites and blogs. Turn off your mobile device and phones.

Turn off the computer...unless you’re going to use the computer to create, in which case, shut off the Internet, close your browser, and shut down every other program used to connect with others.

The next steps depend on which of two strategies you use:

1. Holing yourself up. This can be done in your office, by shutting the door and/or using headphones and the calming music of your choice. If possible, let coworkers know you can’t be disturbed during a certain block of your day. Or it can be done at home, by finding a quiet space, shutting the door if you can, or using headphones. The key is to find a way to shut out the outside world, including co-workers or those who live with you.

Laura Plumb is a Zrii Independent Executive from Coronado, California. A huge fan of Zrii’s Moksha program, Laura is a co-founder of Deep Yoga, a yogic system based upon Ayurveda and delivers a deeper understanding of the mind/body/soul connection.

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2. Getting away. My favorite way to find solitude, actu-ally. Get out the door, and enjoy the outdoors. Take a walk, find a park or a beach or a mountain, find a quiet coffee shop, find a shady spot to rest. People watch, or nature watch.

Other tips:

• Try taking a quiet, relaxing bath from time to time.

• Curl up with a good novel.

• If you’re married with kids, ask your spouse to give you some time off to be alone, and then return the favor. Make it a regular swap.

• Take a walk every day.

• Get into work earlier, and work in quiet.

• Have a nice cup of tea.

• Try a regular time each day when you’re discon-nected.

• Consider limiting the stream.

• Try sitting still, and focusing on your breath as it comes in and goes out. As your mind wanders to thoughts of the past and future, make a patient note of that, then gently return to your breathing.

“I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.” ~Albert Einstein

Blog: Brands Apply to People TooBy Erin Hallmark, Zrii Communications ManagerThink of a company that has been in the news lately—Toyota, Apple, the NBA. When you read the names of these entities, what do you think about them? Are your emotions positive or negative? That first initial reaction

you have with a brand is usually based on your impres-sion of the company or your own personal experience. In that sense, a brand isn’t just a product—a brand is everything to do with a company.

People always have a choice about what they’re going to buy. Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi; McDonald’s vs. Wendy’s; Apple vs. PC. A company’s brand encompasses how its employees treat customers, the feeling you get when you walk into their store, their customer service record, their return policy, and their store design, just to name a few.

Here are some interesting facts about brands1:

• Products are made and owned by companies. Brands are made and owned by people—by consumers.

• A brand image belongs to those who have knowledge of the brand.

• No two people hold precisely the same opinion of a brand.

• People come to conclusions about brands as a result of an uncountable number of different stimuli: many of which are way outside the control or even influ-ence of the product’s owner.

• Brands—unlike products—are living, organic enti-ties: they change every single day.

Brands also apply to people, too. What is your personal brand? You may not have thought about it much. Person-al branding is important, whether or not you’re an entre-preneur. Your personal brand is how people perceive you. Remember in network marketing, people want to work with someone who can lead them to their goals. Does your personal brand convey their needs? Ask yourself: How do people see me?

Your personal brand says everything about you. How do you build and promote your personal brand?

Discover who you are. The highly ironic thing about social media is that you can be whoever you want to be. A truly shy person may thrive behind a computer screen, but what does that sense of false confidence do when you meet him or her in real life? In your own situation, find your personality. If you don’t know what it is, ask your friends and your family. If you move too slowly, someone else may define you, and you may or may not like what they say.

1 http://claudiuflorea.blogspot.com/2008/02/13-deeply-disturbing-brand-facts.html

Leo Babauta writes about finding simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives. He is also the author and creator of his blog, Zen Habits.

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Create your brand. What do you do in your spare time? Perhaps you enjoy photography, sports, or helping oth-ers. Maybe you are learning a new skill or taking a vaca-tion that you’re really excited about. All these things help define how you’re going to create your brand.

Promote your brand. What comes naturally to you? Media? Writing? You may want to start a blog or create a video about yourself. Do you believe businesses should operate with business cards? Have some made for you.

As you build your brand, you’ll have a stronger sense of self confidence. Don’t let someone else define who you are, and build your personal brand so that when people hear your name, they conjure positive feelings about you and will be pleased to associate with you.

Have suggestions for training topics on our blog and in this newsletter? Email blog@zrii.com.

Making it Easy to Do Business with You is HardBy Janet Meiners Thaeler, Online PR I’m reading Referral Engine by John Jantsch (coming out next month) and the part that asks a lot of questions has me soul searching.

He asks if:

• You’re easy to communicate with

• Your value/marketing messaging is easy to understand

• You’re easy to network with, trust, buy from, work with, etc.

It triggered a lot of self-evaluation for me. It talks about making it easy to do business with you. Businesses that get referrals do this well. The problem is making it easy is actually hard. At least it is for me.

Some people I know do not have a voicemail message or they don’t have a professional voicemail message. Sometimes the message is – I don’t answer voicemails so try another way to reach me. In other words, more work for the caller. I think it’s sort of a hoop to weed out people who aren’t determined to reach them.

There are many different ways to communicate and for people to reach you – it can be overwhelming. Messages can come from different phone lines (home work, cell), Facebook, LinkedIn, IM, Skype, text message, Twitter, various email addresses (personal, business, etc). It gets confusing to remember where they are coming from.

The biggest thing I see in internet marketing that makes me not buy after a recommendation or a search engine refers me to you is your web site makes it hard to do business with you. It’s tough to see what you’re selling. I want to buy something from you but I can’t figure out if it’s worth the price you’re asking. There’s not much of a description or I cannot see sample content. When you write articles or press releases I think, that’s nice, and move on. You don’t tell me what you want me to do next. You don’t offer to take me further into your sales pro-cess. So I never go.

What are you doing to make it easier for your prospects to do business with you? Make sure you aren’t making it harder than it needs to be.

Ask Dr. SimonDear Dr. Simon, I am in my 30s and for years

have struggled with low thyroid levels, yet I’m mostly

within the “normal range.” Endocrinologists tell me

they can’t help me until I am clinically hypothyroid,

but I have symptoms of tiredness, mild depression,

Janet Meiners Thaeler has been in the online marketing industry for five years and her expertise is online PR and blogging.

Erin Hallmark is Zrii’s Corporate Communications Manager who blogs on Zrii Broadcast Network.

Want More Training? Visit the blog on ZBN to learn social

media tips, receive weekly inspiration, and hear news about Zrii at www.zrii.com/zbn

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ZriiNation April 2010

and weight gain already. What can I do to keep it from

progressing?

Thyroid hormone influences many aspects of human health, including body temperature, body weight, mental clarity, fertility, skin texture, hair growth, heart rate, and digestion. A variety of factors such as immune func-tion and nutrition can affect the thyroid gland. Due to its widespread effects, we often suspect that thyroid prob-lems may be contributing to physical or emotional health challenges. Fortunately, current laboratory studies are often able to detect changes in pituitary and thyroid hor-mone levels before they produce noticeable problems.

Since your tests don’t show a significant problem with your thyroid function, you have a good opportunity to take steps to balance your life. Look at the basics. Are you getting enough rest? Try regularly getting into bed with the lights off by 10 p.m. and seeing how this affects your energy level. Are you exercising daily? Exercise is one of the major links between hormones and metabo-lism and has been shown to improve the sensitivity of cells to thyroid hormone. A well-rounded balanced diet will supply you with the iodine and selenium necessary for healthy thyroid function. Iodine is present in iodized salt, dairy, fruits and vegetables grown in coastal soils, and sea kelp. Selenium is found in eggs, seafood, brew-er’s yeast, and wheat germ. Brazil nuts are a particularly rich source of selenium.

Over the past several years concern has been expressed over the interaction between soy intake and thyroid func-tion. A few studies have suggested that soy may slightly inhibit the absorption of thyroid hormone in people tak-ing replacement doses. Other reports have found that if people are deficient in iodine, soy protein may further inhibit normal thyroid production. Overall, these concerns

appear to be insignificant for people who follow a rea-sonably healthy diet.

From an Ayurvedic perspective, symptoms of low thyroid reflect a kapha imbalance. Try following a kapha-paci-fying diet, using kapha spice blends, and drinking kapha tea. Think stimulating and invigorating. Very few herbal medicines have been studied regarding their effects on low thyroid function. One exception is the ayurvedic herb guggulu (commiphora mukul), which has been shown to have a slight thyroid stimulating effect in animals. This herb is most commonly used as a detoxifying agent in people with arthritis and elevated cholesterol.

Don’t wait for your blood tests to become abnormal. Look at your life holistically and take steps now to pro-mote balance and wellbeing.

With love,

David

David Simon, M.D. is the

medical director and co-founder

of the Chopra Center for Well-

being in Carlsbad, California, and

is a member of the Zrii Scientific

Advisory Board. To ask Dr. Simon your questions

about physical health, emotional wellbeing, and

self-empowerment, please send an email to

agni@chopra.com.

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