Day Ten: Monday, Monday.. Every other day of the week is fine.

After taking the weekend off for some much needed R&R, I must say I’m really not ready to start the work week off again. Especially since the morning greeted me with a whole new set of pimples, speckled all over my chin and jaw-line.

I know what you may be thinking, this girl probably rests her chin on her hands a lot, but I don’t. At least not consciously! Although now I’m beginning to wonder what I’m doing without noticing I’m doing it. Try to catch yourself too, make sure your aren’t unconsciously rubbing your nose, placing a fingertip on your temple, resting your chin on your hand, etc.

Now another look at the connection between stress and acne. I picked up a few more helpful tips for stress relief this weekend I’d like to share. First of all, try to set aside 15 minutes per day in which you do “nothing.” During this time you should try to relax in a quite place and concentrate on your breathing, perhaps even repeating a mantra like “I am more then my thoughts” or “Let go and let God” or “I am relaxed” in your head. Try to simply let your thoughts roll through your head without focusing on them. If sitting still is too difficult, go for a walk and focus on the steps instead of on your thoughts.

Secondly, try to incorporate a relaxing exercise like Yoga or Tai Chi into your daily routing. Nothing too vigorous, simply something that allows you to focus, and breath.

Yesterday I successfully accomplished 15 minutes of nothing and a short Tai Chi practice (I recommend Tai Chi for Beginners by David-Dorian Ross, it contains a great 20 minute morning practice). The 15 minutes of nothing is always very difficult for me. I find thoughts run through my mind so quickly I can’t possibly focus on my breath. So, I turned on the fireplace and tried to focus on the flickering of the flames while breathing deeply. I felt more relaxed afterwards and I hope that in time I will be able to move on to real meditation.