11 Ways to Enhance Emotional Health

11 Ways to Enhance Emotional Health
Sharon Callahan

http://www.mountshastamagazine.com/this_issue/animal.shtml#animal

MAKE YOUR HOME AND LIFE A SANCTUARY.
Sanctuary is both an inner and outer environment of peace,
peacefulness and nurturance. When your home and your heart are
peaceful and calm, both you and your animal companions will be
happier and healthier. In a state of peacefulness, fewer difficulties
will arise and when they do their cause and solution will be more
apparent. We now know that many physical illnesses begin when we or
our animal friend become emotionally upset or unbalanced. This can
lead to a depletion of the vital force and immune response which then
leads to illness. When our home and heart are peaceful, this
depletion is much less likely to appear and the whole family will be
healthier.

EXERCISE.
Make sure and get exercise each day. If you have a dog, take her with
you if you can. Exercise has been proven not only to make us
healthier but to relieve stress, anxiety and depression for people
and animals.

SPEND TIME OUT OF DOORS EACH DAY.
Contact with nature is a natural anti-depressant in and of itself.
Even if you exercise outdoors, you might consider just a few minutes
out of doors when you do nothing but simply take in the beauty of
nature itself. Step out into your yard more often. Take your animals
with you. Even if you keep your animals indoors, carry them out once
in a while. This will enliven their spirits and bodies and give them
joy.

BE MINDFUL of the amount of time your animal companion spends alone.
Too much alone time can be tremendously stressful on animals and can
result in inappropriate behavior, depression, anxiety and illness. If
you must be away from home all day please consider an animal sitter,
dog walker or call upon a neighbor to check in on your animals.
Sometimes we hesitate to ìbotherî our neighbors. There is always the
possibility that your neighbor could use your help in some way and an
exchange can be arranged that would benefit everyone. You might have
a lonely elderly neighbor who would love to visit your animals and
would benefit greatly from such an exchange.

EAT WELL, TAKE YOUR VITAMINS AND KEEP YOURSELF LOOKING NICE.
Your body and the body of your animal are the temples of your souls.
Tend them inwardly and outwardly as you would a temple. Keep your
body and the body of your animal clean and well groomed on the
outside and keep the inside in good form by eating and feeding
wholesome foods and taking natural supplements. When we treat our
bodies and the bodies of our animals respectfully, we make them
temples for the reception of the Divine Spirit. A well-tended body
feels good and can more easily handle the stresses of everyday life.

SING AND DANCE.
Singing and dancing release energy and create peace and joy for the
body and soul. Animals love good music and many of them love to
dance. I often put on a particularly beautiful, peaceful piece of
music, pick up my cat Lily and do a dance all around the house
holding her in my arms. We both feel good for hours afterwards.

PRACTICE RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS.
Give a gift to a stranger. Help a neighbor. Feed a feral cat. Take
the focus off yourself and focus on the well being of others and your
life will become beautiful. Much of our suffering comes from an
over-focus on the self which can lead to anxiety, depression,
neurosis and illness which will reflect in the behavior and health of
our animals as well. Take lessons in giving from your beloved animal
friends. Animals are naturally giving.

MAKE YOUR WORKPLACE AS PEACEFUL AS YOU CAN.
Even though your animal companions probably do not go to work with
you, any stress you bring home at the end of the day will affect them
greatly. Take photos of your animals to work. Just looking at them
will keep you connected to them and bring you peace and comfort. If
you do find yourself stressed at the end of the workday, try and
de-stress before you get home. This is a good time to exercise, take
a walk or perform an act of kindness for another. All of these will
shift your energy.

CHECK YOUR OWN EMOTIONAL STATE SEVERAL TIMES EACH DAY.
Your emotional states greatly affect the well being of your animals.
Check yourself several times a day. Are you over stressed, worried,
preoccupied, depressed, anxious? If so, implement one of the
suggestions above. Take a walk, sing, dance, help someone, have a cup
of tea and by so doing you will bring yourself back into balance and
all will benefit.

GIVE YOUR DOG OR CAT A BODY SCAN TWICE A WEEK.
Sit peacefully with the animal lying or standing in front of you.
Center yourself and take a deep breath, exhale and resume normal
breathing. With your hand a few inches above the animalís body,
slowly move your hand from the tip of the animalís nose over the head
down each front leg, up to the shoulders again and then down one side
all the way to the tip of the tail and down each back leg. Check the
pads of the feet by pressing gently to spread the toes, noticing any
tender areas. Look in the eyes and ears. Do the same procedure on the
other side of the animalís body. Feel for any ìcoldî or ìhotî spots
in the animalís energy field or for any other sensation that feels
ìoff.î Make a mental note of this.

Now do the same procedure while actually touching the animal. As a
woman would when doing a breast exam, feel for any lumps, bumps or
sore places. Pay particular attention to the joints in older animals.
Check the abdomen with a gentle pressure. Make a mental note of any
tender areas. Look in your animalís mouth the same way, paying
attention to gum color, the level of tooth tartar and any areas that
might be inflamed-looking. Check the inside of the ears to make sure
they are pink and clean looking; look carefully in your animalís
eyes, gently pulling the eyelids away from the eyes. Donít worry if
you detect something abnormal, just continue with twice weekly body
scans. If over a period of weeks, a particular area of the animalís
body remains sore or if you detect a lump, have a veterinarian check
her.

Sharon Callahan is a writer, photographer, internationally recognized
animal communication specialist and leading pioneer in the use of
flower essences for the treatment of animals.

She can be contacted through her website
http://www.anaflora.com