. . . babysitting is cheaper than a divorce.

Marital relationships can be stressful at times. According to the January 2012 Ensign Magazine (pp 12-14)here are some ways to help eliminate some stress.

• Have positive conversations.
  
• Be humble and cultivate Christlike attitudes.
• Date frequently.
• Enrich your intimacy.
• Spend time with children and grandchildren(both of you).
• Seek feedback and help each other.

This is a great article on improving your marriage. Great suggestions, too. Mostly its important to remember you two are in the marriage together and neither of you will get everything you want, but each should get something they want.

Winter Runners Break

I, as well as a few other runners, can't stand to run in the really cold weather and take a couple of months off from the trail. And, even though its warm in Texas this week there is more cold weather on the horizon. So, what can be done to prepare for the upcoming running season? You can find alternate activities to help get you off to a great start when the spring thaw begins with a few winter activities.

1. If you can afford it gyms have treadmills. This can be a boring activity, but the weather will warm soon enough.
2. If you can't afford the gym go to the mall and walk a few rounds.
3. Husbands, hate to go grocery shopping with your wife? Impress her by tagging along and taking a walking tour of the store.
4. If you work in a building with stairs take advantage of them during lunch break.
5. Even if you can't bear to run in really cold weather you can always bundle up and take a long walk. While walking you can plan new routes to run or just enjoy the scenery.
6. And, don't forget to keep stretched out and do some mild to moderate exercise to keep your body in relatively good shape.

These are but a few of the things you can do to keep you going until its time to run again. I'm sure you can think of more. These activities work well for reducing winter stress and 'cabin fever', too.

Relaxation Lessons-Task 2

For Task Two your will get into the same position as Task number one.

• While lying in a quiet setting begin to think about your feet.
• Tighten or tense your feet only as in Task One. Take note of how this feels.
• Now, relax your feet and note how it feels.
• Then, tighten the feet along with your legs noting how this feels.
  
• Relax the feet and the legs paying close attention to the difference in feeling between tense and relaxed.
• Continue on by adding the torso-hips, stomach, chest, back. Tense and relax.
• Add the hands-clench your fists.
  
• Add the arms and shoulders.
• Add the neck and head making the best "lizard face" you can.

After completing the task of tensing , relaxing and paying close attention to how your body feels, just lie quietly for a couple of minutes and try to bring on a sense of relaxation. Note: If you are usually tense you may feel strange sensations when you relax your body. It is normal to feel tingling or other mild sensations when a very tense area begins to relax and let blood flow normally though it. Don't be concerned about this.

Happy Relaxation

Relaxation Lessons

While the ability to relax can help prevent insomnia, headaches and muscle tension, many people tell me they have difficulty relaxing on there own. So, the next few blogs will be to help those people do just that-relax.

Relaxation Task 1

• Lie on your back on a firm but comfortable surface. Your arms should be at your side and away from your body a little in a comfortable position.
• Next, tense both feet by pulling down the toes as if you were going to touch them to the bottom of the feet.
• Hold this position for about five seconds. Pay close attention to how this makes your feet feel.
• Now, relax and let your feet go back to normal. Pay close attention to how the feeling in your feet changes.
• Repeat these steps up to five times paying close attention to the different feeling between you flexing and tensing your feet and relaxing the m.
• Do this first task once a day for three days. Then, move on to Task 2.