View source for Minimizing and managing burnout

*Kevin Behan -- "natural dog training" theory / "Your Dog is Your Mirror"
**Dogs operate on emotions, going back to wolves
**Stimulation is driven by emotion, but dogs don't have a way to handle the overstimulation; they are taught that skill 
**WE have this problem when we are alone, isolated
**Example: dogs maw, but don't bite -- there's restraint
*Like with taichi, you need to root yourself and ground yourself
**Lightning rod metaphor: you must channel that energy into the ground
**Find ways to have negative or overwhelming energy go through you into the ground and not hold onto it
**Push against the wall, the wall pushes back
**The goal is to not fall down
**How animals can help you: they lean against you when you lean against them, it's their way of hugging
***The intensity, the distraction, the circuit helps your body to realize it can release that energy
*Stress is on a spectrum: from DIStress (negative) to EUstress (euphoric)
**Both affect your body and have a physical reaction
*Stress radar 
**How much stress are you making and/or receiving?
**Metaphor of a boat on a lake: the ripples are either caused by you, or by external factors
**A lot of people notice the stress when it's at the center of your radar -- when it's too late, it's already overwhelming 
*Physical manifestations of stress without being able to pinpoint the cause
**The cause doesn't matter as much as focusing on getting yourself back to center
**Need a technique, a way to reduce tension
*What about exhaustion? 
**Discipline: you need to do the THING you've been practicing -- a movement, a practice, going to a space, etc
**Once you find your center, it becomes a reference point for you and no one can take that away from you
*Meditation: what is it? 
**Not the same as contemplation or guided imagery, although that can help you get there
**A feeling of evenness and integration: "you are a round ball"
*Meditation in easy steps
**Sit on the edge of your chair, hands on knees, and press your feet into the ground. Feel that energy going through you.
**Focus on your breathing.
**Meditating with pain or discomfort: make adjustments, stand up, you don't have to be static