All of the excitement, nerves, adjustments and transitions accompanied with moving to a new country can be quite overwhelming.  As expatriates focus on adjusting to a new business climate, time zone, culture, living conditions, language, food, and home, their wellness should not be, and does not need to be, sacrificed. This column is designed to provide information and ideas so that expatriates can create and maintain healthy, positive lifestyles no matter where they are assigned.

You may be relieved to learn that some stress is actually good for you.  It can increase your intensity, your senses and your focus.  However, too much stress can have dire health consequences.  Fortunately, you can actually decrease your stress level in as little as five minutes with the relaxation techniques outlined below:

1. Take a “time-out”.  Find a quiet place to sit or lie down. Maintain focus on your breath as you inhale slowly through your nose, feeling your entire belly, sides and lower back expand. As you exhale completely, feel your belly, back and sides contract as you maintain focus on your breath and quiet your mind. Repeat 7-10 times.
2. Take a “mental vacation” – Close your eyes and picture yourself in an environment that elicits peace and pleasure.  Visualize this “place” in great detail. “Hear” the birds, the rustling of leaves, the waterfall; “feel” the sand between your toes or the snowflakes hit your face.  The more realistic and detailed your daydream is, the more relaxation you will experience.
3. Muscle releases – Scan your body for areas of tension.  Focus on tensing and relaxing a major muscle or area of tension.   Repeat for 60 seconds.

These techniques are available to you at home, on a plane, worldwide.  They are free,  no equipment is required and in five minutes or less you can feel like a new person.  Remember, you are your number one asset!!

Enjoy and Be Well!

We tend to agree that the Houston International HR Roundtable is an excellent resource for “all things international HR.”  As part of our new membership program,  “Get a Membership – Give Back in the Process,” if you join in December, a percentage of your membership dues will be contributed to FIGT.  FIGT stands as the global leader in providing educational resources and support for families, as well as other international organizations and service providers.  Join the Houston International HR Roundtable today and help us support our global community.

FIGT will hold their 2010 Conference here in Houston and has announced a truly stellar line-up of speakers and sessions.  The conference provides a truly unique forum where members of internationally mobile families gather with those who assist them: human resource personnel, relocation experts, educators and counselors.  Together they develop strategies for dealing with the challenges of cross-cultural living.  Please visit them online at www.figt.org for additional information, great resources on families in transition, and to register for the conference.

My sons had a unique experience as TCKs.   They had to deal with at least three very different cultures when we lived in Hanoi, Vietnam.  They attended the French International School in Hanoi where the teachers only spoke French (they really only spoke French), the classes were all in French, and the “culture” of the school was French; they were in the capital city of Vietnam and everyone around them spoke Vietnamese, e.g., they took Tae Kwon Do in Vietnamese and the driver who took them to school only spoke Vietnamese (Mr. Tam); and their “family” was American.  Attend the conference in Houston and you’ll learn how to best handle these types of situations as an expatriate and also as an international HR professional.