Stress Reduction And Mind-Body Harmony (3)

Discover the Mind-Body Connection in this 3rd event of the series. Uncover the link between mind and body, and explore mindfulness, biofeedback, exercise, and relaxation techniques to alleviate stress. Take away practical tips for a balanced, stress-free life. Join us for a transformative experience!

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Transcript

Hello.

Hello,

Good afternoon,

Good morning or good evening everyone,

Depending on where you guys are.

Thank you so much for joining our room today.

Well,

While we are waiting for more people to join us,

I would like you guys to tell us a little about yourselves,

Where you're from,

Where you're now and what time it is in your country.

Please also let me know in the comment section whether you can hear me well and see me well.

That will be very helpful.

Well,

I hope that everything is good.

My name is Diana and right now I am in Colombia.

So,

Feel free guys also to share your current locations.

How do you guys feel today and how has your weekend been so far?

I hope that everyone had enough time to relax or has a plan to relax this weekend after the working week.

And let me shortly introduce myself in the beginning.

My name is Diana.

I am a Mind-Body Connection coach,

A psychosomatic specialist and a meditation teacher.

Here on Insight Timer,

I have a library of guided meditations and a Mind-Body Connection course that will help you to build the connection to know yourself deeper.

And this course is available in English and Spanish languages.

You can find all the information in my profile.

Also,

I would like to encourage you guys to participate during our session in the comment section.

So,

It will not be just my sort of lecture or one-way talk but also an exchange of experiences,

Opinions and information.

I would really appreciate that.

And this is the part that I enjoy the most when hosting these live events.

Also,

Could you guys let me know whether it is your first time attending the Mind-Body Connection sessions of a series of events or you have come here previously.

So,

I will have an idea of the background of the participants of this event.

It is already the third event of the series this year on the platform.

I was hosting the live events last year,

But this is sort of an upgrade and I would like to dedicate more time to sharing personal experiences,

Maybe some particular cases from my practice as a coach of my clients.

And besides,

If there will be any questions about our discussion,

Please don't hesitate to let me know.

And I would like to highlight that it is a completely supportive and accepting environment.

So,

Please do not be hesitant in expressing yourself here fully.

Well,

As I mentioned,

That is the third event of the series.

And today,

We will concentrate more on understanding stress and its impact on our beings.

Of course,

All in the relation to the Mind-Body Connection.

I'm sure that many people can find this topic very relevant nowadays because we are surrounded by stress,

But it is up to us whether and how to respond to that.

Well,

Once again,

I would like to hear a little about yourselves,

Guys,

If you don't mind sharing where you are now and how you're feeling this Saturday.

For me,

It was a little bit tiring morning because I had to finish some work tasks.

But for now,

I'm completely ready to be fully present here.

Also,

In the beginning,

I would like to thank Insight Timer,

This incredible platform that I have been using myself as a meditator for the past seven years.

And I am immensely grateful to all the contributors,

Teachers,

And the whole team supporting the platform.

And in advance,

I would like to thank you guys for your donations during the live session or after,

Which will help to support the constant work of the Insight Timer team and all the contributors here in the application.

So,

Thank you all in advance.

And let's smoothly transition to the beginning of our session itself.

So,

First of all,

I would like to mention,

Maybe for those of you who are joining this series for the first time,

What Mind-Body Connection is,

How I see that.

So,

The Mind-Body Connection suggests that our thoughts,

Emotions,

Beliefs,

And all the psychological experiences have a profound impact on our physical health,

On our bodies,

And vice versa,

That our physical part of our being influences all of the other parts that I've just mentioned.

So,

It is a bi-directional communication between the mind and body that is happening constantly.

And today,

Speaking about stress,

I would say there are many definitions of stress and many aspects how we can define stress.

To say simply,

I would view stress as a body's response to any demand or any challenge,

Maybe physical,

Emotional,

Mental,

Disrupting the body's balance.

So,

This is how we perceive stress inside of our being.

And I'm also curious what stress means to you guys.

What is stress for you and in your lives?

And maybe what causes stress for you?

Let's collect all of the experiences here,

All the different points of view,

Because I believe this is the essence of the life events to share and to explore in depth.

Well,

And also,

Another moment to sort of divide the stress,

We can see stress in two forms,

As an acute stress,

Which happens short-term and gives us immediate response to a specific stressor,

And a chronic stress.

It is already prolonged and ongoing long-term stress that can have profound and lasting impacts on our health,

Our physical,

Mental,

Emotional bodies,

And overall well-being.

And unfortunately,

Chronic stress is becoming more common nowadays with each decade.

More people are influenced by stress in general and getting the chronic state of that.

Magdalena,

If stress to you means being out of balance due to too many demands.

Yes,

Absolutely.

That really resonates with me,

Being out of balance.

Definitely,

Stress,

I think,

Is the biggest factor that just drops us out of our balance.

And that is why I believe it is so important to explore stress so we can learn how to deal with that.

And that is what we will also dedicate our time today to.

Well,

Thank you,

Magdalena,

For sharing your point of view on that.

And also,

What causes stress in your lives,

Guys?

I'm sure that we can talk about everything,

Everything happening in our life and contributing to stress.

But to be quite specific,

What would you see as stressful or challenging in your lives?

Maybe in general,

Maybe this week,

Maybe today?

Yes,

Magdalena,

For you,

It's financial worries.

Yes,

I think that is one of the most common stressors in our lives.

Because obviously,

We are living in this society and everyone needs money,

And everyone is preoccupied how to get money.

And on the other hand,

Because money can definitely help us to solve problems,

Let's say,

In our lives.

So that's definitely one of the factors.

To me,

I would say,

Especially in the past,

There were some challenging situations at work or communication with some co-workers or with managers that contributed to the stress in my life quite a lot.

And unfortunately,

If it is impossible at the moment to escape those stressors or to change the workplace,

Right,

To change the environment,

We would still have to deal with such stress on a regular basis.

But how we deal with it and how much we let the stress affect us,

It depends on us.

Well,

Also,

Let's dive a little deeper and discuss the effects of stress so we can see clearly how it impacts not only our lives,

But ourselves,

Our beings.

And the first moment,

The first sort of branch of these effects,

I would call them physiological effects.

So stress triggers our body's fight or flight response mode,

Where we release the stress hormones,

For example,

Cortisol,

Which increases heart rate and elevates blood pressure in response.

As an effect of that,

It boosts glucose in the bloodstream so that we can fight or fly physically.

But as we don't have to do it nowadays,

Because we have a different kind of stressors rather than we had thousands of years ago,

These glucose spikes definitely affect our blood and all of our systems in a negative way as well.

So if we are experiencing chronical stress,

It can lead to the prolonged elevated levels of cortisol.

And this already will cause health problems such as high blood pressure or maybe impaired immune system,

Immune function,

Disrupted sleep,

Insomnia,

Gaining weight,

Or also all the diseases that will be related to this chronic stress in our bodies.

And it will definitely impact our overall well-being and our health,

Unfortunately.

No matter how much we would like to avoid that,

If we do not deal with this issue,

We will see in a few months,

In a few years,

The negative impacts of it on us,

Unfortunately.

So as a psychosomatic specialist,

I see that we are living in four main spheres today.

So it is health,

It is money,

Right,

The financial issues that Magdalena mentioned,

Relationships with the whole world,

With people,

With ourselves,

And self-fulfillment.

And we should also remember,

Keeping in mind these four spheres,

That any stress is connected to one of these spheres.

So one of them will deeply cause the stress response in ourselves.

And another aspect that psychosomatics pays attention to is that any stress is caused by people because we are living in this society,

We have to interact with others,

We have to communicate with the world.

So everything is interconnected,

I can even say.

None of us is living separately somewhere in the woods.

And even if some do,

We still meet here online,

Right?

So this is the physiological effect that we will also have a look at a little closer later during our session today.

Another side of that is psychological effects.

And I'm sure that many are aware of that as well.

So it often involves emotional responses from our side,

Such as irritability,

Anxiety,

Or difficulty to focus,

To sleep.

And in some severe cases,

It can lead to chronic anxiety,

Or chronic depression,

Or even panic attacks.

So from this perspective,

If we are here on a meditation platform,

How would I define stress from a mindfulness perspective,

From the meditation perspective?

I would say that stress is a product of the mind's reaction to some events.

Let's say that all of the events are neutral by themselves.

It is how we see them,

How we perceive them,

What connotation we give to these events,

And what emotions are associated in ourselves with these events.

So from this perspective,

Stress is a product of the mind's reaction to some sort of events.

Well,

And here I would also like to know what physiological and psychological effects of stress can you notice on yourselves,

Whether there are some obvious examples of that,

Or something that you have discovered recently,

Or noticed earlier in some stressful situations.

Please don't hesitate to share in the chat box.

We all would be very grateful and happy to exchange opinions and experiences here.

To me,

The elevated level of stress definitely contributes to insomnia.

Even if my body feels tired,

My mind sort of cannot fall asleep that easily,

Just because of stress.

Even though healthy sleep would contribute to well-being and to the release of stress.

So we can see how closely connected,

How influential in both directions they are.

Right,

Magdalena,

Insomnia for you as well.

Yeah,

Unfortunately,

That's really common nowadays.

I would say because we have many more stressors in our lives and many more simply devices that we cannot stop using,

Or probably some appliances,

The light,

The artificial light that we are using at night and so on,

Or maybe in the offices during the day,

Which also is pretty much horrible for our physical body.

Speaking of the psychological effects of stress,

I get more anxious,

Definitely,

And I can easily notice that,

Easily can see this shift and change.

And when I already am anxious,

That becomes much more difficult to regulate myself,

Which is also essential to do when you're stressed,

Right?

Well,

I'm just thinking maybe somebody else would get the courage to send us a comment.

Yeah,

Once again,

I would like it to be more of our dialogues and direct communication rather than just me sharing my perspective on the mind-body connection and stress today.

If you guys haven't been able to join the previous two events,

You can find them in my profile.

So don't forget to subscribe to my profile here on Insight Timer to find all of the recordings which you can listen to later in the form of a podcast.

Well,

And once again,

I would like to thank Insight Timer for providing us this space and the time to connect to each other,

To share,

And to spend this nurturing time on this beautiful weekend.

And also,

Thank you all for your donations now or after this live session.

Let's move to another point in our today's session.

It is about the tools,

How we can manage stress and all the stressful responses in ourselves.

So here I would like to start from not such an obvious one,

From our diet.

So how do you guys think whether diet,

The food that we are consuming,

Can influence or can help us with stress or not?

What are your opinions on that?

I'm just very curious before we dive deeper into the discussion and information.

How much do you think it has an effect on us or maybe not at all?

Yeah,

Here is a little hint,

A bit of water.

Yeah,

Magdalena,

Reducing inflammation and bloating.

Yeah,

Excellent.

Absolutely.

Especially,

I find it so fascinating how specific foods,

Let's say healthy foods,

Using the general term,

Can reduce inflammation in our body and start the healing processes.

That is just incredible.

Bloating as well,

As you mentioned,

Right?

So here I would say that it is related to biochemistry in our bodies,

Right?

So some of the nutrients,

Substances in the food can help us to deal and reduce stress.

Some will contribute to the rising of the stress,

Such as,

For example,

Foods high in sugar,

Some processed foods,

And caffeine-rich foods will lead to energy crashes when our energies just go down almost immediately,

And in turn,

Increased stress in our bodies,

Physical bodies.

On the contrary,

Such stress-reducing foods as slow carbs and proteins,

Some healthy,

Not saturated fats will help us to regulate the blood sugar and to maintain steady energy throughout the whole day.

So they will help us to cope with stress in our physical bodies.

That is why so many dieticians,

Nutritionists,

And many of us are aware how it is important to have a balanced meal,

Preferably with each meal of our day,

Right?

Combining the nurturing,

Healthy foods that will help us to stay stronger so we can resist the stress.

Also,

Speaking of the water,

Hydration is crucial.

I would say it is even more important than foods for us.

It is critical for optimal body functions,

Especially for managing stress as well.

If we are not getting enough water,

I wouldn't like to include here in hydration any other liquid substances,

Even teas or,

Moreover,

Coffee or juices.

Just speaking about water,

How essential it is for our bodies.

And dehydration,

When we are not getting enough water,

Can increase the stress level and reduce cognitive function.

So we will not be able to think so clearly,

To perceive everything neutrally with clarity as we could,

Which would or could have helped us to manage stress better.

And that is why it is so important to practice mindful eating as one of the techniques that we will be talking a bit later today.

Well,

What else,

Guys,

Do you think can help us to cope with stress,

To manage stress in our lives,

And also reactions of us to stress?

What helps you,

Guys?

Please do not be shy or scared to share your opinions or experiences.

There can be no wrong answer because we are all unique and everyone perceives lives,

Experiences,

Stress,

And helps themselves differently.

And it would be great to have a list of such tools or techniques,

Practices that help all of us to manage stress.

Well,

For me,

Quite an obvious one and the one that helps me most and works as an SOS tool for me is exercising,

Some sort of physical activity.

And it doesn't have to be a full workout,

Exhausting workout in a gym,

Absolutely not.

Some movement,

Some light exercises,

Stretching,

Maybe simple walking can help us release endorphins to reduce the stress hormones,

Which will lead to improvement of our sleep.

It can also help us,

Especially stretching or maybe some sort of gentle yoga or Tai Chi to relax our muscles,

And that will reduce the physical tension in our bodies,

Which is also strongly associated to stress.

What physical activities do you guys prefer?

Which are your favorite ones?

To me,

I would say it is very challenging for me to practice any kind of sport regularly,

But my favorite one,

My favorite physical activity is always walking because I can combine it not only with walking in a park surrounded by nature,

Which is also fascinating,

But simple walking in a city,

Exploring new places.

And instead of using transportation,

We can simply integrate it in our lives.

So that works perfectly for me,

Not only to cope with the physical stress,

But also mental one due to the panoramic vision that we get while we are walking.

And now,

Right now,

I'm even looking through the window and seeing the whole city outside.

So this panoramic view also contributes to lowering the level of stress.

Another one for me,

My favorite would be yoga,

Which I have discovered for myself fully about three years ago.

And since then,

It has been definitely a game changer for me.

Another moment,

Another tool that helps me a lot is breath work.

I'm not sure if you guys are familiar with breath work.

I believe that you are,

But if not,

Please also let me know.

And I would like to dedicate a little more time to that,

Probably.

But I would assume as we are here on Insight Timer,

There are a lot of also guided breath work meditations.

I have a couple of them also that help to reduce stress at the moment in only three to 10 minutes,

Which is perfect as I can find it.

But I use them myself in almost any environment and right after I feel that,

Oh my God,

This kicked me hard and I have to release it all.

So breath work is also very powerful and it not only helps us to reduce stress,

But also to connect our minds and bodies in the present moment,

Which is also very powerful.

And any other mindfulness techniques can contribute to the reduction of stress,

Such as we mentioned previously,

Mindful eating.

Here we can talk about mindful walking,

Whether it is in nature again,

Or even in the city.

Breath awareness,

Not only some techniques that we will use while breathing,

But simply being present with your breath and being present with your breath and being aware of your nature flow of the breath.

Some mindful movement.

It doesn't have to be any sort of sports or particular physical activity,

But simple movement.

Listen to your body and explore how it wants to move at this moment.

And our bodies are so wise that they will guide you towards releasing stress through the physical body,

Through mindful movement.

That is just incredible.

If you get a chance,

If you would like to try this tool,

And I'm sure that you'll be also amazed by how well and how smoothly,

How gently it works.

Well,

And another question that I would like you guys to answer here for all of us and to share,

How do you guys cope with stress in your daily lives?

Are there any special techniques or practices that you use,

Or maybe some easy,

Tiny ones that you incorporate in your daily lives,

In your daily routines?

What works best for you?

Magdalena,

For you,

It is cyclic sign.

Wow,

That is great.

I would say it's very particular.

How did you discover this tool,

This practice,

Let's say,

That it works best for you?

Was it just with practice,

Or maybe you had to dedicate yourself to practicing it regularly to see the effects?

To me,

It would be just,

First of all,

I think,

Silent meditation,

Just being with all the thoughts and all the emotions present in my body so I can understand better what caused the stress and what parts of my body or my whole being are influenced now negatively by this particular stress.

And on the base of that,

I can choose for myself different techniques or tools that I will use to cope with this particular stress.

Well,

Jeff,

You're saying that you use breathing for quick breaks and do rounds of Tai Chi or Qigong when you have time.

Excellent.

Great.

So,

That's perfect that you have some quick tools that help you and some longer practices when you can dedicate more time to that.

Perfect.

And Magdalena,

You heard about cyclic sign about it in a podcast and started using it.

It's also called the physiological sights.

The facts are very quick.

Yes,

Indeed.

Right.

That is one of the SOS tools that we can use almost right in the moment.

Excellent.

Yeah.

And which podcasts are you listening,

If you don't mind sharing with us.

I'm sure that podcasts are very popular nowadays.

And for me,

I'm a real big fan of Andrew Huberman's lab.

And I just can't thank him enough for sharing all his knowledge,

All the experiments that he's holding in his lab.

And yeah,

If you guys have something to contribute to the podcast topic,

We would be very grateful.

Yeah.

Huberman lab,

Magdalena.

Exactly.

This is what I was talking about,

Too.

Excellent.

All right.

So,

Let's continue a little bit further.

And here,

When speaking about stress management,

I would like to highlight the importance of mind-body connection and psychosomatics.

Of course,

I am specializing in these spheres,

And I would like to encourage you guys to explore it more for yourselves,

Because I know how many people these both,

Let's say,

Branches of knowledge can help.

And it would be amazing if more people would be aware of how we can use them and how effective they are.

So,

Speaking of the mind-body connection,

Of course,

It will help us to not only deal with stress,

But to notice at first place when we are getting stressed,

At which moment,

What caused stress in our life,

What was the stressor,

And even earlier,

Which situations may cause stress for us.

So,

We can work with this switch,

You know,

That turns on the stress response in our bodies.

So,

That is why I find mind-body connection so powerful.

And speaking of psychosomatics,

It is the science that particularly combines the work of the mind and the body,

Which works closely with both.

It also helps us deal with a chronic or long-term stress,

Which has accumulated in the bodies and has shown itself in the form of a disease or any health conditions.

Well,

What is important is that on a session,

On a psychosomatic session,

If you guys get a general idea how it works,

We are looking for the root cause of a symptom,

Of a disease,

Of a health condition,

Whatever.

And we work particularly with this root cause,

With our emotional,

Our mental state that was present at this root situation,

At the first triggering situation that started the process in our body.

So,

With a change of this state,

With a change of our emotions,

With releasing tension from our bodies right in that root cause situation,

With releasing pressure,

With releasing stress from there,

We help our bodies to free from all this chronic accumulated stress here right now in the present moment.

So,

We can start the healing processes in the body and can heal itself.

And sometimes it is even a matter of just one session that we can change the physical condition,

The health condition for the better.

Of course,

It all depends on the longevity of the chronic stress that you have been experiencing because of that first root situation and on the seriousness of a health condition.

Well,

I'm also curious about whether you guys are familiar or aware of psychosomatics as a science,

As a tool or not.

It would be just for my little survey,

Let's say,

Of knowing how many of us know about such a wonderful and powerful tool that we can use or not.

For me,

I have known about psychosomatics for the first time,

Let's say,

Maybe five years ago.

Yeah,

And since then,

It was a beautiful journey to discover it myself,

To start working with it.

And I'm really grateful.

I don't know how I heard about that.

Not only heard,

But because we can hear and forget something immediately.

But how and why I got hooked,

You know,

I got interested in that.

Yeah,

That would be a very interesting question.

Well,

And let's maybe summarize our session a little bit and mention a few practical tools that we can use in our daily lives that will help us to manage stress and probably prevent stress.

I think that most of them are pretty obvious,

But the key moment here is to use these practical tips,

Right?

So first of all,

I would like to highlight mindfulness,

Meditation,

Some breathing techniques.

Another one that we already talked about,

Some regular exercise.

Again,

It doesn't have to be something tiring,

But just physical movement.

Some healthy eating,

Please.

I cannot stress enough how important the gut health is for our brain health,

For our overall well-being.

So it's,

Of course,

A big topic to discuss,

But healthy eating is extremely important.

Another one is adequate sleep.

Please do not deprive yourself from sleep.

It can be definitely very useful as well.

Time management,

Another one that is a very practical tool,

Right,

That we can all learn and implement in our work.

Time management and life,

Of course,

Is very helpful for us to see that,

Oh,

Well,

That probably is too much for me to do,

Or it's not a good time for me to do that,

And that will help us to reduce stress and to prevent it in many cases.

Please try to limit technology use,

Especially before going to sleep or at night.

Social networks,

Social media goes there as well.

And try to invest more in social connections.

Of course,

Better in real life,

Not online,

But offline.

Social connections,

Social interactions definitely help us to deal with stress much better.

Of course,

Take up any hobbies,

Dedicate more time to something that you really enjoy doing,

Or maybe not doing anything at all.

We definitely need these periods and stretches of time when we do nothing,

But just live and enjoy life and any sort of relaxation that helps you guys.

Again,

I'm sure that we all know about these tips,

But the key here when speaking about stress management is to implement them.

And once again,

If you find it challenging to incorporate these tips in your daily lives,

Or if it is very hard to structurize your day,

Or to settle healthy morning or evening routines,

Consider working with a coach.

It will be a teamwork of both of you,

And in a few weeks,

You will already notice drastic changes.

I'm saying this with pure confidence,

Based on my clients' feedback and our mutual work together,

That simply by listening to yourself and doing what is better for yourself,

Structurizing it,

Having a third-person view on the situation will be very helpful.

All right,

So if you guys have any questions,

Any comments,

Any thoughts that you would like to share with us,

Almost at the end of this session,

I would be really thankful,

So we can discuss maybe some moments,

Some aspects,

A little bit more,

And I would suggest to end our today's session with a very gentle breathing practice.

I think that many of you heard of that.

It's called alternative nostril breathing,

Inhaling through one nostril,

Exhaling through another,

And sort of drawing the triangle of the air in our heads.

This will help us to balance our mental state,

Our physical body as well,

And let's practice it just for three minutes,

All together in this space,

Sharing this beautiful time together,

So we can smoothly transition into the rest of the weekend.

So,

Please find something to support your elbow of the arm that you will be using.

For me,

It is a table.

You can use a pillow,

Maybe yoga blocks.

Your second and third fingers go to the area between the eyebrows,

And we will use the fourth and the first fingers to close and open our nostrils.

So,

Let's place two fingers on our front.

Let's close the right nostril with the thumb and make an inhale with through the left nostril in.

Let's change the fingers and out through the right nostril.

Do not change any fingers and inhale through your right nostril.

Change the fingers and exhale through the left.

Inhale through the left and exhale through the right.

Let's continue this pattern.

Try to deepen your in-breaths and extend your out-breaths.

Send the air right into your belly to soften all the muscles there and all the organs.

You can place another hand on your belly and place your attention there for a bit of the mindfulness practice.

You can notice whether it is the same to inhale through the left and right nostril or if there is any difference.

Let's follow this breath for half a minute more.

You can imagine how the air draws a triangle in your head when entering the nostril,

Reaching the third eye,

And leaving another nostril.

Follow this pattern in your mind's eye.

And,

Of course,

If you would like to continue this pattern,

Please do so.

If you are ready to finish it,

Let's take a deep breath through both of the nostrils together and release it with a sigh.

Let me know,

Guys,

If you can notice any shift in yourselves due to this breath work.

Even if it was short,

I feel much calmer,

Much calmer,

Lighter,

And I get more clarity in my mind.

And I would like to ask you guys,

What will you bring with you from our today's session?

Maybe something that you have learned,

Something that you got reminded about,

Or something that you realized yourself during our discussion today.

What will you bring with you from our session?

For me,

I think it would be the cyclic sign that Magdalena mentioned.

I would like to explore it myself a little more and to try to practice it again to see if I perceive it differently at this time,

At this period.

And once again,

Thank you,

Insight Timer.

Thank you all,

Guys,

For joining,

For being present here during our live session.

It was incredible to see you all here.

Please do not forget to follow my profile so we will stay in touch and can see each other next week.

This series of MindBody Connection live events is every Saturday at 12 p.

M.

Central Time.

So I would be really happy to connect with you again in seven days.

And once again,

Thank you,

Guys,

For your donations.

It really helps a lot to stay motivated to host these sessions together,

To meet weekly,

To prepare all the content,

And to share this time with all of you guys.

And of course,

Don't forget to check the breathing practices that you can find also on my page.

And if you are interested in mutual work together in exploring MindBody Connection or working closely with your body through psychosomatics,

Let me know.

You can send me a direct message here on Insight Timer.

Well,

I want to encourage you guys to carry all the benefits that you got through in our session with you throughout your day,

Throughout your life.

Once again,

Thank you all,

And I hope to see you soon.

Have a great weekend.

Goodbye,

Everyone.