Self-Care Wisdom for Stress

The effects of stress are many and varied. Sometimes they creep up on us so gradually that we hardly notice their presence until we wake up and find ourselves in the middle of the frying pan.

Then, if we look back, we might wonder how we overlooked all the clues we can now see so easily in hindsight. Most Western minds are programmed to be task-oriented, and we tend to have long To-Do lists.

As a result, we may ignore certain clues that our lives are getting out of balance. But when things start to fall apart, it becomes more difficult to continue sweeping the evidence under the rug.

However, once we acknowledge that we’re feeling stressed out, we have the opportunity to learn some valuable lessons and make a few healthy changes.

This section is about learning the lessons and making those lasting changes that will allow us to create a healthier, more balanced life.

List of Articles

   The Art of Being Your Own Best Friend
   Cultivating Peace Series
        Part 1 – Nature’s Attraction
        Part 2 – Cultivating Stillness
        part 3 – From Head to Heart

Ten Minutes to Relaxation and Flexibility

Would you like to have a simple ten-minute program to help you relax while you gain body awareness and flexibility? This gentle workout is based on Somatic Technique, which has come down the line from Moshe Feldenkrais. It combines breathing and relatively easy movements for the front, back and side of your body.

Click here: Ten Minutes to Relaxation and Flexibility for a PDF file which you can view online, or download for your personal use.  Read on if  you would like find out why this approach can be so helpful.

How Does it work?
There are a few basic reasons why muscles become chronically tight.

1. Anxiety or worry – what we usually call “stress”
2. A loss of communication between the brain and the muscles
3. A combination of 1 and 2
4. A deficiency or imbalance of minerals like Magnesium and/or Calcium
5. Blockage of flow in the lymphatic vessels
6. Blockage of flow in related acupuncture meridians
7. Blockage of energy from an “interference field” (stemming from an old scar,  injury site or hidden infection. The interference source isn’t usually painful itself, and is often some distance away -  seemingly unrelated).

This simple routine works mainly with #2, but also helps with #1.  It helps loosen tense muscles in four ways:

1. It relaxes your mind by bringing your focus into the present moment
2. It activates your diaphragm in breathing, which places your nervous system into relaxation mode (parasympathetic)
3. Diaphragmatic breathing also calms the “fight-or-flight” part of the nervous system (sympathetic)
4. It strengthens communication between your muscles and brain. Why is this important? If this link is weak, the subconscious mind takes over and places the muscles into default mode, which unfortunately, is “tight!”

Click here to view the exercise pageTen Minutes to Relaxation and Flexibility.

To learn more about brain-muscle communication, please see Somatic Technique.

Breathing 101 for Health & Relaxation

Poor Breathing Blocks Good Health!
Everyone knows how to breathe, right? Well, it might be more accurate to say that we know enough to get by. Here, I’ll show you …

Please take a moment right now, without changing anything, and notice how you’re breathing. Are you breathing into your chest, belly, or both? Is it shallow, medium or deep?

Without changing your posture, take a deep breath and notice how it feels. Now, sit up tall, lifting from the top of your head and a bit from your breastbone. Take another deep breath, and notice any change in the volume or ease of your breath compared to your former posture.

In Spontaneous Healing, Andrew Weil, M.D. says, “Breathing may be the master function of the body, affecting all others. Restrictions in breathing can be the result of past traumas, both physical and emotional. Most of us have never received instruction about breathing and how to take advantage of it as a harmonizer of the body.”

Practicing the simple exercises in Conscious Breathing 101 will increase your energy level, improve your mood and help you relax. They say the best things in life are free. A good breath is certainly one of them (don’t leave home without it)! Click the title to view the PDF file.