The effect stress can have on the body can be enormous with a lot of people today ending up paying a high price for stress levels that are too high for too long a period of time. An important note here is that the body is either in a state of “fight or flight” or a state of “growth and repair”, it cannot be in both states at the same time. In other words when the body is experiencing stress that is at too high a level, it is flooded with cortisol and adrenaline and cannot focus on healing and repairing the body. When this goes on for too long you increase the risk of suffering a stress induced disease as the load on your immune system becomes too great.
When the stress response is activated, you’ll find that your heart rate increases, your pupils dilate, you breathe faster, and you may break out in a sweat. Do you recognise this process? In our ancestors days most threats were of a physical nature such as the potential threat of a wild animal so you either ran away or fought the animal off. This physical response of fighting or fleeing meant the adrenaline that flooded the body could be burned off. What tends to happen today too often though is the “threat” is not usually of a physical nature rather it is work related stress, relationship stress, or financial stress, so this coupled with a more sedentary lifestyle adds up to chronic health damaging stress. The trouble with this all to frequent scenario though is its insidious nature, because it goes on every day it is often perceived as normal.
There is plenty of evidence to show the connection between mind and body. What can be overlooked with physical issues is that its cause could be mental or emotional in origin, in other words from a stressful event or series of events. For example, you may have developed migraine headaches that seem to be occurring more frequently. The connection you may not have made however is that shortly before the migraine headaches began you may have increased your hours at work, and your youngest child had just started school. The connection you may have overlooked is these increased stressors in relation to the development of your migraine headaches.
This is where the beauty and simplicity of EFT Tapping comes in. EFT Tapping has been used by thousands of people on a range of physical and emotional issues with great success and it is just as easily resolved if the event occurred yesterday, five years, or fifty years ago. When the effects of stress become too great, EFT Tapping can easily be used to help reduce your stress levels down to a more manageable level.
Category Archives: Heather Body
Yoga and Meditation – Your Guided 10 Breath Experiment For Patience and Stillness of the Body
Freeze your physical position right now, and let us take 10 breaths together. Okay, if your posture is pretty bad, you may want to improve it. With each breath w will focus on a different part of the body. At the end of the experiment, see how much quieter the mind is and whether some tension did leave the body. You could even time yourself to see how long this takes.
Just a word about attitude. Simply observe yourself, and silence the judge.
Here we go. Let us start at the feet and work our way up to the head. Try to remain in the same position for the next ten breaths. Although you may find it worthwhile to adjust your position slightly to make room for the breath as it is likely to become fuller and deeper.
Before we begin, breath out slowly through the mouth, with pursed lips, a few times. Then begin inhaling and exhaling through the nose. Note start time. A friend can read this slowly to you as well.
Breath 1 – Slowly exhale through the nose – Notice the position of both feet. Inhale though the nose
Breath 2 – As you slowly exhale – Is there any tension in the calves? Inhale naturally
Breath 3 – Slowly exhale – Notice knees and thighs. Feel the sensations. Inhale gently
Breath 4 – Breathe out slowly – Bring attention to hips and buttocks – Watch the breath flow in
Breath 5 – Release the breath, draw the abdomen in toward the end of the exhalation; relax abdomen to inhale
Breath 6 - A natural exhale – Inhale and allow chest to expand and hands to soften
Breath 7 – Gently exhale and watch the wave of the breath leave your body, follow it back in on the inhale
Breath 8 – Natural exhale – Shoulders down, soften upper body on the inhale
Breath 9 – Watch the breath turn around and leave the body naturally, soften jaw and eyes
Breath 10 – Close your eyes and continue observing your body and breathing.
How long did that take? Do you feel more or less patient now? What would happen if you repeated the exercise a few times or at different points in your day? Does it feel like a meditation?
Slowing down like this can teach us a bit more about ourselves, including our posture, and how still we can be both in body and mind. Practicing breath awareness and deep breathing is an important aspect of yoga exercise.
If you felt anxious during this exercise, try exhaling powerfully through pursed lips as if you were blowing out a candle and move your arms up and down with the breath. Ten breaths would take about 8 seconds.