reducing stress

Simple Recipe for Stress Reduction

by ultrapeg

take a moment to breatheSummer is a busy time of year.  Of course, most of us are busy all year long.  Still summer seems to be a time when we feel this urge to cram as many activities as possible into this short period of time.  Some of you may be fortunate enough to live in a place where the seasons are not so pronounced.  Even where that is the case, summer still seems to present a different vibe than the rest of the year.  Perhaps it is the residue of “school is out” mentality.  Or simply that the days are longer no matter where you are and everyone wants to take advantage of all that daylight.

Those of us in the northern region who live in tourist areas feel the busy-ness of summer even more acutely.  Many businesses in our area only operate during the tourist season.  Suddenly everything is open and there is this frantic need to “make hay while the sun shines”.  People travel more and have more visitors.  Those of you with school-aged children feel a particular pressure to take advantage of the break in routine that school vacation provides.

All of this can lead to a surprising and sometimes unrecognized increase in stress.  It would seem that the promise of leisure time should enable us to relax.  But more often just the opposite is the result.  If you are working, you feel the obligation to get as much done as possible before a vacation and then you’re faced with everything that piles up while you’re gone.  The delightful anticipation of welcoming visitors can be marred by the overwhelming feeling of all you have to do to make them comfortable and enhance their visit.  Vacation time never seems long enough and travel can create additional stress.

Just reading this may be stressing you out.  But the good news is that there is hope.  And it is right within your grasp and everyone can do it. It’s called breathing.  Yup!  That mysterious process that keeps us alive which we often take for granted can also be our ally in reducing stress. Taking a few moments to focus on and slow our breathing can activate the parasympathetic nervous system which calms and soothes us. There are scientific and biological reasons for this which I won’t go into here.  Suffice it to say that this system is the opposite of our “fight or flight” reflex that puts us in high-alert mode.  If you’re interested you can read more about it and even check out some controlled breathing practices in a number of articles on the subject including this one from Yoga Journal.

No matter what time constraints you are laboring under, there is always time to breathe.  Since you’re going to breathe whether or not you are paying attention, why not just stop whatever it is you are doing and simply focus on your breathing.  All you have to do is notice air coming in and air going out.  Just follow the air for a couple of cycles.  You may notice that even this simple practice has a calming effect.  Most of the causes of stress and anxiety are worries about things that may (or may not) happen in the future but have not happened yet, or things that have already happened which we can’t change.  Breathing is always in the present.  When you focus on the present moment – not the past or the future – usually everything is really OK.  Not always.  But mostly.  And here’s the really good news – when the past or future starts to bring that stress back, all you have to do is return to your breathing.  It’s always there.  Even if you have trouble breathing, you can still benefit from focusing and slowing down the process.

In yoga and Pilates there is a huge emphasis on breathing as part of the practice.  Breathing with the movement is an integral part of both practices.  It is every bit as important as the movement itself.  It doesn’t take long for even new practitioners to recognize that if they focus on moving and breathing together, it is difficult to think about anything else while they’re practicing.  The other benefit that becomes clear is that the breath actually helps with the movement.  Bringing oxygen and other nutrients to your muscles when you move them enables them to work that much more efficiently.  Exhaling completes the process by eliminating everything you no longer need from your respiratory system.

Pilates and yoga further enhance the benefits of breathing by helping to improve posture.  This article from the American Council on Exercise describes how posture affects breathing.  Many of us have experienced the pain that can result from poor posture and the muscle imbalances it creates.  The most common of these are back, neck and shoulder problems, but when these persist they can lead to many other ailments. Once movement becomes difficult the tendency is to restrict moving which usually makes things worse.  How amazing to learn that breathing can actually begin the healing process!  An article from Yoga Basics shows that breathing can help with upper back pain as well as lower.

Breathing is a tool available to all of us all the time.  It’s the life force that is truly a miracle.  The yogis call it “prana”.  It is the first thing a baby does at birth and the last thing we do at the moment of death.  In between, we can show our reverence for this process by letting it help us. Let your breathing guide you toward enjoyment of each moment this summer.

Opening the Heart

by ultrapeg

 

Your Heart is in Your Hands

In yoga practice we often refer to “heart opening” poses.  This is a kind of catch-all term that points to poses that loosen muscles of the chest, sides of the ribs and upper back to encourage better mobility in the upper body.  We all spend too much time sitting (often in poorly designed seats) hunched over a steering wheel, computer or phone.  As a result we suffer from tight shoulders and upper back muscles that are close to atrophy from under use.  This can create pain that further pulls us inward. Tension creates additional stress in this area.  Many of us hold tension in our shoulders further tightening these muscles.  Meanwhile, as these crucial muscles weaken, others are forced to take over to assist with movement.  These other muscles then become overly stressed taking on roles inefficiently and creating more problems, more pain, more imbalances.  Many of us are familiar with the cycle – pain begins, movements may be altered to avoid the pain, other muscles take over for the ones that hurt and over time conditions deteriorate.

So when we talk about promoting “balance” by practicing Pilates and yoga, it is not just about being able to stand on one foot.  Although that’s important, the term also refers to restoring the balance in our bodies to promote optimal movement with minimal discomfort.  This standard is different in each individual, but the practices provide the tools so that adjustments can be made suit individual needs.  Not everything works for every person all the time. But the goal is to present sufficient ideas, suggestions and modifications that everyone can find something that works for them.  It is also worth reiterating the benefits of practice.  Sometimes something that doesn’t work for you today may become accessible later on after some initial efforts have managed to render the muscles more receptive to additional movement.  In Pilates we often say that the most important objective is to improve posture.  Learning to let your spine support you and re-training your core (abdominal) muscles to assist with that support is the first step to getting the rest of your muscles to relax and return to their optimal role.

Regardless of your current condition, all of this requires patience, persistence, gentleness and self-compassion. After all, none of us got where we are now overnight.  The process can’t be reversed overnight either.  In fact, complete reversal may not ever be possible.  Through the years other conditions may have appeared to complicate the problems.  But this doesn’t mean that improvement can’t take place.  That improvement may mean less pain and more ease of mobility, but it can also take the more non-specific form of “quality of life”.  This general term can refer to improved physical, mental and emotional health including reduced stress.  Since mental and physical states are so closely related, improvements in mental health can result in reduction of physical symptoms.  And all without the side effects often associated with traditional medications.

Medical trials are ongoing to determine if mind/body practices improve common chronic health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.  Findings continue to be encouraging.  Since we started with a look at “heart opening” it’s worth mentioning a recent study published in the 2016 edition of the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing involving a group of patients diagnosed with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF).  This condition causes an irregularity in heart rythyms that can result in dizziness, shortness of breath and chest pain.  All participants in the study also had elevated blood pressure rates at the start. Half of the group had yoga related therapies added to their treatment plans.  Perhaps not surprisingly the yoga poses consisted mainly of the “heart opening” upper body muscle relaxers and strengtheners referred to at the beginning of this article.  At the end of the study, the findings revealed overwhelmingly that the yoga group improved on all counts including decreased heart rates, blood pressure and improved quality of life.  You can also find additional information about this study on the Yoga Basics blog.

All of this serves to reiterate that progress, not perfection, through ongoing consistent practice will yield results.  I say that with confidence. The results may not be what you expect but if you pay attention you will note improvement.  In the book “Still Here” by Ram Dass, the author discusses his recovery from a stroke and the process of accepting the reality of physical change.  He says, “Cures aim at returning the body to what it was before; healing uses what is present to bring us more deeply to ‘soul awareness’ and perhaps physical ‘improvements’ ” Life continues to bring changes in many forms to each of us.  If we let go of expectations of “cure” and “use what is present” to bring about healing we may find some degree of comfort.  Emerson said, “[the] roses under my window make no reference to former roses or better ones; they are what they are; perfect in every moment of existence.”  Just like you – perfect in every moment of existence.  Let that thought guide your practice.