Our thoughts Affect our Body

When I was pregnant with my first child, in Ireland, I began my hypnobirthing classes.  Through this I had a chance to use EFT and other techniques with my tutor.  The following exert is from Aisling's newsletters and well worth a read.  For more information contact them on info@accomplishchange.ie

STRESS
Our Stress levels come from within and without and when it gets to much we snap! It's fuelled by unresolved experiences, feelings and emotions from the past, present and future

Internal Stress - which has been built up over the years based on our history and emotions of the past. It lives in our nervous system, 24/7 whether we are aware of it or not!

External Stress - comes from our external environment based on the demands we experience on a daily basis, be it work related, Family dynamics, relationships, study, commitments and more...

When we are stressed we get to experience combined levels of internal and external stress at the same time. Under mild to moderate stress the body and mind gets pulled in all directions and looks for an exit , be it in the form of a headache, stomach cramps, skin problems, back ache, dizziness, panic attacks etc...

Chronic stress is the one to monitor, as it can lead to serious health problems- strokes, heart attack, blood pressure, hypertension.

It is important that we handle our stressors and remove stress from our systems in an effective way, as coping or ignoring will not make the stress go away! Hypnosis, meridian tapping, meditation, mindfulness to name a few, are some great modalities in relieving and removing stress.

Your Body and mind is more powerful then you can imagine ....filled with life, energy, and a compelling ability for self healing.

You can't feel relaxed and anxious at the same time (reciprocal inhibition)

The following 3 self help exercises are great in helping you to reduce your stress and anxiety and you can use just once a day for a minute! Then you can start to gradually increase the time up to a level that's comfortable for you.

1.Heart- focused breathing to reduce stress and anxiety.
As you are breathing, imagine your breath passing in and out through your heart, along with your favourite colour of relaxation, as you breathe in the attitude of courage and strength to do what you have to do.

2. Mindfulness exercise.
Mindfulness exercise, is about learning how to come down, steadying the mind, grounding yourself into the reality of the experience of this moment, and then choosing to redirect your attention onto what is most important.

Stop
Take a breath ( steady the mind )
Observe (the thoughts, your physical body, and name your emotion, so you can tame it)
Proceed with what's most important for you right now.

3.Tip of Your nose - Stress Reduction
•Bringing all your attention to the sensations of the breath at the tip of your nose.
• Pay attention to just the slight warmth or coolness at the tip of your nose with each breath.

You're following something very subtle, very refined, and as such, the mind becomes good at watching very subtle changes in the heart, in the body and in the mind and the beneficial emotional changes happening resulting in stress reduction.