Less stress more energy it’s that simple
Stress has a massive impact on our physical and mental health – it even gives us our genes. In the past we thought our genes were fixed and there was nothing to change them, now we know we influence them. Change is absolutely possible and it all begins with our telomeres, the bits on the end of the chromosomes that keep them intact, like the plastic caps that hold the shoelaces together.
As cells divide and replicate , telomeres eventually shorten. When they become too short the cells die and our lives become shorter as a result. Lots of different factors affect the shortening of the telomeres and nobel prize winning research has shown that stress affects the shortening as much as smoking does.
The great thing is that you can rejuvenate your cells by making simple and healthy choices in food and lifestyle, cultivating a peaceful mind is important for our health and energy levels (yet it’s the one last thing we address). Stats show one in four people develop depressive symptoms in their life. The rates are even higher with chronic disease, 8% have major depression and up to 36% have depressive symptoms.
PNI Psychoneuroimmunology is the study of the interaction between psychological processes in the nervous and immune systems of the body. Studies have shown that stress can negatively cause heart attacks, worsen outcomes in cancer and depression and can affect the progression of diseases such as HIV by affecting the immune cells.
The solution is not just about finding ways to relax and manage stress. It’s about feeling happy and fulfilled. Having a purpose in life and surrounding ourselves with positivity and people who make us happy. When we are with someone negative it is draining for ourselves. Negative people are in fact unhappy with their own lives and are usually hurt. When people lash out, attack verbally it is because they have suffered and it’s the way they choose to communicate.
When you are with a group of positive people who are laughing the effects are amazing. Hence Indian prisoners partake in laughing yoga as a way to ward off depression and keep spirits up. The laughing club of Bombay was established and every morning at 7am the laughing yoga starts.
Members of a laughter club participate in a laughing exercise in Mumbai May 5, 2014. Hundreds of people, who believe that laughter is the best medicine for a happy and healthy life, took part in an attempt to break a world record of the largest gathering of senior citizens at a laughing exercise on Monday.
Listed below are important points we need to remember each day.
- Appreciation- every morning write down three things you are grateful for and do the same thing before you go to bed. Remember the positive aspects of your life rather than the negative . When we write things down they become more assessable. When you have your down day recall and look back at the positive things or happier memories.
- Creative visualization – scientific research tells us that visualising makes a positive effect to our health. Cancer sufferers who spend time visualising positive effects of their cancer cells have better results than those who don’t. Did your mother ever say “Be careful what you wish for” – there is some truth in this. Certain situations can make us feel helpless and this in turn can cause stress. Accepting and letting go of things we can’t control is the first step. Make your life the life you want rather than the life you don’t want.
- Breathe – when we breathe properly we have optimal energy and life force with good stress relief. Dysfunctional breathing patters are the most common cause of visits to the GP in the UK. They can show up as asthma, stress, blood pressure and cardiorespiratory problems. Practice breathing in through the nose and out through the nose for fve minutes before sleep. A yoga technique for this is called belly breathing, we let the belly expand on the inhale and naturally deflate on the exhale. Technically 2/3 of the breathe should start in the belly and the final third should be in the chest. There are many breathing or pranayama techniques and many free resources on the internet, so get yourself out there and have a go.
- Gut brain – the gut brain is now known as our second brain and we have more nerve endings their than anything else. If you are always ill, full of flu and colds, it will be down to your immune system. The immune system starts in the gut and you may be eating organic, grass fed, seasonal but if the lining fo your intestine has leaky gut you won’t be absorbing the nutrients to keep you strong. A good diet and a course of probiotics should restore ths and by probiotics I do not mean sugared commercial yoghurt drinks I mean investing through a naturopath.
- Meditation and mindfulness – more than 100 scientific studies show the benefit of meditation, from lowering blood pressure to restoring energy to improving sleep to helping others give up smoking. It’s about quietening our monkey mind or internal dialogue. Next time you brush your teeth, wash the dishes, eat some food, do it slowly with intention, try not to let the mind wander
- Exercise- the purpose of movement is to pump the body’s oscillators. There is a growing body of literature about the role of oscilators in the living body, and about the interactions between different oscillators. Considering the importance of endogenous oscillators in regulating the body’s functions, and the existence of ‘dynamical diseases’, diseases of control systems which involve oscillators in the body, a way to mend disfunctioning oscillators seems to be needed. Circular-muscle gymnastics, a method of physical activity which has been developed in Israel, reveals some phenomena which may point in a promising direction. Some of these phenomena call to mind known facts and theories about oscillators and their effects.1
- EFT (emotional freedom techniques) – founded by Gary Craig in 1993 , this works on the principle that negative emotions are a disruption in the body’s energy. EFT is a simple form of acupuncture combined with parts of NLP (neuro linguistic programming), that is tapping on acupuncture points whilst saying positive phrases and affirmations help us to address and release. EFT can alleviate:
- Addictions
- Fatigue
- Anger
- Pain
- Anxiety
- Panic attacks
- Cravings
- Bias
- Depression
- Unresolved emotional trauma
How to use EFT-
Try and be in a quiet space, and not be interrupted, think of problem statements that you wish to resolve like: Tiredness, anger, feeling useless, money worries, unlovable, lonely, terrified of dogs, giving up smoking, quitg sugar and alcohol.
Create a longer problem statement based on the phase but add a positive “even though I am so tired , I deeply love an accep myself without judgement.
Notice how the problem feel , it’s heaviness, sharpness and size.
Start tapping at the points in sequence, master practitioner suggest seven times at each point.
Loving relationships
Have you ever had a crush or new relationship and suddenly your full of energy despite having no sleep and feel fantastic and happy no task is too mundane and dull. We need to be loved and have value in order to be fulfilled. Research has shown that relationships have positive effects plus we can share the good and bad times. The most important relationship of all is between the parent and child, and then in old age. Probably because we become the most vunerable then. Being married, having children or being attached to a spiritual or religious faith has also shown to have better effects of healing form illness due to the fact we have faith . It’s important to give us much warmth and love to people who we know in life and even those we don’t. If we don’t get on with some people or their has been some family feuds we can still love from a distance.
Feeling fulfilled
Hence we are enjoying ourselves with friends, at work or socially we feel that more satisfied with life. We can get out of bed with a spring in our step. It’s important to be doing something that gives you that spring to get up and out and move each day.
People who live to 100 or beyond tend to come from communities like south America, Japan and Asia where the elders are taken to live with the family, they feel valued and live a lot longer. Their diet may be more plant based, more physical exercise and they are respected elders f the community.
Work/job- its important to find a job or work that nourishes you. if your career does not nourish you, you need to find interests outside work that do . examples of this could be doing some volunteer or charity work and this can be very rewarding. If your excited about drama, join a local theatrical group. If your excited about children, work with children, if you’re the outdoors type look at charity walks like Kilmnjaro, inca trail or great wall of China. Having an inspiration and goal provides a constant source pf inspiratation and energy. I am always telling clients “ If you don’t know where your going, how you going to get there“.
Bibliography
“The Tiredness cure” – Dr.Dohere Roked
“Eat, move and be healthy” – Paul Chek
- http://www.medical-hypotheses.com/article/0306-9877(93)90056-V/abstract
