The following article was published Tuesday November 16, 2010 in Health & Beauty- A supplement of The Daily Herald. St. Martin.
Mind Body Medicine Peter Amato Here they come again– The stampede of seasonal guests who frequent the “Friendly Island” annually! As we all know, we will now enter a time of celebration, profit, busyness, traffic jams and undeniably some stress. Interestingly enough, one may perceive this stress is man-made. Stress is created by the mind in reaction to certain situations. I am here to tell you, you have options to deal with stress. The first step to understanding and working with stress is to recognize when it is rising. How long before you are “stressed out” do you become aware of the symptoms? The funny thing about man-made stress is that it’s almost always out of our control. It is generally a focusing on something outside of ourselves, while looking for happiness within. Stress is the mind wanting the present moment to be different than it is. The mind can commonly take a situation like a pebble in our shoe, and develop it into a boulder. Here comes the stress! is is the mind or the ego creating an illusion of exaggeration. Our stress is normally a projection into the future, or a memory from the past. These projections are almost always attached to an expectation. is mechanism allows us to set ourselves up for discontentment. In healthcare, we have a long word for this: psychoneuroimmunology. Our psyche is our soul, our neurons represent our electrical system, and immunology is about our immune system. Can you find stress in the relationship between these three words? Thee short version, we call: Mind-Body Medicine. The good news is that there are many avenues to travel to reduce and eliminate stress during this busy holiday and tourist season: *To remain peaceful in the midst of chaos requires a certain state of mind. To recognize that our mind creates this stress and to understand that Mind-Body medicine provides some tools to help us refrain from acting out, and continue to be happy and peaceful, and filled with gratitude. The bottom line starts with where we source our peace from. In other words, can you be happy just because of the mere fact you woke up today? Because you are ALIVE! If we could learn to source our happiness from within through simplicity, we would smile more often. Mind-Body medicine teaches us to pay attention to the present moment. It is an opportunity to practice joy without cause, even to find the goodness in another. *A well-researched method of stress reduction is to practice breathing techniques as a way to relax the mind, move away from your old habits and patterns, and be content in the present moment. Recognize you can be happy just the way you are. Happiness is a choice we can elect every time we inhale. These breathing methods have been proven to prevent disease, eliminate health issues, and are taught in healthcare institutions, medical schools and hospitals worldwide. Below is a stress-reduction skill to help you appreciate your life, be gentle with others, and move through the season with grace. *Inner Harmony Soft Belly Stress Reduction Method: Connect with your breathing at the nose, as you experience the oxygen going in on the inhale and coming out on the exhale. Notice that while breathing, the belly rises and falls. Practice relaxing the belly as you inhale and exhale, allowing for a soft belly experience. While staying with the soft belly, also practice placing a smile on your face. Every time you slip off to a thought, an emotion or a feeling, simply note it and gently escort your mind back to the experience of the next inhale. is is the experience of a present moment as a wonderful moment. If you take care of every moment this way, all future moments will take care of themselves. Present moment – wonderful moment! Smile and enjoy the season! To find out more about the benefits of mind body medicine or to learn more about the Yoga Alliance teacher training program, contact Marleen Goossens of the Inner Harmony Wellness Centre in Simpson Bay on 526-4275 or e-mail mgoossens@compasssxm.net
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