Breathwork

In this challenging time, many of us are struggling with feelings of uncertainty, anxiety and overwhelm. Our lives have been turned upside down to say the very least. We’re having to adapt to new routines, a lack of free movement, severed social interaction and in many cases a lot of time on our hands. Some are experiencing more serious circumstances in the home, like the addictive patterns of our self or a partner, abuse, or financial troubles. These changes to our daily life, may have left many feeling disempowered, depressed, afraid.

Caged Animal syndrome might be an apt diagnosis

That powerful tool is called the BREATH.

If I told you that you can survive on average, without food for 3 weeks, without water for 3 days, but without air only 3 minutes at most? You would begin to understand the power and importance of the breath.

We breathe around 23 000 breaths per day. Make each one count

Our breathing is the only part of the autonomic nervous system we can consciously control. Each emotional or mental state has a corresponding breathing pattern.  It follows that by using conscious controlled breathing, we can change our emotional or mental state within minutes. Whatever you need in the moment, your breathing can provide.

Breathing – a Powerful tool

There are hundreds of different breathing techniques, many with sound scientific research behind their effectiveness.

Learning how to utilize the breath, according to what you need in the moment, is essential. The following is a guide to choosing the appropriate breathing technique to help you regulate your system.

These are 3 of my favourite techniques that I personally practice daily as part of my own breathing practice, and that I teach to my patients here at Nurture Woodlands Recovery Unit.

Fire Breaths for Energy (a shot of espresso to the system)

When to use: If you lack energy and feel tired or drained. When you need a pick-me-up.

Effect: Creating a charge of energy in the body. It’s natural to feel a buzz of energy, alertness, and clear thinking after the exercise. If you feel giddy or lightheaded after the exercise, slow your pace down next time.

Benefits:

• Helps to strengthen and regulate the nervous system and move out of negatively spiralling emotional states such as anxiety.
• Helps to detox and to release toxins and waste products from the respiratory system. Energizing the body and mind.
• Assists to overcome cravings for addictive substances, such as smoking or harmful habits such as gambling.
• Provides relief from chronic pain and severe tension.

I hope you find these techniques inspirational and life changing.

HAPPY BREATHING!

Intentional living during the CoVid-19 Lockdown

Mindfulness and relaxation practices at home

During the national lockdown, we are faced with a lot of new feelings and challenges. Initially the idea of spending time at home might have been a wonderful prospect, but as the days go by, reality might be sinking in.

Feeling stir crazy between the walls of your home, children being demanding, and relationships being challenged with the lack of personal space.

Our Nurture health vision is to enable you to live a satisfying life, even during times of change. This means having balance in all the dimensions of wellness. Physically, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, financially, socially, and environmentally.

Here are some guidelines to keep balance in your life using relaxation and mindfulness techniques in your home environment.

We are all aware of passive relaxation, this might have been your only approach up until now. Watching television, listening to music, lounging on the couch, or using social media as a distraction, but practicing active relaxation has some health and wellness benefits and will make you feel more productive and purposeful.

Try the following activities to stay active, yet relaxed, while confined to your home:

• Read a book or listen to a podcast
• Adult colouring (You can find many resources online)
• Exercise videos on YouTube (Try Pilates or Yoga for beginners)
• Going for a walk in your garden if possible
• Keeping a journal
• Getting creative (You can use recycled waste material to make something at home)
• Make a vision board using magazines and paper
• Bake or cook something delicious
• Schedule time to worry instead of worrying subconsciously the whole day. Take 10 minutes, write down your concerns, acknowledge them and move on.

Mind full?

Mindfulness as we know it has been making its way around social media more than ever but is in fact a practice that has been a way of being for many people for a very long time. So, what is it? Being mindful is paying attention to what’s going on inside and outside of ourselves as it is happening.

It’s the idea of kind attention, shining a spotlight on all areas of ourselves that are hard to see and accepting them, as difficult as it may be to do. It’s the understanding that our thoughts and actions today shape who we will be tomorrow. It’s also the understanding that every single moment holds an opportunity for growth and development.

Our experiences shape us, mould our brain, and determine who we are going to be tomorrow as said in the TED talk ‘Self-Transformation Through Mindfulness’ by Dr David Vago. Or as said by Shauna Shapiro in her aptly named TED talk ‘The Power of Mindfulness: What You Practice Grows Stronger’. Every single moment holds an opportunity to practice.

How do you start to cultivate this awareness and insight into your mental habits and emotional states? How do you start to identify your triggers and impulses, to a point where you are able to allow an emotion to arise and pass without the impulse to act?

Mindfulness opens the opportunity to change the way you perceive yourself and the world. It starts with a few moments a day, with an act as simple as breathing. Spend a moment feeling what it’s like to breathe. The feeling of the air as it enters and leaves your nose, the feeling of your chest expanding and contracting, the sound of your breathing. Try to focus on nothing else for a few moments, and if you find yourself becoming distracted simply try to bring yourself back without judgement or being hard on yourself. That right there is mindfulness. Then try applying it to everyday situations such as cooking, eating, listening to music, playing, showering, sleeping, or even walking. Try to focus on the sensations you feel as they’re happening, and if your mind wanders try and refocus on what you’re doing as you’re doing it.

Eventually, with sustained practice mindfulness is an effective life skill in reducing stress and anxiety by reducing over-thinking and negative thought patterns, lessening fear and avoidance, improving concentration by constantly refocusing our attention throughout the day, communicating better, building stronger relationships, and it can even aid in sleeping a lot more soundly.

The key is sustained practice. Just like you couldn’t realistically expect to develop washboard abs after doing 10 sit-ups, you can’t expect to experience the benefits of mindfulness without putting in the time and effort.

It starts with a breath.

Bullying is something we all remember from school. Maybe we were lucky, and we were not the ones that were bullied, but that does not mean it did not affect us. We saw it, we feared it, we consciously avoided falling onto the radar of the bully. And we remember.

I have heard, over the years, so many people say that they just do not understand why people make such a fuss over bullying. It is a school thing, kids will be kids, we should just let them hash it out. After all, it builds character when they learn to stand up for themselves. Funny how no mention is ever made of what is to become of the bullies, but that is another blog.

In answer to the questioning crowd about why stopping bullying and counselling both the victim and the bully is crucial; why campaigns to end bullying is as not an option but a necessity: it is because the consequences of bullying lasts. Beyond the time that that actual bullying ends, the effects last into later years, even into adulthood. Worse still, is that we live in a society that revictimizes a victim of bullying when later they recall the bullying with pain or respond in a manner that they were unconsciously conditioned to behave because of bullying. The victim is often denounced with an exasperated “But you should be over it by now, it happened years ago!”

In reality, bullying has a lasting impact. Victims often experience, among other symptoms, anxiety, fear, nightmares, insomnia, and depression. However, because these experiences take place in a situation where the victim feels vulnerable, powerless, and unable to defend themselves, it can lead to stress-related conditions like PTSD. In fact, recent research shows a direct link between bullying and PTSD.

What Is PTSD?

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is a mental health condition that develops after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. It is a persistent, long-term concern known for symptoms that include flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety.

Though anyone can develop PTSD, triggering factors such as the degree of the perceived threat, the relationship to the bully and the level of support available can make it more likely. These are of particular concern with school bullying. A child who is bullied at school cannot simply leave the situation. This may cause feelings of helplessness which can be exacerbated if the child seeks assistance from an adult who then do not respond appropriately or, as in some cases, it is the teacher or other adult doing the bullying. The longer the child is exposed to the trauma, the more likely he or she is to develop PTSD.

While most of the reading about bullying and the link to PTSD available online refers to childhood/school bullying, bullying is a very real problem to mental health among adults as well – and not only as a hold-over of unresolved childhood trauma due to bullying. The same triggering factors as mentioned above exists in adult situations, most commonly and notably in working environments.

Symptoms of PTSD in children and teenagers that parents and caregivers need to look out for include:

• Avoiding situations that make them recall the trauma
• Nightmares or flashbacks about the trauma
• Repeating the bullying in play, or playing in a way that recalls the trauma
• Acting impulsively or aggressively
• Frequently displaying nervousness or anxiousness
• Displaying emotional numbness
• Difficulty focussing at school

Symptoms of PTSD to be aware of in adults include:

• Intense feelings of distress when reminded of the traumatic event
• Extreme physical reactions to reminders of the traumatic event such as a nausea, sweating or an increase in heartrate
• Invasive, upsetting memories of the traumatic event
• Flashbacks (reliving the traumatic event)
• Nightmares (whether about the traumatic event or other terrifying situations)
• Loss of interest in life and daily activities
• Feeling emotionally numb and detached from other people
• Sense of a not leading a normal life
• Avoiding certain activities, feelings, thoughts, or places that can serve as reminders of the traumatic event
• Difficulty remembering important aspects of the traumatic event

If you, or your child, has experienced any traumatic life event, including bullying, please speak to a mental health expert. Early intervention is crucial to preventing any potential long-term effects of such tragic experiences.