Releasing Mental Tension

Mental tension is the result of too much worry and hurry. Our hyperculture exposes our minds to circumstances that create distraction, disturbance and fatigue. Because our underlying cause of imbalance is an unstable mind, it is necessary to practice systematic meditation and relaxation to help you bring inner strength and focus back for a balanced life.

Through systematic practices in relaxation, these three tensions can be released. Studies have shown that employing practices to release tension such as meditation or relaxation for a few minutes each day can ameliorate the effects of stress, boost your immunity, increase your brain mass and even create more positive emotions. Therefore if you are to create more balance in your life, you need to form a practice of meditation and/or relaxation.

Releasing Emotional Tension

Emotional tensions are a bit more complex than muscular tension, since they manifest from our feelings of love/hate, happiness/unhappiness, profit/loss, success/failure, loneliness/fulfillment. They are more difficult to erase, since many times we are not aware of them or we don't want to address their root cause. With the practice of systematic relaxation with diaprhagmatic breathing, you can begin to regulate the nervous system and in turn your emotional state. Our Guided Meditations are a great start.

Restful Sleep

Yesterday, I was conducting a seminar on creating restful sleep based on my new CD, Meditations for Restful Sleep. Although there are so many remedies on the market for sleeplessness, it still remains a burden for many. If you have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, this is ofent due to anxieties that cause the mind to be out of balance. That is not to say that there are not other problems that disturb sleep, such as hormonal changes, pain, breathing issues and other biological triggers. With a few restorative tips you can restore balance to your mind so that relaxation and calmness ensue to give you a good nights sleep. Stay tuned for this weeks restorative tips.

Releasing Tension the Yogic Way

Yoga science as well as Western psychology specifies three basic types of tension that are responsible for disturbing the balance or center axis of our life: muscular, emotional and mental tension. Today I will discuss how to relieve muscular tension.

Muscular tension relates to the body itself and manifests as imbalances to the nervous system, endocrine system and digestive system. These imbalances can be easily removed through the practices of meditation and relaxation. One of the best postures to relieve muscular tension is the corpse pose, lying on your back with a thin cushion under your neck, your feet slightly apart and your hands resting beside you with your palms facing up. Practicing relaxation in this posture will be very supportive in releasing the contractive energy held in your muscles. A full version of this exercise can be found on the new upcoming CD: Meditations for Restful Sleep.

Meditation Specialist Certification

This weekend was quite busy with many new inquiries concerning the Meditation Specialist Certification trainings. This course is designed for health care providers including nurses, doctors, psychotherapists, yoga therapists and holistic practitioners. Many have inquired about the locations. We have two classes forming, one to be held in Honesdale, Pa at the Himalayan Institute and the other in Petaluma, California at the Institute of Noetic Sciences. This course runs 12 months and totals 16 days spread out over 4 clinics. For more information on the clinics you can go to www.DrSusanTaylor.com. I am quite excited about the response and interest.

Solution to Stress

The first step to decrease your stress is to become aware of the benefits of lessening stress. By taking control of your lifestyle habits you will see profound changes. Several changes include the time that you eat, what you eat and if and when you exercise. Writing in a journal helps with overcoming some anxiety or tense states. Walking or engaging in activity also decreases tension and increases your ability to handle stress. But I have found most potent remedy is to meditate. No only does it build your mind's muscle, but it changes brain chemistry, decreases emotional eating, allows for less focus on what you are eating and helps to overcome dysfunctional attitudes toward food. If you are interested in getting started and don't have the time to attend a class, consider using a CD to help with the structure.

Comfort Foods

"But I deserve it", you may say. Most reasons why people eat the foods they choose are that they derive comfort from them. We are so addicted by our taste buds, that whenever some adversity arises in our life, we go to the foods that have provided comforting memories of the past. Depending on a person's psychological makeup, these foods can be ice cream, chips, cookies or some other high fat, and sugar filled dessert.

Your Brain Get's Hungry

Your brain operates on glucose for its fuel during time of plenty. However, did you ever wonder why you may turn to sugary desserts when feeling stressed? The answer lies in the brains desire for serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for feeling good and satisfied. Serotonin has been linked to depression. So if you find yourself craving excessive carbohydrates, you may want to check with a health care provider who knows how diet influences your mood.

Dietary Stress

In the last 20 years, we have increased sugar consumption in the U.S. from 26 pounds to 135 lbs. of sugar per person per year Prior to the turn of this century (1887-1890), the average consumption was only 5 lbs. per person per year. Cardiovascular disease and cancer was virtually unknown in the early 1900's. One of sugar's major drawbacks is that it raises the insulin level, which inhibits the release of growth hormones, which in turn depresses the immune system. This is not something you want to take place if you want to avoid disease. An influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body's blood-sugar balance, triggering the release of insulin, which the body uses to keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level. Insulin also promotes the storage of fat, so that when you eat sweets high in sugar, you're making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglyceride levels, both of which have been linked to cardiovascular disease.

Is Stress Making You Gain Weight?

Is stress making you put on extra weight? Perhaps it is. Although, what you eat is still a major factor in your weight. But new research is showing that stress can have an effect on how your body stores excess calories. If you are a self-directed person with a busy life, chances are you're often feeling a bit overburdened. Do you find yourself waking up feeling unrested? Do you catch colds frequently or feel a bit under the weather? Do you find that your clothes are getting to be too small? Guess what? It may be the hectic pace of your lifestyle that's making your clothes so tight. Research shows that stress can not only raise your blood pressure and increase your risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or other disease--it can add to your waistline, too. You can wind up storing more fat around your middle because of chronic stress at work or home. Feeling tense or anxious can also lead to overeating in an attempt to not deal with the situation at hand and make yourself or feel better. There are reason why stress may be your diet's worst downfall. This week I will acknowledge a few. The first one is stress itself.
Stress Itself High Cortisol and adrenaline occur when your system gets revved up for action. Unfortunately, today's stressors, i.e. a problems at work, don't usually require additional fuel to deal with them--so those calories get stored as fat. The problem with chronic stress is that it can provoke this kind of response continuously--and you wind up with a constant urge to eat. There would be no problem with this if you were to engage in physical activity, like running from the perceived threat. But, you end up being stationary and not engaging in the activity that will counteract the hormones that are responsible for the urge to eat. When this becomes chronic, you end up gaining weight. More to come tomorrow.

Restorative Bundle

We are pleased to announce that our Restorative Bundle including the Healing Power of Meditation CD, Booklet, Nutrition Provider, and Restorative tips sheet is still our top selling item as if this past week. Our readers are very pleased with information that they have gotten from the nutrition provider.

New CD's

Well we just finished the final edits on our Healing Power of Meditation series of CD's coming by the end of January. I am very excited to launch the series covering weight loss, sleep, pregnancy and menopause. Each CD contains a track covering the focused topic followed by practices to support the selected area. Once the new CD's are in print, we will include them in our store. Stay tuned for more updates on the series.

Meditation. It's Not What You Think.

When you think of meditation, do you picture a passive spiritual practice that takes decades to show benefit? That is what keeps most from exploring its healing potential. Here is an article written by one of our meditation students that I thought was interesting enough to publish on the blog.

When I tried it several years ago, all I can remember is having my legs fall asleep and trying to negate the pain in my neck and lower back as I twisted to get more comfortable.
But last week, I had a new experience. I had heard some word on a new meditation program starting by a doctor who had a background in meditation science. I was first hesitant to go to Dr. Susan Taylor's class because of my past experience with meditation. Let's face it; my body does not want to twist into a pretzel, as I sit chanting "Om" for 40 minutes. I can barely sit for 2 minutes without my hamstrings tightening and back aching. But this was different. At the beginning of this class we got a few laughs as we proceeded to learn the science of why and how we create the difficulties that we do. Dr. Taylor said that the cause of all our problems today is due to too much worry, hurry and curry. Well, the entire class related to this concept with laughter. She went on to explain that the goal of life is to become centered in the self instead of being self centered and conscious of the self instead of being self-conscious. In other words, it is not all about us. Again, many of us laughed with the sentiments of familiarity. She went on to explain what meditation is and what it is not. She made a point to say that meditation is not religion. It is a practical, scientific and systematic technique for knowing yourself on all levels. Meditation does not belong to any culture but is a simple method of exploring the inner dimensions of life and finally establishing yourself in your own essential nature. That once you have access to your own essential nature, then you have the power to heal yourself. With all that said, she began to give us the practical knowledge on why posture is so important when trying to meditate. It was fascinating to know that your body alignment can affect your moods. But that wasn't all. I also learned that I don't have to sit on the floor to meditate although there were some bodies, all of one, in the class that could be molded into a pretzel twist. The majority of the class also confirmed my exact feeling, that sitting is hard and prevents the desire to meditate. Dr. Taylor explained that an uncomfortable posture is the main component that distracts people from learning the art of meditation. So with all that said we began to learn how to practice. I sat in a chair with a cushion behind me, because let's face it; sitting erect is not what my body is accustomed to. I tend to start out sitting erect then slumping by the end of the morning at my desktop computer. Once Dr. Taylor made some adjustments to my posture, I was able to ease my tension, and suddenly I was comfortable in the chair. Dr. Taylor then proceeded to tell us how to breathe and how not to breathe. I thought of course I knew how to breathe, after all I've been breathing successfully on my own all of my life! She explained the importance of breathing in the prevention of disease. At this point, I actually became more interested. Since heart disease runs in my family, I was fascinated to know that the way I breathe can determine the health of my own ticker. The lecture was full of practical information and medical references on the benefit of meditation on the immune system, nervous system and brain function. That information alone gave me reason to want to meditate. Dr. Taylor's entire premise was to teach the knowledge behind the practice so that we could build a solid foundation for having meaning behind our meditation. Then we began. Exhale and inhale. After only 1 minute of that I suddenly felt the tension melt from my head down to my toes. Then I began to watch my mind let go of its tendencies to think, analyze and play back the events of the day and future; in other words, getting caught-up in my own drama. I somehow began to be the observer and not the participant within my own thought process. The next thing I knew was that time was up and we had to call it an evening. I could not believe that I sat for 30 minutes without feeling anxious or agitated, or running out of the room. I experienced relaxation firsthand, perhaps to a degree that most people can only read about. So if you think that meditation is only for those following a religion, fear not, Dr. Susan Taylor teaches meditation from a scientific and healing paradigm. She incorporates the traditional yoga meditation skills integrated with western medical science into her class, The Healing Power of Meditation: Yoga for the Mind. Taylor ended our session by reemphasizing the benefits of brief meditation breaks. Taylor says, "A short, one-minute meditation enables those stressed-out to relax, to prioritize the demands on them, and to more easily see solutions to problems." "Meditation is simple," says Taylor. "Find a private place, sit comfortably and slow down your breathing. Count from one to five and then five to one with each breath. You'll notice that interruptive—often negative—thoughts are gradually replaced by a more natural awareness and calmness. It's at that point that clarity emerges. You'll be amazed at how energized and alert you feel afterward." Oh, and she says relax your tongue and it just might help you to stop thinking so much.

Welcome to my new blog!

Thank you for visiting my new blog. We're using a new format and system which should make it easier to make posts and add comments. I hope you like it. I'm looking forward to another wonderful year working with the community. Thank you all!

Check back often and please feel free to post comments about the website, the new blog or anything else.

Meditation. First Class for the New Year

This week we started our first meditation class. I would like to congratulate all the participants who completed their 8 week series from last year and welcome those who are continuing and joining us for the first time.