Happy October! I hope you had a great September since the weather was also spectacular in various parts of the world. I had a great time on my travels in Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands. It was a joy to travel with a new group of friends and discover new friends I had not met in person before. Jan-Willem and I traveled with a group through parts of Scotland. We visited two whisky distilleries on the island of Islay, were mesmerized by the undulating landscapes and saw some medieval castles situated on islands, hilltops and nestled in forests. In Ireland, we traveled by car (just the two of us) to the southern part of the country and along the rugged coast of the Atlantic Ocean, seeing the magnificent Cliffs of Mohar, mountainous landscapes, lakes and rivers. I’d go back to Ireland again as there was so much more to see. Our time in the Netherlands was sweet, visiting our family and friends in different parts of the country we had not been to before. Even for Jan-Willem who grew up there!
I hope you had the chance to listen to some recordings of meditations and do a few of the somatic movement sessions in the interim.
In this post:
WHAT IS COMING THIS FALL!
Please join me for two events taking place this fall.
Fall Cleanse, beginning October 21st to 27th Treat yourself to a seven-day fall cleanse to reset your internal system in preparation for winter. In fall, we let go of stagnant energies that we’ve been holding on to and support internal repair around the large colon and kidneys. There are new recipes and a different approach to detoxing from the spring cleanse .(This is a virtual event).
It is beneficial to cleanse the body two times a year to release toxins and prepare for the changing seasons. The spring and fall. are good time to do it Read more and register HERE.
Release, Nourish, Evolve wellness Day with Nicole Levy, returns this fall. Back by popular demand, Nicole Levy and Rani Glick will host their seasonal wellness day on Friday November 15th from 10 am to 3 pm.
In this program we are:
- Releasing the stagnant energies of what we hold onto,
- Nourishing vital energy to make room for new experiences,
- Evolving with new ideas to learn and grow of what will be coming your way
Read more about it and wellness-day”>register.
Article: THE SCIENCE OF STRESS
We need stress in our life, it helps us get things done. It is a survival mechanism to protect us to react quickly to life-threatening situations. You may be familiar with the signs of stress, a racing heart, rapid breathing, sweaty palms, eyes dilating, stomach contracts. Stress has both positive and negative effects that can help you take charge of your health by discovering how it works in the body and mind.
Hormones play a big role in managing stress. They trigger physiological changes and responses to help you fight the threat off or flee to safety to calm down.
Today, in our everyday life, with have less of the confrontational fight or flee experiences of our ancestors. Yet, stress can also apply to the planning of a wedding, work pressures, family difficulties or sitting in traffic jams can cause the same effects.
Over time, repeated activation of the stress response can exhaust the body and mind when the stress chemicals do not revert to a calm state. This leads to chronic stress which can contribute to high blood pressure, the formation of clogged arteries or brain changes such as anxiety, depression and addiction.
When someone experiences a stressful event, the amygdala, an area of the brain that contributes to emotional processing, sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus. This area of the brain functions like a command center, communicating with the rest of the body through the nervous system so that the person has the energy to fight or flee.
A part of the central nervous system is the autonomic nervous system which controls involuntary body functions as breathing, blood pressure, heartbeat, dilation of key blood vessels, airways in the lungs and other bodily functions. It contains two parts – the sympathetic and the parasympathetic systems. The sympathetic system acts like a gas pedal getting the body ready for fight or flight while the parasympathetic system responds by stepping on the brakes to induce a rest and digest state ending the high stress response to calm the body and mind down.
How does it all work?
Stress activates hormonal changes to get the body to immediately react. The autonomic nervous system signals the adrenal glands to pump the hormone epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) into the bloodstream. As epinephrine circulates through the body, it brings on several physiological changes. It triggers epinephrine to release blood sugar (glucose) and fats from temporary storage sites in the body. These nutrients flood into the bloodstream, supplying energy to all parts of the body. Mentally we are unaware aof this process, since the parts of the brain – the amygdala and Hypothalamus are already preparing to act in the brains visual centres before it can fully process it. This is why we can jump out of the way of a car coming towards us before thinking about it!
As the epinephrine slows down, the hypothalamus activates the second component of the stress response system — known as the HPA axis (the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands). The HPA axis relies on a series of hormonal signals to keep the sympathetic nervous system — the “gas pedal” — pressed down. This is where the hormone cortisol kicks in to keep your energy going and on high alert.. It travels to the pituitary gland, triggering the release of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). This hormone travels to the adrenal glands, prompting them to release cortisol. When the threat passes, cortisol levels fall. The parasympathetic nervous system — the “brake” — then stops the stress response.
The key is the lowering of the cortisol hormone after the episode, so the body and mind go back to its normal state.
Chronic low-level stress keeps the HPA axis activated, much like a motor that is idling too high for too long. After a while, this influences the health problems in the body associated with chronic stress.
The negative effects of elevated cortisol levels can contribute to the buildup of fat tissue and weight gain. Cortisol increases appetite, so that people will want to eat more to obtain extra energy. It also increases storage of unused nutrients as fat and can disrupt a good night’s sleep.
Mindful mediation and relaxation techniques are natural ways i you can step out of the stress response and move into the parasympathetic state, bringing calm and comfort to your body and mind. Activating the parasympathetic state is possible for everyone, it’s the link of the mind and body working together to relax your whole system.
Practicing self-compassion is also an essential part to healing from stressful situations. While it may seem awkward to think of self-compassion as a helpful tool, it is scientifically proven to lead to resilience. Changing attitudes from stress inducing thoughts to a positive, empowering approach of self-compassion involves self-kindness, common humanity and mindfulness. Here’s a graphic that explains more about it.
Deep abdominal breathing calms the heartbeat and lowers blood pressure, it slows the contraction of blood vessels and regulates your breathing, calming the lungs, and airways.
Self -regulation is part of the practice of tuning into the parasympathetic state to relieve stress.
Check out the weekly Mindful Tuesdays session to practice peaceful qigong movement and mediations session that are offered each Tuesday.at 6:00 pm
Somatic movement on Thursdays is also a fantastic method for moving into the parasympathetic state, calming the body with gentle movement and bringing mind and body together.
WEEKLY SESSIONS
PRACTICE TOGETHER QIGONG, MEDITATION AND SOMATIC MOVEMENT
Join us for Practice Together on Tuesdays at 6 pm and Thursdays at 10 am.
It can be challenging to sit in stillness after a busy day when the mind is overactive and the body is itching to move. Applying gentle movement gets the heart pumping and body stimulated to release high energy states both physically and emotionally. Becoming aware of your breath while moving, slows down the heart rate, calms the mind and regulates the nervous system. Gentle movement also releases tension in the joints and body. From there you begin to concentrate on your breath for sitting in stillness and relaxing into the experience of meditation.
On Tuesdays, for the first 25 minutes, we practice qigong movement sitting and standing followed by a meditation for 25 minutes.
Qigong is an ancient health practice that originated in China some 3000+ years ago. It includes slow, graceful, movements synchronized with the breath to relax the mind into a calm state. It also helps to improve mental focus and prevents as well as treats ill health and disease.
On Thursdays, we practice Somatic movement to release stress from the body and improve posture, alignment and functionality (from injury, stress or overuse). You can read more about somatic movement here
Access the calendars here to register for this week’s sessions:
You’re first visit is FREE!
We meet virtually on zoom so you can join us from wherever you are!
To register for any of the sessions, click on the date you want, add your email and you will receive an email confirmation with the zoom link. It can also be copied into your calendar.
Pay what you can or join the calm membership and take as many classes as you wish for $35/month (meditation or somatic movement).
I look forward to sharing these practices and events together!
My best in health,
