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Mind Your Body ... For a Change

Sep 24, 2021

Core Spirit member since Sep 5, 2021

Reading time 2 min.

Here's a common scenario that I'm sure you had experienced more than a few times...

A friend is sitting right across from you. She's telling you a funny story that happened to her on the way to the supermarket. She's waving and laughing, when all of a sudden, she stops talking, frowns and snaps her hand to head.

You ask her if she's alright, and she offhandedly says, "Oh, never mind. It's just a headache."
But here's a wacky idea. From now on, whenever you feel a headache, a bellyache, maybe even a cold or indigestion, do not "never mind." Instead, try to pay attention. In many cases, your body is trying to tell you something.

Let's take STRESS, for example...

Living in our fast-paced, action-packed, modern-day society, it's natural that we feel stretched to the max and stressed out. That "stressed out" feeling is actually your body’s way of saying something is out of balance.

Over time, psychological symptoms of stress lead to anxiety and depression, and the body reacts to stress with symptoms of heart palpations, high blood pressure, fatigue and general malaise. If you ignore these symptoms and carry a "business as usual" attitude, things don't just take a miraculous turn to the better.

So what can you do about it? Great question!

So here are a couple of things you can do right now to take control...
Relax. Relaxation exercises, such as breathing and stretching, reduce the symptoms of stress. They give you simple tools to get out of stress and rejuvenate yourself quickly and effectively.

Move. A simple change in your physical body can do wonders to your emotional state. It doesn't even have to be strenuous physical exercise. Do some Yoga. Clean your room. A wide smile, for absolutely no reason, will work your facial muscles and change your state. Give it a try.
Imagine. This is a powerful stress-busting technique that we're all familiar with, but we hardly ever do (at least not deliberately.) Just take a minute or two, find a quiet place, and visualize a pleasant situation or an exciting adventure.

Of course, these are just a few simple examples. And there are many other interesting and long-lasting techniques that you can find out about in our Stress Management program, where we walk through an entire range of solutions, step-by-step, in a supportive, friendly and fun environment. But here's the point...
Just like your mind usually knows what your body needs, it works the other around, too. So when your body tries to tell you something, you should listen. Like Anne Rice once wrote, "There is wisdom in the flesh."

Dina Omar

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Meditation For Social Anxiety

Are your nervous about socializing again after the lock-downs have been lifted?

Over the last year and a half, our global community has become increasingly used to being in a state of lock-down. As a result, many people are naturally feeling nervous about socializing again, particularly in big groups or with strangers. For some people, this fear might even manifest as social anxiety.

It has become socially acceptable again to sit in the pub, do a group exercise class, and hug loved ones. But the easing of coronavirus rules isn't exciting for everyone – for those with social anxiety, life after lock-down is a scary prospect.

Social Anxiety Disorder is a fear of social situations, under which one worries about meeting strangers, how to act with groups of friends, and generally feeling self-conscious.

For this reason, Dina has designed a mindfulness and visualization practice to achieve a state of relaxation and to help decrease social anxiety, overcome shyness, and foster a greater sense of self-confidence.

It’s easy to fall into the winter blues when temperatures plummet and it’s dark and dreary outside. You might find that you start feeling lethargic, and it might become harder and harder to get out of bed in the morning.

These are all symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, a seasonal form of depression triggered by the lack of sunshine in the wintertime. The source of the problem comes from a disturbance in your body’s circadian rhythm that changes your body’s levels of serotonin and melatonin.

Yoga practice is a great way to combat SAD by tapping into the mind-body connection. It is an incredible tool to reset the nervous system and help release tension and stress by increasing your serotonin levels. If you have a case of the winter blues, this Fire It Up Flow might be just what the doctor ordered.

Reignite your power with this fiery, all-systems-activated Vinyasa yoga flow. This class gets moving rapidly to clear energy and stoke the internal fire. Expect strong abdominal work, plenty of chair poses, and some swift Vinyasa. It’s a perfect opportunity to fire your winter blues away and kick lethargy in the a$$!

Mountain Meditation (For Resilience)

Resilience can help us get through and overcome hardship. But resilience is not something we’re born with. It’s built over time as the experiences we have interact with our unique, individual genetic makeup. That’s why our individual responses to stress and adversity — like those from the COVID pandemic — can differ tremendously.

Hardships can be terrifying when you’re running away from them, and it can be so easy (almost natural) to feel ungrounded, fearful, or even paralyzed in the face of difficult emotions and life circumstances. But have you ever noticed that, the more you turn and face those fears, the more they lose their power? It’s like going on a camping trip and being terrified of the dark and the noises in the woods. The moment you shine a torch and look again, you realize there’s nothing to be afraid of.

The Mountain Meditation is a mindful visualization that is designed to cultivate stillness and calm, and to connect with our inner strength and stability in the face of internal and external challenges. It encourages us to seek inner stillness and peace in the face of everyday life and its challenges.

When it comes to meditation, mountains have a lot to teach. They have archetypal significance in all cultures: they are sacred places… they embody the contradictions of dread and harmony, harshness and majesty… they are the wombs of visions and revelations, where people have always sought spiritual guidance and renewal.

In this meditation practice, we borrow these wonderful archetypal qualities of mountains and use them to bolster our intentionality and resolve, to hold the moment with an elemental purity and simplicity. The mountain image, held in the mind's eye and in the body, can freshen up our memory of why we are sitting in the first place, and of what it truly means, each time we take our seat, to dwell in the realm of “pure being” and “non-doing.”

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, it's normal to feel fearful and anxious. With all the social distancing, interruption of plans, emergence of uncertainties, and wave after wave of unfavorable news, it's only human to feel sad, frustrated, lonely and lost.

To maintain your psychological health in the midst of these difficult times, Yoga is, hands down, one of the best self-care tools.

Spending time on your mat can benefit your brain, heart, and bones. Self-care practices can relieve mental stress, melt muscle tension, and help you feel confident that, yes, you can tackle your lengthy to-do list and handle whatever else may come.

Learn how taking care of yourself can create a ripple-effect of positivity in your mind and body. This is a nice and gentle Hatha/restorative yoga class, that gives you the time you need to take good care of yourself.