Overcoming stress and achieving a sense of calm

Overcoming stress and achieving a sense of calm

Water drop in freeze motion, macro shot.

Most of the people who come and see me are suffering from stress.  But is stress just a part of every day life and something we have to learn to live with?  What if that stress is having an affect on our overall health and sense of wellbeing?  At what point should we get help?

Usually, people don’t realise how stressed they are when they come for their first treatment.  Their bodies may be rigid with tension; they may have lived this way for many years, perhaps even their whole life; they may not even know they are holding stress in their body.  Our bodies can get “stuck” in a permanent state of “fight, flight or freeze“.  One of the goals in Craniosacral Therapy is to help the patient to achieve a real sense of calm and stillness.  This may not happen immediately, but when it does, it is like opening a gateway to another world.  A world of just “being” – a very unusual concept in this fast paced life.  Really, the body and mind are being “taught” how to relax.  In my experience, and with time, the patient finds this calm place easier and easier to access, and will nearly always report that they are: coping better with life, feeling more balanced, less depressed and anxious, panic attacks have stoped, they sleep better etc.  In actual fact, their nervous system has been down regulated from that “fight, flight of freeze” state, to a “rest and digest” state.  This is just a small part of what Craniosacral Therapy does, but hugely powerful and I urge you to try it and see the difference it makes to your life.

Mindful Meditation and the ability to deal with stress

Mindful Meditation and the ability to deal with stress

Mindful Meditation and the ability to deal with stress

Mindful Meditation and Stress – Studies show that mindful meditation results in more activity, or communication, among the portions of the brains that process stress-related reactions and other areas related to focus and calm and the effects last for months.

This particular article details a study where brain function has actually changed, in those participants who had practised true mindfulness.  

In a world which is so fast paced, our systems often have very little time to just “be”.  Indeed, in my practice, I regularly come across people who have little or no ability to quieten their system.  Craniosacral Therapy is often used as a tool for teaching the system how to down regulate.  There is great power in that shift from “fight, flight or freeze” to “rest and digest”.  

Full article here: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/02/18/contemplation-therapy