Do you feel like you’re constantly multi-tasking? Constantly switched on and available to all via numerous modes of communication? Constantly planning for the future? Did you even notice the colour of the sky this morning? ☀️

With our fast pace ⚡️ and demanding lifestyles, we tend to put the majority of our thoughts to the back of our mind. However, when we are not able to recognise the relevance or influence of individual thoughts they can filter into the physical body as muscle tension or inflammation, which is why the practice of mindfulness can be beneficial.

There’s a lot of evidence that Mindfulness Practise can improve brain function ? , reduce many psychological problems and improve many measures of health ??.

Mindfulness can be practised both in a group or individual setting. Mindfulness meditation encourages us to pay attention to what is happening now moment by moment. It allows us to shift from mindlessness to mindfulness. A practise that can be helpful in promoting well-being.

With this mind-body approach, you can clear your mind of negativity and unnecessary strains and ultimately, help against physical aches and pains.

Mindfulness allows you to understand your pain and teaches you how to let go of any anxiety associated with it, as these thoughts can contribute to increased tension, forming a vicious cycle of increasing pain.

As well as stress and chronic pain, mindfulness can help combat anxiety, sleep and eating disorders. Mindfulness increases positivity and energy levels which encourage healthier life decisions, improving your overall sense of wellbeing. So not only are you likely to make better food choices but you should be able to finally relax when it comes to getting a good nights sleep too.

 

Positivity and letting go ?

Helping Improve Your Emotional Wellbeing ?

To help improve this we must know about the Amygdala. It is the watch dog – or area for surveillance and gateway to the emotional system in the deeper part of the brain. It becomes active when you are anxious or fearful.  

This system helps you to gauge the emotional significance of everything you perceive and alerts you subconsciously and rapidly to anything that may require action.

The amygdala has widespread connections, particularly with areas of the brain dealing with our feelings. It’s important for general memory and helps focus the mind on things that might be interesting.

The amygdala, helps us remember emotional events, particularly terrifying ones – real or imagined – and it’s role in learning can cause aversions, even if we can’t remember why. It can block the senses reaching the outer conscious part of the brain.

When highly activated ?the amygdala stimulates the hypothalamus which prepares the body to: feed, fight, flee or woo. These are the primitives of many of our emotions – essential for life regulation.

The sympathetic nervous system which is active when we are stressed and governs fight or flight and the parasympathetic nervous system, helps us relax, recuperate and conserve.

Your brain is biased to pay attention to the negative – this is a normal, how your healthy, active fear centre in your brain helps you survive. Its job is to send signals of anxiety whenever it perceives threat. There is also an observing aspect of your mind which notices your thoughts, feelings and body sensations but is distinct from these and decides whether to engage with them or not. This helps us avoid threats but predisposes us to a negative view which contributes to stress. Attention and practise is needed to store positive experiences. Positive affirmations and writing a gratitude journal can help.

Being still and paying careful attention, particularly to our hands, to sound ?, environment ? /nature ? are good ways to calm the amygdala ? . Research suggests that meditation, feedback from a healthy spine and good physical balance, may also help, which could be one of the mechanisms, for the health benefits of meditation and yoga ?‍♂️.

Any goal ⚽️ ?  oriented behaviour initiated by the brain triggers anxiety initially and gives us a feeling of reward when we are finished.

Simply take 10 minutes out of your day to practice mindfulness, by working on five basic tips.

• Be comfortable and relax
• Slow your breathing
• From your head to toes, bring ‘awareness’ to each body part
• Identify any sounds or smells and let them pass
• Acknowledge and accept how you feel emotionally
• have a regular input to your daily Gratitude Journal
• Mindful Nutritional — summary: balance blood:sugar, eat primarily whole foods, eat regularly set times, meal includes a good serving of protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates. Magnesium and B Vitamin rich foods, avoid excess stimulants (coffee, alcohol (can also act as stimulant)).

 

Useful Links

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mindfulness/

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/mindfulness/about-mindfulness/

 

Suggested books –

The Chimp Paradox – Prof Steve Peters           https://youtu.be/buN1Mju7rjM            ? Vs ?

Good Vibes, Good life – Vex King

other sources

Seelig MS. Consequences of magnesium deficiency on the enhancement of stress reactions; preventive and therapeutic implications (a review). J Am Coll Nutr. 1994 Oct;13(5):429-46.