Staying Well During the Holidays

 Parties, punch, presents, and more parties are the hallmarks of the holiday season. Rest, vegetables, and exercise ... not so much. By the time January rolls around, most of us feel a little depleted. So how do we fit self-care into our busy holiday schedules?

Any way we can.

There may not be time for a full yoga class, but what about relaxing in legs up the wall for a few minutes before bed? Even when our normal self-care routines have been edged out by festivities, there are ways to sneak wellness activities into even the busiest of schedules. 

• Fatigued, puffy, sore feet, or an insomniac? Try legs up the wall: 
1.  Lie on your side and scoot your bum so that it is flush against a wall. 
2. Roll onto your back and extend your legs up the wall. 
3. (Optional) Place a rolled up blanket or small pillow under your lower back, allowing your hips to hang lower than your waist. Extend your legs up the wall. 
4. With palms facing up, extend your arms out like a T. 
5. Close your eyes, and give yourself five minutes of peace. Need more time? Don't rush to come out of the pose. Stay as long as you'd like.

• Stressed and overwhelmed? Try a place of peace guided imagery or five minutes of belly breathing. 
• Belly Breathing Instructions:
1. Lay on your back or find a comfortable seat in a chair or on the floor, perhaps sitting on a cushion so that your hips are higher than your knees. 
2. Close your eyes or find a single point to focus on. 
3. Bring your attention to your breath, and begin to slow your inhales and exhales, making your exhales longer than your inhales. 
4. Place a hand on your lower abdomen, and on your next inhale, direct your breath in to your belly.
5. It may take a few breaths to get the hang of it, but eventually you will feel your lower belly expanding like a balloon on your inhales. 
6. On your exhales, draw your belly back in towards your spine. 
7. Make sure you keep your spine straight, your shoulders relaxed, and your tailbone tucked throughout your breath work. You will need to make little adjustments throughout your practice to keep from hunching over. 

• Depressed, angry, and/or anxious? A few rounds of simple EFT will reduce your stress and help you solve problems. 
• For complete instructions on how to do EFT, please download your free ebook at www.mindbodyglobal.com. 

If nothing works, let me know. We can come up with a plan together. Wishing you a happy, healthy holiday season, 

Diane

Defusing vs. Denying Emotions

A few weeks ago I presented "Joyful Living: Finding Joy Through Stress Relief" to the Intercultural Friends of Tirana, and I found one of the questions particularly intriguing. While discussing the benefits of EFT, we talked about its value as a tool to help defuse strong emotional reactions, and one of the participants was concerned that in defusing our emotions, we were denying them.

In fact, EFT does not repress emotions, but gives us a way to express them that allows us to move through and past our emotional reaction and consider why we are reacting that way. Getting stuck in an emotional reaction never serves us well, and I have personally experienced how powerful EFT can be in helping me work through strong emotions to a greater understanding of myself and what action I can take to help myself. However, this question was fascinating in that it pointed out how differently emotions are perceived by various cultures.

In this case, I was an American speaking to an international group in Albania, which is why I believe this is the first time someone has actually voiced this concern. However, I think that the tension between repressing and expressing emotions is a multicultural human experience.

So, what is the difference? In some cultures, it is the social norm to be expressive about one's feelings. Talking openly about emotions and relationships is expected and considered healthy, sometimes at high volume. Other cultures are more reserved, and deal with feelings quietly and individually. And then there is everything in between. Even within a single culture, such as the United States, each family will have its own expectations of what is appropriate emotional expression. Is there a "right" way to express feelings?

Of course not. But there is a wrong way to express them. For example, hurting another person, physically or verbally, is wrong. Never dealing with feelings at all is also not a good idea. Even the most stoic person you know has emotional reactions--we are human beings, it's impossible to not have some sort of emotional response. What we do with those feelings is how we are different, and how EFT can help.

EFT is one of the most self-directed forms of self-care and stress relief that I have come across in my work as a therapist and helping professional. EFT does not tell you what to do with your emotions, but rather, helps you give them a voice in a way that is safe, healthy, and cathartic. EFT does not require props, another person, or a great deal of time--I have practiced EFT during a two-minute time out session to my great benefit, as well as my family's. I invite you to try using EFT by downloading my free instruction manual from www.mindbodyglobal.com, and if you are interested in learning more about it, send me an email.

Maxed Out? 5 Signs You Need Stress Relief

Stress can be sneaky. Small irritations build until you suddenly realize you're overwhelmed.

Stress can be hard to identify. So many symptoms of stress are associated with other issues that it can be difficult to recognize that stress is the problem.

Stress can be embarrassing. Acknowledging that something or someone is stressing us out can feel like admitting a weakness.

But stress is completely normal, and if managed early and often, will not prevent us from living full, happy lives.

To help you figure out when you're maxed out on stress, here are five telltale signs of stress overload:

1. You're in physical pain
• An upset stomach, IBS, chronic muscle tension, neck and shoulder pain, hip tightness, chest tightness, jaw pain, back pain ... any medically inexplicable physical pain could be associated with stress.*
2. You can't sleep
• It's become a weekly or daily problem: you can't fall to sleep until the early morning, or you go to sleep quickly but wake up too early. You unwillingly pull all-nighters. Your sleep isn't restful because it's filled with vivid, disturbing and/or recurring dreams. When our fight or flight instincts are in overdrive, sleep is one of the first things to be disturbed.
3. You're irritable with your loved ones
• We feel safe at home with our family. Unfortunately, that sometimes means that after keeping our emotions in check all day, we express them at home in ways that hurt the people we love. 
4. You're self-medicating
• You're drinking more alcohol and/or eating more (or less). You're gaining weight. Or losing too much weight. You've started to take drugs, prescription or otherwise. 
5. Weird stuff is happening
• Twitchy eye? Irregular periods? Losing your hair? Going gray fast? Getting sick? These may all be associated with stress overload.*

Learning how to manage your stress is a sign of strength. If you need more info, talk to your healthcare provider or contact me to schedule a free, confidential consultation session. Take care of yourself. Visit www.mindbodyglobal.com and find joy through stress relief.  

*Always consult with your healthcare provider to rule out primary or secondary medical causes of stress symptoms. 

EFT in Action: A Personal Testimonial

Sometimes, it's even hard for me to believe how quickly EFT works.

For example, yesterday morning was frustrating for me. I do not have childcare on Tuesday mornings, but there was a meeting I wanted to attend. It was foolish of me to think that it was reasonable to expect a 22 month old to cooperate with my schedule, much less enjoy going to an adult meeting, but sometimes I have unreasonable expectations. Needless to say, about a half hour before the meeting time it was clear that we weren't leaving the house, and I had strong feelings about that. (Unreasonable expectations have that effect.)

I felt myself getting caught up in these emotions, despite the reasonable half of my brain trying to talk me out of it. I did not want to let my emotional reaction carry me away, which would ruin my morning with my son. So, I took a couple of minutes and did a round of EFT. And it worked.

After only one round of tapping, my anxiety and stress about missing the meeting had reduced enough so that I could think clearly, realize that missing the meeting was not a big deal, and decide what to do next. I was calmer, happier, and better able to take care of my son--and my self. All this after only one round of EFT tapping.

EFT works, and it works fast. If you'd like to learn how to use this technique to help you quickly diffuse strong emotions, please contact me at www.mindbodyglobal.com. I look forward to talking with you!

EFT in the News

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) tapping works, but if you're skeptical, I don't blame you. Eastern healing concepts such as acupressure are still relatively new to Westerners, and research proving EFT's effectiveness is still building. However, EFT is the most effective and fastest form of anxiety/stress relief and preventative self-care I have ever experienced, and, once learned, can be practiced without a partner, making it extremely accessible.

I invite you to download my free e-book, "EFT for Self-Care: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners," learn the basics of EFT, and see for yourself. Try using EFT the next time you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed, and I bet that you will feel calmer, more focused, and better able to tackle your challenges after just one session. 

Need more info? Read about EFT in the news!

Women's Heath Magazine: Do This With Your Hands to Relieve Stress

The Dr. Oz Show: Introduction to Emotional Freedom Technique

Huffington Post: Tapping Away Trauma and The Tipping Point for Tapping: EFT Goes Mainstream

Efficacy research published by the NIH in 2009

Interested in learning more about how to use EFT for self-care and healing? Contact me at www.mindbodyglobal.com to ask questions or schedule your free consultation!

Basic EFT Instructions

The following is an excerpt from my e-book, "EFT for Self-Care: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners," available for FREE at www.mindbodyglobal.com. 

* EFT is not appropriate for use with mental health disorders and is not a substitute for mental health treatment from a licensed professional. If you have any concerns or are experiencing symptoms of a mental health disorder, please consult with your healthcare provider before engaging in this or any other self-care program.* 

How to practice Emotional Freedom Technique 

Keep a pencil and paper handy for each tapping session. 

Step 1 - Identify the Problem

Select a problem you want to work on and a feeling that accompanies the problem. For example, if you are having trouble at work, your problem might be: “I am angry at my co-worker.” 

Step 2 - Flesh out the Problem (Optional)

Dig a little deeper to get into the specific aspects of the issue. Perhaps you are angry because your co-worker did not do his or her share of the work on a joint project. If other feelings or thoughts come up, record them as well. 

Step 3 - Establish a Baseline

Rate the intensity or level of distress associated with each thought and feeling on a scale of 0-10, zero indicating no distress at all and ten being the highest distress you can imagine. This is a SUDS scale (Subjective Units of Distress Scale). 

For example, for this problem, you might feel frustration, fear of negative feedback, and anger.  Record your level of distress next to each aspect.

Anger: 7

Frustration: 8

Fear: 6   

Step 4

Prepare the statements you will use while tapping. Each statement should include an acknowledgement of a distressing thought or feeling you identified and an affirmation. 

For example:

“Even though I am angry at my co-worker, I deeply and completely accept myself.”  

For your affirmation you may also use phrases such as “I choose ...,” “I trust ...,” “I understand ...” and “I can learn to ....” Any positive statement that encourages health and self-acceptance is appropriate. You can address three separate aspects of your distress in three different statements, or repeat the same statement three times in your setup.

Step 5 Perform the Tapping sequence:

Your fingertips are an acupressure point, so make sure you are tapping with the tips of 3 or 4 of your fingers. Tap gently, quickly, and approximately seven times on each spot. Refer to the “Diagram of Tapping Points” found below:

Diagram of Tapping Points

               

   

Setup: 

KC - karate chop. While repeating your statements, tap the sides of your fingers against the side of your hand. Either hand is fine, but stick with the same hand once you begin.

     

Then tap in the following order:

1. EB - eyebrow
2. SE - side of the same eye
3. UE - under the same eye
4. UN - under the nose
5. CH - chin
6. CB - collarbone
7. UA - under the arm, just under the armpit 
8. TH - top of the head in a circle

While tapping on each point, highlight a specific aspect of your stress, such as “this anger,” “this fear,” “this frustration.” These are called “reminder phrases.” Go with the flow, tapping on what comes up. Let your instincts guide you. Complete at least one full sequence before pausing, and you may want to do two or three rounds of tapping before pausing.

Step 6: Pause and Reflect

When you pause, stop and ask yourself if anything new has come up. If yes, record these new thoughts and feelings and prepare new statements if needed. Don’t forget to take SUDS ratings for the new aspects of your stress. 

Step 7: Continue Tapping

Tap a few more rounds, and when you feel you have made progress or it feels like it is an appropriate place to stop, go back to your statements and take SUDS ratings for each of them. 

If your distress is decreasing, great! You may choose to continue working or decide that your stress is now at a manageable level.

If it is increasing, don’t worry or give up. Sometimes stress initially increases during EFT because we are giving a voice to our distressing thoughts and feelings. Although they are always lurking in the back of our minds, it can be unpleasant to acknowledge these thoughts and feelings. If you feel comfortable doing so, keep tapping! If you need to stop, use a debriefing tool such as five minutes of diaphragmatic breathing to decrease your level of distress before returning to your normal activities. 

If you have been practicing EFT for a long time and your SUDS rating is not decreasing, there may be an underlying issue feeding the presenting problem, such as a previous experience or another layer of the problem. Ask yourself, “When have I experienced this before?” Or, “What else could this be about?” Go with whatever comes up, and begin tapping on that.

Remember that although EFT is safe to use on your own, it can be very powerful, especially if you uncover underlying issues or memories that are feeding your stress. It is very important to practice EFT in a safe place, perhaps with someone you trust, and that you have debriefing strategies you can use to calm yourself. If you feel uncertain about beginning this practice on your own, I invite you to contact me at www.mindbodyglobal.com for more information about 1:1 stress relief coaching with EFT.

Distance Coaching: why you should give it a try

Telecommuting. E-mail. Video chatting. Instant messaging. Blogging. Status updates. Tweeting. Pinning. Through the innovations of communications technology, these methods of connecting to others have become part of our mainstream culture.

But telecoaching--that's just weird, right? Even my spell check doesn't acknowledge it.

But distance coaching IS a viable option, particularly for anyone who doesn't have easy access to an in-person coach. Whether it is because you are unable to fit an office visit into your schedule, live somewhere where a coach or counselor is not within driving distance (or not one that speaks English), or simply prefer to work from the privacy and comfort of your home, e-coaching gives you the ability to take steps to improve your quality of life on your time.

Coaching by phone, email, or video chatting is effective, and has been proven to be so by the success of online coaching websites such as the Baby Sleep Site. There is also research that demonstrates that distance mentoring is comparable to in-person mentoring. In fact, it can be more effective, since it may be easier to access than an in-office visit.

Perhaps the biggest concern about e-coaching is that it might lack the personal touch of meeting with your coach in person. If in-person meetings are the only form of human contact you feel comfortable with, or if you are not comfortable with the technology, then yes, you may never be a good fit for online or telephone coaching or counseling. However, if you are able to connect with friends, family members, co-workers, and service providers using e-mail, the telephone, social media, and Skype, then you should give online coaching a chance.

Mind Body Global Wellness offers two types of distance stress-relief coaching to meet your needs:

1. 1:1 live sessions using the telephone or video chatting technology such as Skype
2. CALM Plans, which are comprehsive stress relief e-books customized to meet the needs of each individual client, and include follow up support via email. 

Corporations also benefit from hiring a distance coach, since consulting and presentations delivered electronically obviates the need to pay for the expert's travel expenses, and may be priced more affordably than on location services. 

Mind Body Global's mission is to give all people access to stress relief by pricing its distance coaching at affordable rates. If you know that you need help relieving your stress, but feel that a particular product or service is beyond your means, please contact me at www.mindbodyglobal.com. Sliding scale rates may be available, and may be subject to a means test. I look forward to talking with you!

Beyond the Butterflies: Relieving the Stress in Your Body

"What tools are available to me to relieve stress-induced tension and pain?"

Sometimes, simply developing a holistic understanding of your pain helps to relieve it. For example, once you are aware that the tightness in your chest is a symptom of stress, you can work on reducing your stress, or at the very least, release your fear that the pain is indicative of a larger health problem. You can also develop an awareness of your stress patterns. For example, if you only experience chest pain during exams, you can be reasonably sure that your pain is related to stress, and can choose to allow more time for stress-relief and self-care.* 

For chronic pain and stress, or if you need help creating a self-care routine, Mind Body Global Wellness offers a variety of tools to help you relieve your stress. Here are a few examples:

• Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
• An effective stress-relief technique that combines acupressure with cognitive restructuring. Visit www.mindbodyglobal.com to download your free instruction manual. 
• Guided Imagery
• A guided meditation practice that uses suggested visualizations to relieve stress and gain insight.
• Mindfulness Meditation
• A meditation technique that relieves stress by helping us learn to disengage from stressful thoughts and feelings. By returning our attention to a single focus, such as the sound of our breath, we train ourselves to let negative thoughts and feelings go. 
• Diaphragmatic Breathing
• Practicing slow, deep breathing of any kind will reduce your anxiety, increase your ability to focus, and promote overall physical and emotional health. Practicing diaphragmatic breathing is the most effective, and has the added benefit of being a gentle abdominal workout.
• Yoga
• Practicing either restorative or power yoga will help relieve your stress. Practice power yoga when you need to build heat and "work the stress out." Practice restorative yoga before bed to prevent insomnia, or whenever you need to relax and be gentle to yourself. 
• Lifestyle Coaching and Counseling
• Mind Body Global's 1:1 e-coaching sessions and CALM Plans will not only help you learn how to practice specific stress relief techniques, but will provide a comprehensive wellness assessment and recommendations for making changes to reduce future stress.

Questions? Ready to get started? Please visit www.mindbodyglobal.com to contact me, learn more about stress relief, or purchase an affordable stress relief coaching package. 

Just joining me? You may want to go back and read Parts 1 and 2 of the Beyond the Butterflies series.

*Remember, physical symptoms must always be checked out by your healthcare provider, and if you are experiencing chest pain or other symptoms of a heart attack, please go to the hospital or call your doctor immediately.

Beyond the Butterflies: Locating the Stress in Your Body

"So now that I've realized I may be holding stress in my body, how do I release it?"

First, you need to locate the stress in your body, and then, you need to understand why it's there.

Our minds can be poets, and they can also be smart-alecks. In order to understand why your stress-induced tension or pain has taken residence in a particular part of your body, you need to understand the metaphor or association that your mind may be employing in choosing that spot.

For example, take the case of the client with the persistent, oddly located headache. The spot on our foreheads between our eyebrows is the location of one of Eastern medicine's energy centers, or chakras. This particular chakra is commonly associated with intuition, and by understanding the potential connection between this place in her body, her pain, and what was happening in her life, my client was able to relieve her headache.

To experience the connection between your mind, your stress, and your body, I invite you to join me in a short guided imagery:

Take a few long, deep breaths, and when you're ready, close your eyes.
Locate a place of tension, tightness, or pain in your body. Focus all your attention on that place. Notice what you see.
What does this spot look like? How deep is it? How wide is it? Does it have a color? Does it have a texture? If you were to touch it, what would it feel like? Notice everything about this spot--all the details.
Now, I invite you allow an image to form in this spot in your body.
What is appearing? It could be a person, someone you know or a stranger. It could be an object. It could be a place. It can be anything at all. What is it?
Why is it there? If it could speak, what would it say?
Now I invite you to return all your attention to your breath, taking a few long, deep, cleansing breaths. When you're ready, open your eyes.

Now write down everything you saw. This step is very important, as we develop our understanding through the process of writing it out. For more information, you may want to Google "(whatever you saw) + universal symbol."

Guided imagery and other mind-body stress-relief and healing tools work quickly because they take an expressway straight to the core of your distress, which allows you to understand what you're feeling and why you're feeling it much, much faster than hours and hours of analysis.

When practicing stress-relief, I encourage you to try new things, even if they seem odd or unfamiliar. If something works, great! And if it doesn't, try something else! *

Continue to Part III of Beyond the Butterflies: Relieving the Stress in Your Body.

*Mind Body Global Wellness respects the beliefs of people of all faiths, and works to ensure that any stress-relief coaching it provides fits with each individual's or organization's values. 

Beyond the Butterflies: Recognizing Stress in Your Body

"I have butterflies in my stomach." 

"My stomach is tied in knots."  

"I have a sinking feeling ..."

Most people know that the above statements indicate anxiety. Gastrointestinal distress, being obvious and demanding, gets the most attention, but did you know that your hips can be affected by stress?

Stress can affect every part of our body, and sometimes the tightness, tension, or pain will dissipate once the source of the stress has been removed. If you've ever suffered through shoulder pain at work, planned to get a massage but didn't have time, and then forgot to do so because the pain just disappeared, that's what happened. However, in the case of chronic stress, physical expressions of stress may feel like a permanent fixture in your body.

It is common for symptoms of stress to show up in the stomach, neck, shoulder, back, and pelvis, but we can store stress anywhere in our bodies. When people experience severe stress they sometimes feel odd or painful physical sensations long after the event has ended and/or physical healing is complete. This type of stress can be particularly sneaky, as there may not be a clear connection between our stress and that area of our body.

For example, I once worked with a client who consistently complained of a headache in the center of her forehead, but had ruled out all medical causes of this pain. Through EFT and guided imagery, my client realized that this pain increased when she did something despite her instincts telling her not to. In other words, when she ignored her gut feeling, her intuition screamed at her, and over the course of several months her intuition had been doing a lot of screaming. However, by recognizing what was causing her physical pain she was able to change her behavior, and her persistent headache eventually went away.

Any experienced massage therapist, mental health professional, or yoga instructor could cite dozens of examples where a client's emotional or psychological distress manifested as an unpleasant physical sensation. Although it is imperative that we get these symptoms checked out by a healthcare professional and not assume that they are psychosomatic, once we have established our physical health, it is equally important to listen to what your body might be trying to tell you.

Continue to Part II of Beyond the Butterflies: Locating the Stress in Your Body.

Relieving Stress with Emotional Freedom Technique

Emotional Freedom Technique [EFT] is a powerful mind-body self-care tool that helps bypass the barriers keeping you from achieving emotional balance, physical health, and self-awareness. EFT can help you identify the source of your stress, relieve the symptoms of stress, reveal healthy, positive choices that will help you move forward, and remove any mental or emotional blocks that keep you from acting on these choices. The best part is that EFT is a tool that is--quite literally--at your fingertips, and once learned, can be practiced on your own.

EFT works by combining gentle acupressure point stimulation--“tapping”--with cognitive restructuring and mindfulness. It is a fast, effective approach that blends the fundamentals of acupuncture theory and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) (without needles, of course!). As you tap on particular acupressure points on your body, you say statements that help you zero in on what is really causing your distress. By bypassing the "noise" in your mind--noise such as negative judgements, self-doubt, and blame--you get straight to core of your problem, and heal from stress faster.

EFT is, at its core, a mindfulness practice that helps open our hearts and minds to self-awareness and the possibility of change. The gentle tapping keeps our energy moving and our minds focused, and the statements allow us to determine exactly what we need to do to feel better. When we are stuck, EFT is the catalyst that helps us move forward. 

If you'd like to learn more about how EFT can relieve your stress, please visit my Website at www.mindbodyglobal.com and download my free e-book, "EFT for Self-Care: A Step by Step Guide for Beginners." 

EFT Tapping Points

Wellness is within YOUR reach

Welcome to Mind Body Global! Thank you for visiting my blog, and for taking the first steps on your path to health and wellness.

Stress affects all aspects of our lives: our physical health, our relationships, and ability to move forward, but stress doesn't have to ruin our lives. No matter what kind of stress you are experiencing, there is something you can do to relieve it.

When we're exhausted, overwhelmed, and busy, it's hard to take action to relieve our stress. Self-care seems like just another task to add to our to-do list.  However, allowing stress to become chronic can lead to significant health problems such as insomnia, physical pain, and anxiety. 

Mind Body Global offers a variety of wellness services within your reach. All you need is access to the internet or a telephone, and just enough motivation to reach out for help. I specialize in yoga instruction,  Emotional Freedom Technique, Guided Imagery, breath work training, and wellness consulting, and will customize your self-care plan to meet the needs of your budget. 

I encourage you to visit my Website, schedule a free session, and check back at this blog for more information on how you can reduce the stress in your life!