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Tales from the Red Couch
 

From November 2008:

Life is so @%# STRESSFUL!:

Stress  and how to manage it.

Lately, for many of us, it feels like the world is spinning out of control and that is indeed stressful.  Fortunately, we don’t have to spin out with it.  Research, and personal experience, has thoroughly documented that stress has a great impact on our health and wellbeing.  Physiologically, we experience stress anytime our bodies lose homeostasis, or balance. Stressors are mental (worry, confusion), emotional (anxiety, frustration), and physical (financial issues, relationship problems, illness) and impact all the systems. The lower “Wall Street” dives, the higher stress climbs.  We listen to news commentators tick off the increasing cost of fuel and tell us how awful it all is.  What happens in your body and mind when you listen to that? Ever notice that after a particularly stressful period of time you get sick?  That is not a coincidence.  Stress is like a “snowball rolling down hill”, once it get’s moving, it grows and picks up speed and intensity.  The more stressed out we get, the more reactive we are, creating even more stress.  We can stop that “runaway snowball” by being alert to the process and learning ways to restore balance.

Stress management skills help you to:

1. Be more comfortable, relaxed and peaceful, NO MATTER WHAT!

2. Be healthier.  Reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol that can damage the organs and systems and impair the immune system.

3. Make better decisions.  Come from a place of action rather than re-action.  Be more effective in your life by making choices that support well-being rather than feeding stress.

Healing Connections 10 Tools for Managing Stress:

1. Know when you are stressing.

Everyone knows how it feels when we are out of control, panicked and the voice in our heads is screaming “I NEED A  @%# BREAK!”.  Stress started more subtly long before that point.  Learn to notice your signs of mounting stress.  Educate yourself about stress so you can be prepared for it when it comes in the package deal of a personal challenge.

Signs of stress may include:

Worry

Sleeplessness

Agitation

Irritability

Anxiety

Depression

Muscular tightness including back and neck pain

Heartburn

Loss or increase of appetite

Increased alcohol consumption

Difficulty concentrating and making decisions

Relationship problems (which then become an additional stressor)

Appearance of cold sores

High blood pressure, heart awareness

Pay attention to your personal signals that alert you to building stress so you can take action.

2. Change your thinking.  Jill Bolte Taylor, neuroscientist, and author of A Stroke of Insight had practical experience of what she knew academically when she experienced a stroke. A group of cells the size of a pea in the left hemisphere of the brain can make you miserable by projecting forward, fearing the worst and creating frustration and hopelessness. Without that vibrating group of cells, doing their thing, you feel peaceful.  Consider that.  We are not our thoughts!  Eureka!  Knowing that, we are free to think what ever we want. The brain can only think one thought at a time.  If you don’t like the thought you are thinking – change it!  Back in the 70’s I took a course called 'Silva Mind Control'. The method taught a simple technique that is useful for this purpose.  Every time a negative, fearful, disturbing thought comes to mind say either out loud or to yourself “cancel cancel”.  It helps bring awareness to changing your mind!  Replace disturbing thoughts with something positive – whatever helps you FEEL uplifted, and better about this moment.  It doesn’t even have to relate to what disturbed you in the first place.

3. Take a break from the news!  Broadcast news is more entertainment that information these days.  If you find their dramatics stressful, change the channel.  Get information from printed materials, or keep your dose of TV news to a minimum.

4. Meditate. Breathe!  Give your mind time off from whatever is worrying you. Progressive muscle relaxation, a technique in which you relax one set of muscles at a time, can also relieve tension.  There are useful recorded meditations specifically for relaxation (www.healthjourneys.com), Dr. Herbert Benson’s book The Relaxation Response is helpful, as is Lawrence LeShan’s How to Meditate.  Simply find a quiet place to sit comfortably away from distractions.  Bring your awareness to your breath.  Thoughts will come up, that is your mind’s purpose, but remember you are not your mind, so let them drift by like the soap bubbles kids play with.  If a thought catches you, gently bring you awareness back to your breath when you can.  Do this for at least 15 minutes a day and you will notice a dramatic improvement in your stress levels.  I am happy to help with your meditation practice; please contact me to schedule an appointment.

5. Listen to music.  Plugging in headphones and listening to whatever makes you feel good is like a mini vacation.  Along the same lines, rent a funny movie, or read an engaging novel.  We need to escape the pressure of reality from time to time.  It is not a problem unless you find yourself avoiding reality all together.

6. “The Work” works!  This is Byron Katie’s method written about in her book Loving What Is.  She says it is not what is happening to us that is upsetting, it is what we THINK about what is happening!  Katie’s web site is www.thework.com, and I also teach classes on The Work.

7. The Law of Attraction.  Using this law effectively can help you attract the things you want to attract rather than the fearful things that you don’t.  There are many resources out there to guide you with techniques.  Check out the channeling of Abraham by Esther Hicks at www.abraham-hicks.com.  The classes I teach on the law of attraction are from a healing perspective and help you to identify what you are really attracting, which may be something other than what is in your conscious mind, and how to dissolve the blocks that keep you from what you want.  Using this law effectively is important in periods of social upheaval and personal challenge.  We can create the world we want to live in.

8. Go for a walk! Get out in nature!  Studies have found that exercise improves mood and decreases anxiety.  Particular exercises are less important than frequency.  Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate activity on all, or most, days.

9. Get support.  Reach out and get help when you need it.  That can be as simple as calling a supportive friend or loved one, taking a yoga class, a massage, a session with an energy therapist like myself, all the way up to seeking medical or psychological help.

10. The Buddhist Concept of Impermanence.  When all else fails remember: This too shall pass.  Buddhism believes that physical experience is not fixed or permanent. Everything is subject to change and alteration. Because things are impermanent, attachment to them is futile, and leads to suffering.  When you feel bad, remember that it will change because all things do.  When we are in it, it can feel like forever, but it will shift and change.  The Buddha, compares life to a river, a successive series of different moments, changing continuously, joining together to give the impression of one continuous flow.  Going with the flow of that river will help you relax and stay healthy.

I hope this information helps you.  My class schedule is on this web site and new dates will be coming for 2009.  Please call me if you would like more information, or to schedule an appointment for a confidential session.  Thank you for your interest, and be well.

Namaste,

Hillary

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From Autumn 2008

Support for These Changing Times

Dear Friends.
The times we are in are as stressful as they are valuable. We are experiencing the unknown and a changing world,  in a big way with the elections,
the state of the economy, and challenges to the supply and cost of energy, along with the routine stresses of our everyday lives. Change is difficult
for most humans, but change is creativity. Surviving and thriving through change is the challenge.  Uncertainty  causes stress, not just in our
individual systems, but in the community, culture and the world. How we respond can empower us and make us stronger or deplete us of our
healthy resources.

To address this "healing opportunity", I am offering a series of classes to help support the process we are all in so that we may thrive in these changing times. The focus will be on stress management, working though fear, focusing on the positive without being in denial of the what is here, and ways to create the life you want in spite of the anxious times we live in.

There are 4 classes being offered:

• First things first! STRESS RELIEF!

  Stress is an increasing part of modern life and research confirms the toll it takes on our health and well being. With the emphasis on current
  events, tools will be taught to help you manage stress including instruction in the Emotional Freedom Technique. 
   

• Accepting reality and relieving frustration: The Work!

  The most difficult part of being present in a healthy way to current events are the thoughts we have! How do we feel when our candidate doesn't
  win? When congress doesn't do what we want them to do? When our ideas of how to run the country conflict with the president's?  This method
  created by Byron Katie, author of Loving What Is, helps us to overcome our own thinking, accept reality and enable us to work effectively with
  "what is". I know The Work works!

• Healing Our Trauma

  No doubt about it, the economy can be a traumatic stressor. It can trigger a reactivation of past traumas. This class will help us to identify symptoms, and learn how to heal ourselves or others.

   

• The Law of Attraction

Ok, so now that we have managed our stress, gotten into reality and starting healing, let's begin to use our awareness of this most important and powerful law to create the life we want to life.

The same class will be available on Tuesday or Thursday evening from 6-8:30, to accommodate different schedules. Take them individually or sign up for all 4 and receive a $50 discount. Details of the classes are on my web site, but these particular classes will be focusing on using these tools for relating to current events.
 

Thank you and my prayer is that we stay well as we go through these very critical changes.
 

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From Spring/Summer 2008

Hara Healing: Aligning With Your Life Purpose

Last summer, a prospective client called to inquire about hara healing. I was surprised because the technique is only taught at the Barbara Brennan School of Healing (BBSH) and is not well known. He explained that he met a BBSH graduate while attending a workshop and it was suggested that hara healings might be helpful for his particular situation. When he returned home, he searched the BBSH website (http://www.barbarabrennan.com) for a local practitioner and gave me a call. We agreed to meet for an evaluation.  He has chronic health issues and boundless energy and motivation to resolve them.  We set up a healing plan that included  a number of weekly hara healings. The results were so good that he committed to work beyond our initial few sessions. Now, many hara healings later, his situation continues to improve. I was so impressed with the results I started using Hara healing for a wide variety of circumstances with excellent results.

Hara is a term the Japanese use when referring to the lower belly. It refers not only to the location but also to the quality of having strength, energy and focused power in that area.  In Brennan Healing Science (BHS) Hara is the dimension of intentionality. Webster’s defines intention as an aim or a plan, having a course of action as one’s purpose or objective. The Hara Healing, created by Barbara Brennan and taught in the 4^th year of The Barbara Brennan School of Healing (BBSH), brings the hara back to a state of healthy alignment, and balance, putting the client squarely back on their life path.

Everything we manifest, physically and emotionally, is the direct result of the intention we hold.  When the intention is clear and aligned, we successfully create what we want in our lives, including health and the ability to carry out our life task or purpose. Barbara Brennan says that ”anywhere in our lives where we have trouble creating what we want we have mixed intentions.” (Light Emerging. 1993. p.288) Hara Healing clarifies and strengthens our intention. This integrates nicely with the Law of Attraction described in the popular movies The Secret and What the Bleep.

Since then I have used Hara Healing on many different clients with positive results. A healthy, strong hara helps to effortlessly focus every action we take. If you’re interested in exploring Hara, call 739-3129 to make an appointment for a healing session or sign up for a Hara class at Healing Connections.

Stay well!

Hillary

Reference:

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From Winter 2007/2008

Stress Busters

Stress reduction doesn’t have to be an overwhelming, impossible project. The stress “ball”, once it gets rolling takes on a lot of momentum of it’s own. If we can bring consciousness to the myriad of lists, chores, working, and other tasks, then we can make choices that are aligned with a peaceful intention.

• Start by being mindful of how you feel, emotionally and physically. Once you know what is causing the stress, you can make peaceful choices. Watch how many times you say “should” or “have to”. Liberate yourself from the pressure and choose what pleases you.  If you are relaxed, others around you will be too.

• Meditate. I can hear the groaning already! This is the one thing that I recommend to all my clients across the board. Meditation is the most useful tool for healing, personal growth and creating a peaceful life.  Simple to practice, it doesn’t take long – just 10-20 minutes a day. The rewards are great!  Start by sitting comfortably and quietly in a chair, feet flat on the floor.  Lay your hands loosely in your lap. Close your eyes…take a few deep breaths. Continue to breathe, slowly and gently. Focus on your breath.  Don’t try to stop thinking. THAT is the biggest mistake beginners make. They believe thinking should stop and when it doesn’t they feel that they have failed and they give up. The trick is to try not to attach attention to your  thoughts, the discipline aspect of the practice. If you get carried away by your thoughts, kindly bring your attention back to your breath. It is normal. It happens to experienced meditator’s. A friend of mine who has been an avid meditator for 25 years (folks, we are talking about 72 hour silent meditations at retreat centers!) said she has meditations where she can’t wait to get up. So, don’t worry about a few thoughts.  Put your tush on the cush (or chair) and breathe. It’s as simple as that! You can breathe stress away in a matter of minutes.

• Move! Bodies were made to move and exercise is the best stress reducer on the planet! Take a 10 minute walk. Park in the overflow lot at the mall and walk! I leave weights in my living room and pick them up several times a day. It feels great. Your body will thank you and you will feel more peaceful.

• Body work. This is where I come in. My clients report that they never feel as relaxed as they do on my table.  Make an appointment to have your energy balanced with soothing aromatherapy.  Abintra also offer’s massage therapy, reflexology and GIFT CERTIFICATES! So relax and be well!