When I run after what I think I want, my days are a furnace of stress and anxiety; if I sit in my own place of patience, what I need flows to me, and without pain. From this, I understand that what I want also wants me, is looking for me and attracting me. There is a great secret here for anyone who can grasp it
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rum
Extreme levels of fatigue are rising following burnouts in our physical, emotional, mental and energy layers - perhaps now is the time to challenge our understanding and relationship with rest & relaxation. Activating the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) has many deep healing benefits - it's the 'balancing' partner to the sympathetic nervous system that controls our fight, flight & freeze responses.
Current thinking suggests that our PNS system helps us ‘auto-regulate’ following period(s) of high stress by using the vagus nerve to communicate impulses and information both from the brain to the body and from the body to the brain. The latter directional switch makes space for a more holistic and integrated exchange.
I've seen this many times when clients enter deep states of relaxation during or after a session with me. Natural healing does its thing, free from beliefs, expectations and material or mental obstacles getting in the way.
This state of relaxation (somewhere between fully asleep and fully awake), resembles a calm mental mind and a fully relaxed body. In this dimension - self-healing, auto-regulation and regeneration take place effortlessly. Changes on a whole-body level – systems, organs, connective tissues, muscles, bones and other subtler energy dimensions talk to each other - re-balance and flow in harmony.
There are many ways to relax and it is a very individual thing - the body, mind and soul, energy, cultural conditions, work-life balance, beliefs and environment all influence and move our energy. Developing a personalised regular inner practice is an effective way to listen and master the information that circulates in and around us.
In chronic pain conditions, relaxation may immediately decrease the severity of pain levels. Recovery from stress-induced pain can be quicker and can even disappear. When psychological stress decreases, suffering also diminishes. I recently had a client who came to see me and stated after a session, “I had forgotten how to relax and I wasn’t sure I could do it anymore”. For this person, a guided session with a practitioner helped nudge them in the right direction. Whatever the method, learning ways and forms that work for us can only help us to discover the natural healing power we have within.
So, with thousands of practitioners, approaches and methods all advising us on what we need to do - how can we know what's going to work? We can spend tons of money & time trying to figure this out and get more stressed in the process.
In my personal and professional experience, nobody knows better than you. Train and trust your inner listening - the information you need will come and find you in ways you can't even imagine.
Inner listening is invaluable in all sorts of ways - for health and well-being, creativity, relationships with people & the environment and life on both a personal and communal level.
Intuitively knowing what works for you is arguably one of the most valuable skills to re-connect with right now. Seeing recently how health systems break down under pressure, and the current energy and environmental crises should motivate us to learn how to take care of ourselves. There's a lot we can do to regulate our well-being and build resilience at a cellular level.
This isn't just about chronic pain illness. If you have had strong reaction or secondary longer-term effects from a viral infection, such as covid, it could mean the difference between life and death. Research exploring the role of anxiety and cortisol in patients with Covid-19 observed that patients who died from Covid-19 had significantly higher levels of cortisol than those that survived. The research also found the cortisol level was correlated with anxiety and depression with a higher score of HADS (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) amongst non-survivors. Read more from the paper here.
The need to master our thoughts, protect and move our energy into balance regularly is an effective, accessible way to take care of ourselves so. be well!
Try a 3hr guided meditative movement and conscious relaxation workshop with Nishani in the stunning landscape of the remote Westfjords, Iceland on Wednesday 17th August 2022. Info & booking: https://www.mybodo.com/workshops
