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The best example is with food; we see food/calories, recognize them as essential for our survival, send this signal to our brain, eat and then we notice that we feel good. This can basically be summed up as; trigger, behavior, reward. When we were out in the wild fighting for survival this loop was great and essential, however, now it has slightly backfired. The circuit has been hijacked by emotions; we see food, and we know that eating that food makes us feel good as well as being key for survival. So the trigger has changed from survival to emotional dependence; we feel bad, stressed, sad, uncomfortable, irritated, we eat food high in sugar and fat and salt and we feel good again. Repeat. Each time we do this pathways are set down in our brain and we develop habits.
How do we break free of this cycle, which is seemingly all consuming and impossible to break? How many times have you tried so hard to avoid the ‘bad’ food only to give in in a moment of weakness, which was usually preceded by stress or tiredness? This is primarily thanks to the frontal part of our brain, called the Prefrontal Cortex and is the youngest part of our brains in terms of evolution. This is the part of the brain that ‘understands’ that we shouldn’t do these self-defeating behaviours such as overeating and smoking, however, it is also the first part of the brain to switch off in moments of high stress! Meaning we have none of that cognitive control we have in hindsight after we have polished off the packet of biscuits in a moment of severe stress or in those calm moments we are outlining our new good intentions.
How do we override this? Simple. We get curious. This seemingly simple action is absolutely key in breaking habits and it is also a central part of mindfulness meditation. When we meditate we are taught to simply become aware of our breath and when our attention wanders bring it back to our breath. There are also exercises taught in the 8 week mindfulness meditation course that teach us to become curious about our bodies – checking in to our bodies to see how they are feeling, not in order to analyze these feelings but simply to observe them and get curious about them.
It is in exactly this same way we can hijack the brain when faced with a craving; we get curious. Ask yourself, how do I feel right now physically; maybe tight in the chest, constrained in the stomach, tight in the shoulders pounding in the head, tight in the jaw… What ever you feel go deeper, become more curious ask yourself where else you are feeling something similar, ask yourself if it goes when you feel it. Just watch and feel with intrigue.
When you have done this you will be stunned that the craving, now, instead of this overwhelming feeling that has to be banished, has been paired down into a series of physical sensations. Your curiosity has just managed to disenchant you to the previous craving, and once this has happened you can joyfully let go of the craving and get on with being amazing!
While this might sound too simply and not very ‘scientific’ it is in fact completely the opposite. At the back of the brain we have something called the Posterior Cingulate Cortex which itself is not activated by cravings however, when we get caught up in the craving and the drama and shame of the craving it lights up and takes us for a ride creating more and more craving and more drama. In contrast when we become curious and look at the craving and mindfully feel its physical presence in our bodies and then let it go this area of the brain is switched off therefore eliminating the craving’s development.
Meditation is such a key in our overall health and thankfully science, with the help of MRI scans and other investigatory procedures, is proving that is really does help heal our mind which in turn has a direct cumulative effect on our overall happiness and ability to be non attached.
For more information and an introduction to meditation check out these apps and websites:
www.deconstructingyourself.com
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However, as we all know, today living mostly in cities, leading work driven lives with numerous responsibilities and pressures from all sides; friends, family, work, this is nearly impossible. We don’t have a culture of changing our lives in order to live more appropriately within the demands of a season – in the Winter our jobs still start and finish at the same time as the rest of the year and we might cut our social life down a little but in the main we tend to live a consistently busy life and all this can strain our kidneys leading to tiredness, thinning hair and nails, lack of drive and motivation and even mild depression
Apart from these obvious drains on our Kidneys we have another new robber of kidney energy; social media and smart phones. While this obsession might seem quite innocent on the surface it is draining our kidneys with every adrenaline hit a post or a like, email, text, whats app message etc gives us. Not only does this act as a constant drain on our Kidney energy in the form of overstimulation it also denies us any moments of peace to stare out the window and daydream accessing our deep innate wisdom that resides in our Kidneys. We need that to nourish our spirit and have ideas and dreams that we can covert to reality in the Spring!
With this in mind here are a few tips as we near the end of the winter to boost your kidneys so you have enough energy to jump into Spring and start giving birth to all those projects you have been dreaming of during the winter!
Tips:
There are many things that are good for the Kindneys health which you can read here, but a simply way to boost them is by drinking Black Sesame Tea:
1. Boil the sesame seeds and dates in some water for 30 minutes
2. Add some homemade almond milk and continue to boil
3. Optional you can strain the liquid removing the sesame seeds and dates or you can whizz them all up together to make a thicker, frothy drink
4. Add honey to taste if the dates aren’t sweet enough for you
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If any of these scenarios sound familiar, then try acupuncture! With our increasingly stressful and demanding 21st Century life sleep disorders are becoming more and more common. A wide range of issues can disrupt sleep patterns, but when sleep becomes an issue it is usually hard to break out of it and get back to a healthy sleep pattern alone.
Acupuncture works to calm our whole system down while nourishing our energy, which, in turn helps us to sleep. If you have ever had acupuncture you will know what I am talking about – patients regularly leave my treatment room feeling as if they have been on a mini holiday! Not only do I see the evidence on a regular basis in my clinic, there are many studies that show that acupuncture does indeed help with sleep issues.
Along with acupuncture treatment there are various other ways that you can help yourself such as:
If you are interested in booking in a consultation to see how I can help with your sleep patterns then please contact me and I look forward to hearing from you!
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After an equally un-relaxing Christmas and countless messages from obscure sources urging me to calm down, I am finally acting and consciously listening to my knowledge of Chinese Medicine and meditation in terms of honoring the tides of the seasons, which prompted me to write this post as I know I am not alone in getting caught up in the whirlwind that surrounds us.
Winter especially calls for us to turn our attention inwards, to nurture ourselves and to face the darkness rather than keeping on searching out the light, i.e distraction of being busy. I always feel its no coincidence many people suffer from melancholy at this time of year; we are running away from ourselves and from the true energy of the season – we are running against the tide, which is never easy or comfortable. Its easy and common to fear turning inwards to face our deepest selves and our potential darkness, so we continue to accept invitations to socialize and are attracted towards the light of distraction in all its seductive forms to take us from listening to what is going on inside.
True peace and happiness is found when we dare to switch off, create silence and listen to the voices within and create stillness that reflects the inertia and hibernation of winter.
In January we are given the most wonderful opportunity to slow down, to rest, and to listen to our inner intuition, however, this in itself takes discipline. Just as nature has frozen in time and has stopped we should do the same – surrendering to the seasons is the most powerful way to keep healthy and in touch with the tides that makes most sense to our being.
Take heed and look within, don’t be afraid – nurture yourself with meditation, self-acceptance and silence.
“SILENCE IS THE SOURCE OF GREAT STRENGTH” LAO TZE
My keys to creating peace and happiness in the winter:
Sleep. The power of rest should never be underestimated but least of all now – we need to recuperate from the previous year and create fertile ground, i.e. stillness of mind for the germination of new ideas that will grow in the spring.
Eat warm nurturing foods: Gone are the crisp salads and cold juices of the summer, keep warm with nourishing soups and stews so that the digestive system has to do as little work as possible.
Meditate: sit for 10-20 minutes in the morning and in the evening to give your whole system, body, mind and spirit an intended break, creating space and stillness from where true power comes.
Evenings in with candles and books: My all time favorite thing has to be lighting a candle and settling down to read a good book! Treat your evenings this January as mini retreats – turn off all electrical devices and the TV, create a clean and tidy space, light a candle and settle down with a book, relishing in the silence and peace. This can’t help but to restore, inspire and calm…
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A day at a time… That is all it takes some say, however, I would go further and say it a single moment at a time, a second at a time. Every second we decide to do things differently, make a conscious decision to think differently we are that much closer to our greatest goal – whatever that may be.
We can’t afford to betray ourselves and deviate from our path for even a moment – we have to keep asking ourselves: “Am I willing to do what it takes for the next ten minutes?”. This frees us up from getting obsessed by the notion of forever, and “when I am there I will be x, do x etc” thinking, it brings us to the essential which is just start where you are.
How we look at things and chose to spend the next moment is key to their ‘stickability’ within our lives. I truely believe people are made up of the minute decisions they have to make on an minute by minute basis – to fly off the handle or take a deep breath? To pick up that chocolate bar or to walk? To hit snooze just one more time or swing those magnificent pins out of bed? You know what I am getting at!
Great things come as a culmination of all the seconds in which we have vowed to think and act differently not by one day of being ‘perfect’ and then loosing it the next, or worse, always putting it off to tomorrow – start now this very second – its no big deal when you see it like that.
So, right now, commit to this moment and as you do remember what Ghandi said…
“Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny”
I should probably add that I have written this for me as well – to tell myself these things I know and yet haven’t been able to perfect, but by keeping reminding myself throughout the day maybe one day I will find myself ‘there’
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