16/03/2020
My upcoming event is only in few days. I may be forced to cancel but I have decided not to cancel of fear that it may not go ahead.
I believe that accepting the turbulent times does not mean to give up on the things we are looking forward to do.
Topic of the event on Sunday 29th March is : How to live with all our experiences, dealing with stress and anxiety.
Mind & Body under stress and during time of anxiety is in :
Fight, Flight and Freeze mode.
It simply means our digestive system and immune system are on shutdown.
Cardiovascular system is working on overdrive .
Our hips,legs and shoulders muscles are tensed, ready for action.
How long can we keep it up?
Naturally we would change from the survival mode to rest and digest mode. ( if we were chased by a wild animal wanting to eat us )
Our bodies know the process , but if the mind is constantly bombarded with worrying news , there will not be any rest (maybe a good night sleep) or time to digest (getting our gut to start working again! No need to store fat for later..)
We can help our body and mind in time of stress:
1) Recognise the stress being here
2) Ask yourself: How can I help myself ,to help the nervous system to ease the effect of stress on :
a) body and b) mind?
a) Get active :
Ant type of exercise, yoga, go for a run, walk, cycle , swim, dance to the music and if you can’t do any of the above apply gentle mindful movement.
b) No activity, just be:
meditate, draw or colour in: no skills needed, sing: “Happy Birthday to you” in case you don’t know any lyrics, snooze, sit in the spring sun and feel the breeze of fresh air on your skin, listen to the birds sing ...
Here is one of my favourite quotes:
“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about dancing in the rain”