Fortify Yourself. Self-Regulate.

This is one example of the kind of guided meditations I lead my patients in during clinical sessions. It is a simple way to begin the settling and embodiment process for those not used to relating to their body. It’s also the place to start when learning to self-regulate.

Self-regulation is a term used by the field of affective neuroscience to describe an individual’s ability to consciously and unconsciously manage and modify arousal states. It describes an the ongoing process of finding an equilibrium of the whole in the face of change. Learning how to self-regulate is fundamental to the manifestation and maintenance of health over time. The foundation of self-regulation is embodiment. The only way to begin learning how to be embodied is by developing a relationship with the body. This is done through finding the body in space and being present with the changes happening on a physiological level without expectation or judgment, but rather with an ever expanding sense of curiosity. Another word for this is mindfulness.

Alternative Definition #3

Late Summer Sun by Nik Harron

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inspired by the lectures of Jeffrey Yuen and a discussion on Daoist acupuncture:

An alternative definition for Heaven:

Heaven: rays of sunlight which cause the transformation of life.

Cyclical Thoughts and Feelings: Throw Them Out

 

Thank you to David Hatfield for introducing me to this exercise. 

We often get stuck in cyclical thoughts and feelings, which take us away from living our lives.

This is a simple exercise to help manage cyclical thoughts and/or feelings: 

Exercise:

1. Consciously become aware of a cyclical thought/feeling you are having or have been having recently.
2. Name it. Get a good sense of the puzzle you are trying to solve in your head and how it makes you feel overall.
3. Figure out what part of your body this thought/feeling affects the most. It may be your head or it may be something like a tension, constriction, or heaviness somewhere else in your body.
4. When you know where it’s located, give it a shape, a texture, and a color. Don’t think too hard about this, just the first thing that comes to mind.

Pain: Find What Doesn’t Hurt

Pain is all too often a part of our daily life, whether physical, mental, or emotional.

This is a simple exercise to help manage the pain you are experiencing in this moment:

1. Locate the pain you are feeling right now in your body, finding and naming the specific location.
2. Spend a moment analyzing what it feels like (sharp, dull, radiating, hot, cold, excruciating, numbing, specific, nonspecific, big, small, insidious, etc.)
3. Now find a part of your body that doesn’t hurt. Examples might be your elbow, ear or pinky toe.
4. Spend a moment analyzing what it feels like (…likely it doesn’t feel like much at all because it’s a healthy part of your body and doesn’t need to send any signal of needing attention through pain or discomfort).

How Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy May Benefit Pain Conditions

Living with chronic or acute pain can be debilitating. It can cause not only high levels of stress, but also significant changes in mood and daily life activities. Default treatments like anti-inflammatory medications and painkillers, physical therapy, appropriate exercises, application of heat or cold may often ease the pain. When they don’t, it’s hard to evaluate the other healthcare options that might help. I will explain why biodynamic craniosacral therapy (BCST) is an option worth considering if you suffer from a pain condition.

Only recently has research begun to uncover what makes craniosacral therapy (CST) effective. As a result, when someone is referred to me, they generally have no idea what to expect, what they are in for, and whether biodynamic craniosacral therapy can really help them.