Stress Management & Grounding

Mind-body medicine includes the use of a variety of different practices such as meditation,

breathing techniques, tai chi, or yoga that take advantage of the interactions among the

mind, body, and behavior with the intent to promote health.

Many studies have demonstrated that these practices can improve both physical and

mental health and can reverse the negative health effects of chronic stress by decreasing

levels of stress hormones in the body. Our program’s mind-body approaches can be helpful in addressing many different medical conditions, including:

• Anxiety

• Atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmias

• Cancer

• Coronary artery disease

• Chronic pain conditions (back and neck pain, fibromyalgia, headaches, osteoarthritis

• and TMJ)

• Depression

• Gastrointestinal conditions (gastroesophageal reflux, irritable bowel syndrome,

• Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis)

• Hypertension

• Insomnia

• Menopause symptoms

• Multiple sclerosis

• Psoriasis

• Rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune conditions

EFT-Emotional Freedom Technique-EFT works by tapping on acupressure meridians to release blockages. When these blockages are released, the problem feeling can be released and move through the body. The process starts with a beginning statement of what the problem feeling is and includes a complete acceptance and acknowledgement of the problem. To start the process of EFT, the person would say something like, “Even though I have this (fear) about (the time I was criticized for being clumsy), I completely accept myself anyway; Often that will not feel true to a person, so they would modify the statement to say, “I am willing to learn to accept myself” or “I want to accept myself; The client says the statement three times while tapping on the karate chop point. In the second part of this treatment, the client focuses on the feeling (fear) in the body and rates it at an intensity between 1-10. Then the client begins to tap on points around the face while saying “this fear” simultaneously. Several rounds of this can be done until the fear is rated at a zero on a scale from 1-10. Once that fear is gone, the therapist will guide the client to feel into other fears that will then come up from different aspects of the same situation or emotional state.

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EFT is a very effective way of clearing out feelings, and when an unwanted feeling is

gone, the limiting beliefs that the client held are released. New, more positive beliefs

about themselves can emerge. Learning EFT also empowers the client to take charge

of handling their emotional state because they can tap on a feeling any time they want

to move out a painful feeling.

To effectively combat stress, you need to activate your body’s natural relaxation response.

Techniques such as deep breathing, visualization, meditation, and yoga can help.

For many of us, relaxation means flopping on the couch and zoning out in front of the TV

at the end of a stressful day. But this does little to reduce the damaging effects of stress.

Rather, you need to activate your body’s natural relaxation response, a state of deep rest

that puts the brakes on stress, slows your breathing and heart rate, lowers your blood

pressure, and brings your body and mind back into balance. You can do this by practicing

relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, rhythmic exercise, yoga, or tai

chi.

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The right technique is the one that resonates with you, fits your lifestyle, and is able to

focus your mind to elicit the relaxation response. That means it may require some trial and

error to find the technique (or techniques) that work best for you. Once you do, regular

practice can help reduce everyday stress and anxiety, improve your sleep, boost your

energy and mood, and improve your overall health and wellbeing. Some of the techniques

are:

• Deep breathing

• Progressive muscle relaxation

• Tai Chi

• Body scan meditation

• Yoga

• Massage

• Mindfulness meditation