Join me! 
We'll cover:

• The effects of stress on the body and mind.
• What biofeedback is and how you can benefit.
• Introduction to a couple of relaxation techniques you can use to lessen your stress response.

Here's a remake of my December 2013 blog post: 

Even Santa, like so many of us in the Western world, can reach a point at which something has to give.  For months on end, he works long hours, planning for a big event, laboring over endless details, managing a work crew, getting along with coworkers who often have an agenda of their own, feeding and caring for the little ones under his care, not to mention his four-legged friends.  Work, limited time for sleep and play, along with trying to assume responsibility for the happiness of every person on the planet, can put anyone in fight/flight mode.  It can become a habit, stuffing more and more responsibilities in your bag with the goal of delivering the goods.  After all, if you don't do it, who will?  And did I mention the thinking, fretting and worry that can accompany all this?  It's enough to keep anyone awake at night.  

Staying in this pattern for an extended period of time can take its toll on the body, mind and spirit.  Grabbing a quick sugar fix or a caffeinated drink can keep you going for awhile, but eventually something's got to give.  That's when your body starts talking to you.  Headaches, body aches, muscle tension, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, tired adrenal glands and immune system, inflammation, cold hands, shallow breathing, tightness in the chest, insomnia, forgetfulness and more.  And it's not just the body talking...there's also those endless thoughts swirling through your head.  Feelings of irritability and resentment can creep in.  

"I'll do it differently next year", Santa says, as he begins making a list...
       New Year's Resolutions

1. Take time to quiet my body and mind.
2. Exercise regularly.
3. Take time to play (and pet the reindeer). 
4. Eat and drink mindfully.
5. Cookies and caffeine in moderation.  
6. Get more sleep.
7. Breathe lower and slower. Click here for diaphragmatic breathing instructions.
8. Find balance.  Check out the website Mrs. Claus sent me for exploring balance.  Read blog post below...

If you listen to the news, life can look pretty grim at times.  Most of us have encountered and moved through our own grim circumstance.  At the time, you may feel as though it's all you can do to get through your day (or a sleepless night). With time, the stress or pain associated with the difficult situation will likely ease, only to resurface when triggered by a thought, memory or event.  Strength and personal growth are a probable consequence.  Down the road, it may even be possible to find some gratitude in some aspect of it.  We now have a term for this process.  Keep reading.

You've likely heard of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but do you know about posttraumatic growth (PTG)?  I heard this term for the first time when attending a recent presentation featuring Scarlett Lewis whose 6 year-old son, Jessie, was murdered in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

PTG is a positive change experienced as a result of the struggle with a traumatic event or a major life crisis.  Ever had one of those?  

The term, PTG, was coined in 1995 by Dr. Richard Tedeschi, a psychology professor at the University of North Carolina and co-author of the handbook Post Traumatic Growth.  If you care to take a "Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory", click here. 

Individuals with PTG tend to experience change in 5 general areas:

• New opportunities and possibilities emerge.
• New relationships develop; or current relationships change, often becoming closer.
• One's sense of personal strength increases.
• Appreciation for life is enhanced.
• A deeper spiritual connection is found and/or a change in one's belief system.

Despite the circumstances, there is always something to be grateful for.
I challenge you to:

• Pause briefly each day (at least once). 
• Inhale as you say to yourself: "I am thankful". 
• Slowly exhale as you say to yourself "Grateful for ___________". 
• Use your next breath to breathe in that sense of gratitude. 
• Allow it to fill your heart space. 
• Then exhale slowly, letting it spread throughout your body.
• Do it again as you remind yourself to drop your shoulders and jaw.

Now that’s a conversation starter.  We’ll get to the bliss part later.  Insomnia is a common reason for seeking biofeedback.  Most of my clients with sleep issues have wisely consulted their health care provider to rule out or treat any medical conditions that might contribute to insomnia.  In many cases, however, insomnia is due to learned thoughts and behaviors, both of which can be unlearned or changed.

Stress and insomnia often unite, launching a vicious cycle.  Stress disrupts sleep.  Disrupted sleep creates stress.  Anxiety frequently enters the equation as well.  Anxiety causes loss of sleep.  Loss of sleep results in anxiety.  The stress of not sleeping can create a fight/flight response, even when lying in your comfy bed.  During the day, worry about lack of sleep triggers negative thoughts and emotions that further encourage the stress response.  Daytime stress elicits a rise in stress hormones which may remain elevated during the night.  As I mentioned, it’s a vicious cycle.

Sleep control mechanisms in the brain consist of the “wakefulness system”, which allows for daytime alertness, and the “sleep system”, which promotes restful sleep.  With biofeedback training, you can learn to weaken your wakefulness system and strengthen your sleep system.  And no, this doesn’t mean you’ll be drowsy during the day, although you may feel calmer and manage stressful situations better.

Strengthening the sleep system and weakening the wakefulness system using biofeedback:

• You’ll be able to see what an “overly awake” response looks like in your body by seeing it on the computer monitor, so that you can practice taming it.  With this, you’ll gain awareness of what “overly awake” feels like in your body/mind, and also, what a truly relaxed state feels like.   With this new awareness, you’ll be able to catch these signals and manage them, both day and night.
• You’ll learn to detect and release muscle tension, scanning your body for tightness or bracing and “letting go”.  With this, you be able to create a sense of heaviness and warmth in the body that can result in the sensation of sinking more fully into the mattress below you.  Don’t worry, if you tend to feel too warm at night, you can learn to invite in a cooling sensation.
  
• Slow, diaphragmatic breathing!  We’ll work to create a balance in the autonomic nervous system; reducing the fight/flight mechanism and eliciting the relaxation response.  Scroll to the end of a previously posted blog for a “how-to” on slow, diaphragmatic breathing.  
  
• Catching negative self-talk and refuting it will be another goal.  A steady stream of racing thoughts can wreak havoc on a good night’s sleep. These often include self-defeating thoughts about sleep, some of which may be present during the day.  It may seem implausible at this point, but you’ll learn to use positive affirmations about sleeping well.  For example, “I plan to sleep well tonight.”  “With the techniques I’m learning, it’s becoming easier for me to get back to sleep.”  You may even discover that you can pair the statements with a pleasant “feeling state” about how good it feels to create a relaxation response in both body and mind.
  
• Healthy and sleep-promoting lifestyle routines, habits and sleep hygiene will be explored, including caffeine and alcohol intake, light exposure, eating and activity patterns.
  
• Mindfulness techniques will be practiced, enhancing your ability to induce a relaxation response.
  
• Where does the bliss come in, you ask?  Even though sleep is sure to come easier after biofeedback training, an occasional sleepless night is inevitable.  You can learn to create a very pleasurable and relaxed state in body and mind, so that even if you lie awake for an hour during the night, you may experience it as a blissful state of being.  This drowsy, peaceful state, when respiration slows, muscles relax, heart rate drops and pleasant images or thoughts reign, can be quite blissful.  This state can be very restful and beneficial, even if deep sleep eludes you. 

This is a longer post and contains a bit of science regarding the benefits of meditation.  If that’s not for you, just trust me!  Then skip to the last two paragraphs for a link to sign up for Deepak Chopra’s 21-day meditation challenge.

Spring.  When used as a verb, according to Merriam-webster.com, spring means to grow or to come into being.  To be resilient; released from confinement.  As a noun, spring implies the ability to return to one’s original shape when pressed down, stretched or twisted.  Compare this to Merriam-Webster’s definition of stress:  “a force exerted when one body or body part presses on, pulls on, pushes against, or tends to compress or twist another body or body part.”   Would you like to grow your resiliency?  To be released from confining conditions such as stress, anxiety, insomnia or other health issues?

Meditation may be a solution to assist you to “come into being.”   A Google search reveals references to numerous research studies regarding the benefits of ongoing meditation.  MayoClinic.org discusses both the physical and emotional benefits, including stress management, increased self-awareness, and reduced negative emotions.  The site states “research suggests that meditation may help people manage symptoms of conditions such as anxiety disorders, asthma, cancer, depression, heart disease, high blood pressure, pain and sleep problems.” 

Research led by neuroscientist Sara Lazar at Harvard University shows the positive effects of meditation on cognition, brain physiology and aging.  Grow your grey matter!  Check out links to her Ted talk and publications at https://www.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/~lazar/publications.html.

Elizabeth Hoge, MD, is a professor of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital.  Her research revealed longer telomere length in those who practice loving-kindness meditation.  What are telomeres?  Think of them as end caps on chromosomes.  Telomeres tend to shorten as cells divide.  This shortening is associated with aging, cancer and a higher risk of death (http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/chromosomes/telomeres).  Shorter telomeres have been linked to chronic stress.  Practicing meditation can reduce your stress response and maintain telomere length.  Sounds like a great spring time activity for stretching and growing!

I invite you to join me in a 21-day meditation challenge offered by Deepak Chopra at the Chopra Center.  It’s already day 7 of the challenge, so sign up today.  Go to chopra.com.  Scroll midway down the home page where you’ll find a photo of Deepak Chopra and Oprah. Yes, Oprah joins Chopra for this 21 day challenge.  Click on “sign up here” and you’ll receive a daily email with the meditation link.

“But I can’t meditate!” you may be thinking.  Here are my suggestions to help you get the most out of your meditation practice.  Those of you with prior biofeedback training have an advantage, as hopefully, you are using these techniques already.  Arrange yourself in whatever position is comfortable.  Begin your slow, easy and effortless diaphragmatic breathing.  Do a body scan, moving head to toe, or toe to head, noticing and releasing muscle tension.  Use affirmations to discourage intrusive thoughts.  Pull in a pleasant image or memory that brings up feelings of joy, appreciation or gratitude.  Aah.  “I can calm my body.  I can calm my mind.”  Now, hit the start button and invite in the wisdom of your higher self as you continue to breathe, relax and be...

Hopefully you have a regular routine for getting your cardio workout in, whether it is walking, jogging, biking, swimming, boxing, an aerobics class or your other favorite calorie burn.  The cardio workout you may not know about is typically done sitting or lying down.  Little energy is expended and you will not “feel the burn.”  Yet, your heart will reap the benefits.  Accompanying fringe benefits can include improved sleep and lung function, a boost to the immune system, decreased inflammation, increased cognitive function, better blood pressure and an enhanced sense of well-being.

 Tell me more, you say?  Medical researchers at The Cleveland Clinic studied the effect of biofeedback stress management on heart muscle function.  Subjects with a diagnosis of heart failure were taught to regulate their breathing pattern in order to balance their autonomic nervous system and improve heart rate variability (the variability of the time between heartbeats).  Results indicated improved quality of life, along with reversal of biological changes in the heart tissue.  Here's a link to an article describing the study, if you'd like to read further.  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/4/prweb10623837.htm.

 Respiratory training is a key part of biofeedback.  Take a look at this “before and after” printout showing the effects of slow, effortless diaphragmatic breathing on the heart.  You can see the rhythms of the heart begin to align with the rhythm of the breath.  Many health benefits accompany this “cardio-respiratory synchrony” and the improved heart rate variability that typically results.  Learning to achieve this, along with deep muscle relaxation, hand warming and the release of negative thought patterns can make for a happier, healthier you.  What better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of American Heart Month.