Showing posts with label Resilience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Resilience. Show all posts
Thursday, 31 July 2014
Meet Yourself: A Practical Guide To Building Your Self-Esteem
Thursday, 5 June 2014
How To Turn These Life Setbacks Into Opportunities For Growth
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Navigating through life's most stressful situations can oftentimes feel like swimming against a swift current -- no matter how hard we try to stay calm, we drift further along, getting more and more wrapped up in our rambling, reactive thoughts. As this process repeats itself time and again in our daily lives, the stress can leave us feeling more mentally frustrated, physically depleted and emotionally exhausted than ever.
In recent years, chronic stress has become recognized as one of the largest public health issues in the United States. According to the American Psychological Association's 2013 Stress in America survey, 42 percent of adults said their stress has increased -- and to an unhealthy level -- in the past five years. Most respondents said they value the ability to manage stress, but very few lend themselves the time and space to learn how to do so.
When life's stresses begin to feel less than bearable, one way to reduce tension and anxiety is to pause and ask yourself, "What can I learn from this situation?" This question not only allows you to manage the stress that's weighing you down, but helps you to find the positive element (and there always is one, if you look hard enough) in any situation. Despite how uncomfortable they may make you feel, some of life's most important (and formative) lessons are learned during the times when you're struggling and feel most vulnerable.
Here are six of life's most stressful situations that can be transformed into opportunities for personal growth.
Dealing with a difficult person?
Find your ability to empathize.
As tough it might be to take a step back from your own frustration and consider a situation from another person's perspective, practicing empathy is one of the most important skills you can learn when it comes to building any kind of relationship. Leaving all judgments, opinions and criticisms aside, empathy allows both parties to express themselves, feel heard, and begin breaking down defensive walls that can make communication so challenging. Try to find your common ground with the other person -- however big or small it may be -- in order to feel more connected and less combative.
On a tight deadline at work?
Learn to harness the calming power of your breath.
This tried-and-true stress management technique might seem obvious, but setting a slower, intentional pace with your breathing can help your body begin relaxing within seconds. When you start feeling overwhelmed, notice how your breath becomes shallow, and make a more conscious effort to slow your breathing. Focus on counting slowly through a series of steady inhales and exhales, and notice how much calmer your body feels. Try this breathing technique the next time you notice stress sabotaging your breathing.
Dealing with travel delays?
Practice patience.
While the thoughts of sitting idly in an airport or staring at the insides of a subway tunnel may make your skin crawl, the challenge of waiting presents the perfect opportunity to build patience. There is incredible power in this spiritual practice, from intentionally silencing the mind to freeing yourself from unwanted emotions. Developing patience will not only make you feel more at ease the next time your commute doesn't go as planned, but it could also help improve your decision-making skills.
Lost your job?
Cultivate resilience.
While unemployment may feel like the worst thing that's ever happened to you, losing a job or getting fired is something that nearly everyone faces at one point or another. Accepting the situation and channeling your energy into your next steps can lead you to even bigger and better opportunities -- just look at these eight successful women who have been fired. Let the loss be an opportunity to ignite your fire of self-worth, fine-tune your personal brand, and start searching for a place where you'll ultimately be far happier and more successful.
Discover gratitude.
Whether you're dealing with a tough break-up or messy divorce, saying goodbye to someone you love can feel like saying goodbye to a part of yourself, too. It can be one of the most painful experiences you ever encounter, but that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. Take this time to cultivate a sense of gratitude for the good times you shared, the lessons (both good and bad) you learned from the experience, and the opportunities that await you in the future. Searching within to find the things you are most thankful for in life can help you reframe your perspective, realize how lucky you are, and appreciate the good things in life that aren't dependent on another person.
Starting over from scratch?
Practice mindfulness.
Whether you're moving across the globe, ending a bad relationship or starting a new job, redesigning your life and making a major transition can be exciting, but also a major source of stress and anxiety. Instead of getting lost in endless thoughts, emotions and worries about the future, take this as a chance to practice finding stillness through cultivating a focused awareness on the present moment. Letting your thoughts go as easily as they arise will help you stay calm, collected and focused on the new path unfolding in front of you. There's no better time to meditate and get to know yourself through the practice of mindfulness than when you're actively rewriting your own personal definition. Instead of living in the future, learn to embrace the now.
Monday, 26 May 2014
Harvard Yoga Scientists Find Proof of Meditation Benefit
Nov 22, 2013
Scientists are getting close to proving what yogis have held to be true for centuries -- yoga and meditation can ward off stress and disease.
People take part in a meditation day for peace in Colombia at Bolivar Square in Bogota,... Read More
John Denninger, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, is leading a five-year study on how the ancient practices affect genes and brain activity in the chronically stressed. His latest work follows a study he and others published earlier this year showing how so-called mind-body techniques can switch on and off some genes linked to stress and immune function.
While hundreds of studies have been conducted on the mental health benefits of yoga and meditation, they have tended to rely on blunt tools like participant questionnaires, as well as heart rate and blood pressure monitoring. Only recently have neuro-imaging and genomics technology used in Denninger’s latest studies allowed scientists to measure physiological changes in greater detail.
“There is a true biological effect,” said Denninger, director of research at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, one of Harvard Medical School’s teaching hospitals. “The kinds of things that happen when you meditate do have effects throughout the body, not just in the brain.”
A man practices yoga on the waterfront at Nariman Point in Mumbai.
The government-funded study may persuade more doctors to try an alternative route for tackling the source of a myriad of modern ailments. Stress-induced conditions can include everything from hypertension and infertility to depression and even the aging process. They account for 60 to 90 percent of doctor’s visits in the U.S., according to the Benson-Henry Institute. The World Health Organization estimates stress costs U.S. companies at least $300 billion a year through absenteeism, turn-over and low productivity.
Seinfeld, Murdoch
Seinfeld, Murdoch
The science is advancing alongside a budding “mindfulness” movement, which includes meditation devotees such as Bill George, board member of Goldman Sachs Group and Exxon Mobil Corp., and comedian Jerry Seinfeld. News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch recently revealed on Twitterthat he is giving meditation a try.
As a psychiatrist specializing in depression, Denninger said he was attracted to mind-body medicine, pioneered in the late 1960s by Harvard professor Herbert Benson, as a possible way to prevent the onset of depression through stress reduction. While treatment with pharmaceuticals is still essential, he sees yoga and meditation as useful additions to his medical arsenal.
As a psychiatrist specializing in depression, Denninger said he was attracted to mind-body medicine, pioneered in the late 1960s by Harvard professor Herbert Benson, as a possible way to prevent the onset of depression through stress reduction. While treatment with pharmaceuticals is still essential, he sees yoga and meditation as useful additions to his medical arsenal.
Exchange Program
It’s an interest that dates back to an exchange program he attended in China the summer before entering Harvard as an undergraduate student. At Hangzhou University he trained with a tai chi master every morning for three weeks.
“By the end of my time there, I had gotten through my thick teenage skull that there was something very important about the breath and about inhabiting the present moment,” he said. “I’ve carried that with me since then.”
His current study, to conclude in 2015 with about $3.3 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, tracks 210 healthy subjects with high levels of reported chronic stress for six months. They are divided in three groups.
One group with 70 participants perform a form of yoga known as Kundalini, another 70 meditate and the rest listen to stress education audiobooks, all for 20 minutes a day at home. Kundalini is a form of yoga that incorporates meditation, breathing exercises and the singing of mantras in addition to postures. Denninger said it was chosen for the study because of its strong meditation component.
Participants come into the lab for weekly instruction for two months, followed by three sessions where they answer questionnaires, give blood samples used for genomic analysis and undergo neuro-imaging tests.
‘Immortality Enzyme’
‘Immortality Enzyme’
Unlike earlier studies, this one is the first to focus on participants with high levels of stress. The study published in May in the medical journal PloS One showed that one session of relaxation-response practice was enough to enhance the expression of genes involved in energy metabolism and insulin secretion and reduce expression of genes linked to inflammatory response and stress. There was an effect even among novices who had never practiced before.
Harvard isn’t the only place where scientists have started examining the biology behind yoga.
In a study published last year, scientists at the University of California at Los Angeles and Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn found that 12 minutes of daily yoga meditation for eight weeks increased telomerase activity by 43 percent, suggesting an improvement in stress-induced aging. Blackburn of the University of California, San Francisco, shared the Nobel medicine prize in 2009 with Carol Greider and Jack Szostak for research on the telomerase “immortality enzyme,” which slows the cellular aging process.
Build Resilience
In a study published last year, scientists at the University of California at Los Angeles and Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn found that 12 minutes of daily yoga meditation for eight weeks increased telomerase activity by 43 percent, suggesting an improvement in stress-induced aging. Blackburn of the University of California, San Francisco, shared the Nobel medicine prize in 2009 with Carol Greider and Jack Szostak for research on the telomerase “immortality enzyme,” which slows the cellular aging process.
Build Resilience
Not all patients will be able to stick to a daily regimen of exercise and relaxation. Nor should they have to, according to Denninger and others. Simply knowing breath-management techniques and having a better understanding of stress can help build resilience.
“A certain amount of stress can be helpful,” said Sophia Dunn, a clinical psychotherapist who trained at King’s College London. “Yoga and meditation are tools for enabling us to swim in difficult waters.”
“A certain amount of stress can be helpful,” said Sophia Dunn, a clinical psychotherapist who trained at King’s College London. “Yoga and meditation are tools for enabling us to swim in difficult waters.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Makiko Kitamura in London at mkitamura1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-22/harvard-yoga-scientists-find-proof-of-meditation-benefit.html
htpp://www.energysprings.blogspot.com
htpp://www.energysprings.blogspot.com
Sunday, 23 March 2014
EnergySpring
Welcome to EnergySpring
By Carmen Burby 23.03.2014
© 2014 Carmen Burby.
http://www.energysprings.blogspot.com
By Carmen Burby 23.03.2014
I am writing this blog in the hope of connecting with friends who would like to share their views on how we can maximise personal performance and resilience in our daily lives without inducing excessive stress and burning out.
The range of E-nergySprings is as diverse as the people who practice them and they allow us to tap into them to energise ourselves, but sometimes because of the numerous commitments we have in our lives, we tend to end up neglecting the most important person, ourselves. Hence, we may eventually experience the most dramatic consequences of our neglect. Burnout.
How to recover from this dramatic and traumatic state?
For me it was an ancient and long established discipline, which originated in India and in 1957 Swami Vishnu-Devananda was sent by his master Swami Sivananda to introduce and spread the ancient teachings of Yoga to the West. I am referring to the practice of Sivananada Yoga. Even though I was introduced to Yoga as a teen and have practiced ever since I would say I am still in the early stages of getting to know the intricacies that encompasses the science of Yoga. However, in the most trying times of my life it has served as a personal refuge where I was able to become better acquainted with the practice, which in turn inspired greater commitment and dedication. I would dare to say that I believe during my darkest hours it became my greatest gift and support because it prompted me to embark on a process of transformation using different methods that enable me to understand the illness and myself. Hence, I returned to normal life. In addition to all the care and assistance received from the mental health practitioners at the hospital and my amazingly supportive GP, Yoga positively influenced the long slow climb to recovery.
I feel that I have a story to tell you and as I was gifted I would like to pass this gift and wonderful treasure onto you!
Would you like to share my E-nergySpring? Wishing you all the very best and I look forward to hearing from you.
© 2014 Carmen Burby.
http://www.energysprings.blogspot.com
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