I’ve found an incredibly effective way of handling stress and healing both the mind and the body. It’s a specific body-led meditation technique that relaxes us both physiologically and psychologically.
You probably already know that prolonged stress can cause physical aches. When we perceive something to be a threat, the brain activates the stress response, which causes the release of certain hormones, one of which is adrenaline. In turn this causes increased blood pressure and blood supply to the back. Muscles become tense and spasm and if left unchecked, this can lead to chronic muscle pains. It also becomes a vicious cycle, because those muscles pains then signal to the brain that something is wrong, causing us to feel stressed yet again.
Oh boy.
Thankfully we do have ways to reduce stress in the mind and body. All forms of Integrated Body Mind Training are good for this. This includes mindful exercises such as yoga and tai chi, as well as body-focused meditations such as Somatic meditation and Body Scan.
Today, I’d like to share one of my favorite guided meditations for stress relief and healing.