Tag Archives: Stress

Axing Anxiety

by Kelly

Anxiety Workshop

Today, October 10th, is world mental health day – a day designed to raise awareness of the mental health issues faced by people across the globe. In 2013 15.2 million working days were lost due to the mental health problems of stress, anxiety and depression in the UK1. Mental health problems were the third biggest contributor to absenteeism after back and neck problems and coughs and colds.

Given that the management of stress and anxiety plays a key role in a happy and productive workforce, we need to get serious about solving these health challenges. Historically, anxiety has been regarded as a purely mental problem. The associated physical symptoms have been seen as a result of mental processes such worrying and irrational thinking. Little attention has been paid to the physical processes that contribute to the condition.

In our upcoming pioneering workshop next Sunday, 19th October, we combine my work as a clinical hypnotherapist with the work of Somatic Movement Educator Tanya Fitzpatrick to manage anxiety from both the physical and the mental perspective.

The workshop, Reprogramming Anxiety, will be held on Sunday 19th October at 10am at Clerkenwellbeing, 178 Goswell Rd, EC1V 7DT. In this two-hour introductory workshop you will:

• Identify your habitual patterns of anxious thinking
• Understand how anxiety affects you physically
• Learn skills to counteract anxious patterns
• Discover how to restore a sense of calm and comfort to your daily life

The cost of the workshop is £35. You can purchase tickets in advance by clicking the button below. To keep the group intimate, spaces are limited, therefore we encourage you to book in advance to guarantee your place.

Reserve your place by purchasing your ticket below:

Reprogramming Anxiety Workshop 10am Sunday 19th October 2014

1Sickness Absence in the Labour Market, Office for National Statistics, February 2014

Image credit: emdot via Compfight

 

Has your body forgotten how to relax?

by Kelly

Reprogramming Anxiety

Over the summer my fascination with the phenomenon of anxiety has led me to investigate additional approaches to handling the problem. In my enquiry I came across a compelling, albeit low tech, lecture by Dr. Leon Chaitow of the University of Westminster, London on the wide-ranging negative effects of incorrect breathing and the link between breathing and anxiety.

Chronic incorrect breathing causes an imbalance in the level of carbon dioxide in the blood, which leads to:
• Triggering of the stress response (sympathetic arousal)
• Feelings of anxiety and apprehension
• Bowel problems (diarrhoea or constipation)
• Exacerbating PMS symptoms
• Lowering of pain threshold
• Fatigue, tiredness and brain-fog

This discovery had me seek to correct of my own breathing. To achieve correct breathing, it was clear I needed to release the chronic tension in my back, chest and diaphragm. My search led me to the amazing Tanya Fitzpatrick.

Tanya is a certified Somatic Movement Educator, an advanced yoga teacher trainer, and a Body-Mind Centering Professional. Her speciality is helping her clients to retrain their brains to tell their muscles to relax correctly and to learn to move in an effortless fashion.

Tanya explains that through habitual patterns of tension, muscles in the body learn how to remain tight, and the brain develops what she terms sensory motor amnesia.  This means the brain literally forgets how to relax these muscles at all, leading to chronic tension, pain and restricted breathing.

Tanya and I quickly realised what a beautiful synergy our work has. She helps clients release physical patterns of anxiety and I help clients release the mental patterns that hold anxiety in place. Imagine the power of experiencing the effect of both!

We are so excited to share with you our brand new workshop, Reprogramming Anxiety, which will be held on Sunday 19th October at 10am at Clerkenwellbeing, 178 Goswell Rd, EC1V 7DT.

In this two-hour introductory workshop you will:
• Identify your habitual patterns of anxious thinking
• Understand how anxiety affects you physically
• Learn skills to counteract anxious patterns
• Discover how to restore a sense of calm and comfort to your daily life

The cost of the workshop is £35. You can purchase tickets in advance by clicking the button below. To keep the group intimate, spaces are limited, therefore we encourage you to book in advance to guarantee your place.

Reserve your place by purchasing your ticket below:

Reprogramming Anxiety Workshop 10am Sunday 19th October 2014

I look forward to seeing you in October!

Image credit: Fayez via Flickr

Feel confident and powerful in just two minutes

by Kelly | 1 Comment

How to feel confident

In her 2012 TED talk Amy Cuddy shared research that found the way we hold our body affects how we feel.  She found that just by adopting so called “Power Postures” for two minutes, the subject would exhibit a significant change in hormone levels.  Power Postures involve sitting or standing using the body in an expansive way – arms outstretched or on the hips, with a wide stance.  Wonder Woman’s classic pose is a perfect example of a Power Posture.

Wonder Woman's Power PoseTwo key hormones were measured in this research: Testosterone – the dominance hormone; and Cortisol – the stress hormone.  After two minutes of Power Postures, it was found that testosterone levels increased by 20% and cortisol levels reduced by 25%.  Conversely, when subjects adopted low-power poses for two minutes – hunching over, shrinking down and crossing arms, legs or ankles – their testosterone levels reduced by 10% and cortisol levels increased by 15%.

In my consultations with clients we take this mind body connection even further to create specific physical gestures that allow the body to gain access to states of power and confidence for particular situations such as public speaking, job interviews and important meetings.  Can you imagine how great it would feel to know that you could instantly access the confidence with which you hit a tennis ball in your leisure time when you need it for a crucial meeting at work?

Using Power Postures is a first and easy step towards taking charge of your physiology and biochemistry and making them work for you.  This is a technique that you can use today to improve your feelings of confidence and power.  Before your next meeting or in the lead up to a presentation I encourage you to use this – although you may want to strike that Wonder Woman pose in the privacy of the bathroom rather than the boardroom!

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Image Credits:
Header : Llima Orosa via Flickr
Wonder Woman : Amazon Archives

 

On Food and Decision-Making

by Kelly

On food and decision-making

In Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw said, “Before 10am, everyone is guilty”.  It turns out she wasn’t far from the truth!

A recent study at Columbia Business School and Ben Gurion University[1] found that Israeli judges were 65% likely to parole an inmate at the beginning of the day or after a lunch break, but 0% likely to approve parole in the cases seen in the slot immediately before a food break!  The data shows that their clear thinking and impartial judgment was affected by their hunger.

I have become aware of how my energy levels, my ability to navigate challenges and my emotional robustness directly correlate to my blood sugar levels.  Just like those judges, in the days before I’d sorted out my nutrition, on a difficult morning I was at risk of falling back into less than optimal behaviours.  These days I have built good nutritional practices into my life to ensure I am able to be the most calm, clear-headed, positive version of myself I can be.

At 7pm on Thursday 1 August I’ll be hosting an information session on stress, energy and nutrition with Dr. Rupal Naik in Islington, London. Dr Rupal has been a practising GP and partner in one of the UK’s largest surgeries, with 26,000 patients.  She is now in private practice using her twenty years’ plus experience to consult on stress, nutrition and well-being.  In the session we’ll be talking about the importance of correct nutrition in support of excellent mental and emotional function

We will cover:

  • Why traditional breakfast choices are like punching a hole in your fuel tank each morning
  • How macro and micro nutrients are essential to creating energy molecules to fuel your morning
  • How excellent nutrition will ensure you remain clear headed and in control
  • A practical solution to excellent nutrition that won’t have you wasting your busy morning in the kitchen

Do you feel that your diet could use a boost and you could benefit from more energy and better nutrition? Then click here to RSVP or simply drop me an email.

[1] Shai Danzigera, S., Levavb, J, Avnaim-Pessoa, L., “Extraneous factors in judicial decisions”, PNAS April 26, 2011 vol. 108 no. 17 6889-6892

Image Credit: Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity via Flickr