We Practiced the Pause...Now What??

It’s the start of a new calendar year, and we are all feeling like we are ready to tackle what lies ahead. It won’t take much for it to be a better year than 2020, so that’s a relief.

As we start the new year, I encourage you to try something new; open your mind up to some new ways of thinking. I am offering a 10% discount on Reiki (energy) sessions and one on one sessions where we can explore what types of mindfulness and stress relief may work best for you. I am very flexible with customizing sessions to fit your specific needs. Just because it says one thing on my website, doesn’t mean that we can’t create a session that is a combination of things that works best for you.

I had a wonderful session with a client today. It was an Energy/Reiki session that also included meditation and guided visualization. Please email me at innerbalance365@gmail.com and we can find what works for you. If you are reading this blog, trust that it is for a reason.

During the holiday, I wrote about some quick tips to help relieve stress when it pops up. I like to call it Practice the Pause. It is great little technique for when you are on the go. Yes, it feels weird when you first start doing it, but it gets more natural the more you practice. I also had a couple of people ask me to explain what it does and what happens next. This is a simplistic explanation that may help you understand what Practice the Pause is really doing.

Let’s talk about stress. It has no real benefit to your body or mind, and it brings no enjoyment to life. We need to limit our exposure to it, but sometimes it is unavoidable. When a situation arises and you feel the stress response, you should try to cut it off before you complete the stress circuit. The stress circuit in simple terms is your amygdala signaling to your hypothalamus that there is perceived danger or upset. That is when the fight or flight feeling will arise, you will react and -bam-your body will release cortisol. This is a stress hormone, and it is not good for your mind or body!

If there is a trigger and you feel the fight or flight feeling-that is when you Practice the Pause!! This interrupts the stress circuit. You pause the amygdala part of your brain, so it doesn’t react. This gives your thinking mind the time to be in charge. Your thinking mind (frontal lobe) will make much better decisions and choices. You just need to give it the chance to be in charge. The Pause allows that switch from amygdala to thinking mind located in the cerebrum in the frontal lobe. That switch allows you to short circuit the release of cortisol and make better choices.

Boring, but it is so applicable in your everyday life. Let’s look at some examples: Boss comes to you with a last-minute task, your employee asks the same question for the 18th time, your husband or child does something super annoying, or you answer the phone, and you get bad news about something-these are times to Practice the Pause and let your thinking mind get in the driver’s seat.

Practicing the Pause is a short-term quick fix. A regular practice of meditation and mindfulness is the underlying long-term solution. With regular practice, meditation and mindfulness changes the way your brain and body react to stress and you will find yourself not needing to Practice the Pause as often. I would love to help you to develop a meditation practice and integrate that into your daily life.

Email me or go look at the private services page on my website.