Do we have incredible healing powers within us?
Imagine hearing the words “you have cancer”. Just imagine how your body is now going to respond to this. Real stress or perceived stress are the same stress when waiting for a cancer diagnosis, as those with a cancer diagnosis.
– Breathing becomes shallow
– Blood pressure increases
– Heart rate increases
– Body releases stress hormone Cortisol (which is bad for bones and inflammation).
– There is a decrease in blood flow to non-essential parts of the body as blood is diverted to the muscles needed to flight, fight or curl you into a ball as you freeze
– To save energy the body reduces digestive enzymes
– Reproductive system stops working.
– Immune system is suppressed, reducing the amount of circulating killer cells
– Stress also disrupts sleep and sleep deprivation in turn creates stress – a dreadful vicious circle of course
So what can we do about all this? Well they say that ‘Happy People Live Longer’, so…
To give the body a chance to heal itself we need to reduce the feelings of stress and the first thing to do is simply B-R-E-A-T-H-E. You can’t be wound up if you are breathing properly.
By breathing an equal inhale and equal exhale we start to send a message to the parasympathetic nervous system that everything is ok. To turn on the bodies healing mode we need to flood our body with good feelings, happy emotions – tough maybe to imagine this when faced with an illness. When we feel love and joy our brain releases healing hormones. Serotonin, relaxin, oxytocin, dopamine and endorphins. When we give our body a chance to turn off the fight or flight mode we allow our body to begin to repair and restore.
– Blood Pressure lowers
– Heart rate lowers
– Cortisol the stress hormone is lowered
– Increased white and red blood cell activity which helps our immune system
– Food is digested slower allowing the body to absorb nutrients
The other important healing power we have is being in control of your mind. Whilst we are unable to change what life throws at us we are able to change how we respond. So whilst your mind is racing you need to find techniques to quiet your thinking mind or at least step back and observe the thoughts so that they can calm down and dissipate. Studies have found that a daily meditation practice decreases the density of your brain areas associated with anxiety and stress. By reducing stress we are also able to boost our immune system.
So I guess the answer is yes we do have amazing healing powers. It’s as simple as learning to de-stress. Restorative yoga class anyone?
Having qualified in 2008 Vicky Fox has studied with many world renowned teachers including Doug Keller, Rod Stryker and Julie Gudmestad. Her teaching style is based around her own varied experience of yoga and through that has developed classes that emphasize strength, alignment and precision within a safe environment. In 2013 Vicky studied for a year with Laura Kupperman on her “Yoga for Survivors” program and now teaches yoga to cancer patients at any stage of their recovery.
