or lying down. 2. Take a few slow deep breaths and bring your awareness inward. 3. Scan from the top of your head down to the tip of your toes. 4. Note any pain, discomfort, tension, sensations, feelings. 5. Notice the thoughts in your mind. 6. Think back to a past experience that was upsetting or stressful.
7. Dwell in the upsetting memory using all your senses. 8. Repeat steps 3-5. Notice any changes physically and emotionally. 9. Let go of that memory. Shift your awareness back to your surroundings. 10. Pause and take a few slow deep breaths. 11. Now, remember a past experience that was joyful and happy. 12. Dwell in the joyful and happy memory with all your senses. 13. Repeat steps 3-5. Notice any chang- es physically and emotionally. 14. Let go of that memory. Shift your awareness back to the present. 15. Reflect on what you noticed about your emotions, thoughts, sensations, and
body awareness. 16. Consider journaling about the expe- rience. This will deepen your insights, awareness, and observations.
This simple exercise is a way to “wit-
ness” how your body responds to your thoughts and emotions. Practice tuning inward with a quick body scan to check for tension and discomfort. Do you tend to have clenched fists, tightened jaw, grinding teeth, grimacing face, and neck tension? Or do you notice your hands softened, jaw dropped, smiling face, and relaxed muscles? Link those sensations with what you have been thinking or feel- ing. Now you are empowered to identify your body’s responses and create changes within. You are in a proactive position of choosing your responses rather than auto- matically reacting.
Another path to wellness is through
your beliefs. By creating a language of affirmations and positive self-talk, you are feeding your body a healthy dose of heal- ing intentions. When you believe you can heal, your body will respond. Studies have shown people given intravenous saline and told it was morphine to decrease pain, actually did have less pain. The body’s natural “morphine”, endorphins, were released to reduce pain and discomfort, in response to the person’s perception. Pla- cebo effect reinforces the power of beliefs. Wallow in the imagery of being in optimal health, using all your senses to create the experience. See yourself happy, healthy, strong, and energized. You may be surprised how your body responds… increased energy, fewer aches and pains, brighter affect, and happier mood. Create a vision of health, using these
steps:
2. Assess pros and cons, yeahs and nahs. List all positives and negatives associated with your vision. What is working well, what helps you move forward, what needs improvement, and what is blocking your progress?
3. Explore ways to make your vision a reality. What steps can you take now? Think in terms of baby steps… one step at a time. Who can support you? Set your intentions with specific, direct, measurable outcomes.
4. Stay the course. Keep on track with short term and long term goals, set within a realistic time frame. Keep a journal of your thoughts, feelings, energy level, and physical health, as you move forward. Tweak and adjust your vision as you open to creative and insightful wisdom.
Just as an oyster transforms a gritty, irritating piece of sand into a rich lumines- cent pearl, you can transform gritty irritat- ing challenges into rich opportunities for personal growth.
Denise DeForest Pastoor, owner of Holistic Muse, a wellness consulting business, is a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist, certi- fied Healing Touch practitioner, and holis- tic health educator. Her passion is teaching wellness seminars and empowering people in self-healing through integrative thera- pies. Visit
www.holisticmuse.com or email
dpastoor@holisticmuse.co
1. Define a vision of what you want to change. How will you look, feel, act? What senses are associated with this change? Hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, touch- ing, sensing?
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