July 30, 2014
Summer for many is a favorite of the four seasons. It’s easy to understand why; the psychological and physiological benefits of summer are hard to beat.
With longer and warmer days, most of us are spending more time outdoors. That means we are increasing our vitamin D intake, getting more exercise and communing with nature. For those with children, summer offers a break from the stressful routine of homework, bath and early bedtime.
As if that was not enough, summer is the season for vacations!
It is no wonder that as we begin the final approach to fall, many of us feel stress and tension creeping back in to place. As a parent with young kids, I definitely feel myself tensing up every time a back to school commercial appears.
Tackling stress seemed a fitting challenge for our final month of the summer of wellness challenge.
We have decided to focus on managing and reducing stress through meditation.
Stress is very damaging and can contribute to a host of chronic illnesses. That is why managing and reducing stress should be a priority for all of us.
Meditation is a very effective way to reduce stress!
Meditation works so well that researches at Harvard are leading a five-year study on how the ancient practice of yoga and meditation affects genes and brain activity in the chronically stressed.
What researchers at Harvard Medical School discovered is, in long-term practitioners of relaxation methods such as yoga and meditation, far more ”disease-fighting genes” were active, compared to those who practiced no form of relaxation.
”We found a range of disease-fighting genes were active in the relaxation practitioners that were not active in the control group,” stated Dr. Herbert Benson, who led the research and is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Here are just a few of the benefits of daily meditation:
- Increased immunity
- Emotional balance
- Lowered blood pressure
- Reduce inflammation
If you are unfamiliar with meditation then you may have some preconceived ideas about what is involved. This month we are going to show just how easy meditation is to incorporate into your daily routine.
Our Director of Acupuncture, Tom Ingegno will be providing us with instruction and step by step instructions for a few different techniques. Our goal is to find something for just about anybody, regardless of your fitness or schedule. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it; incorporate one form of deep breathing or meditation into your daily routine.
We would then ask that you maintain a daily log and rate your level of stress from 1(Peaceful as a lamb) – 10 (Ready to blow a gasket). Look out for our next blog post which will introduce you to a breathing technique!
So please join our challenge this August! Leave us a comment below and let us know how you are feeling and what you think about this final challenge for the summer!