NEWS
Top tips to beat stress PRIME MINISTER Theresa May has revealed she walks, reads cookery books and watches the American naval crime programme “NCIS” to help her unwind and beat the stress of life at Number 10. Inspired by the Premier’s recent revelation about “NCIS,” here Stephen Marks, a qualified yoga instructor, gives some top tips on how to beat stress. Having spent twenty years in a City law firm, Stephen is the founder of Mind Body Building and a fully-qualified practitioner of Yoga nidra. He trained in Costa Rica at the Punta Mona eco-resort with the Shamanic School of Yoga and is now a Thought Leader at the Global Wellness Institute. Additionally, Stephen helped institute two wellness programmes in leading London law firms and has also worked with global accountancy practices and advertising agencies. Stephen, who has travelled to over 80 countries in the world, pointed out that “85 per cent of adults in the UK regularly feel stressed. Learning how to manage this is key. “I like to compare the mind to a musical instrument. The best orchestral players tune their instruments every time they play, so why not fine tune your mind?”
Meditation
In The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path To Higher Creativity, American author Julia Cameron describes the process of writing first thing in the morning to highlight our internal voices. These are often characterised by doubt and self-criticism. Once you acknowledge these, you can be calmer and more focused in achieving goals. Putting thoughts to paper has long been recognised as a useful tool in becoming aware of who we are and what we’re experiencing, so journaling can be a great way of calming down our internal dialogue.
Massage
THERE is an Indian saying, “If you don’t go within, you go without.” The pace of life is relentless. Additionally, around 60,000 thoughts pass through our minds every day. However, a lot of this flow of thought is not helpful, and is often critical and negative. Meditation in its simplest form can help us to take a step back and slow our thoughts down. Rather than having to constantly react to impulses and situations, meditation trains us to approach things in a calmer and more detached way. Being able to relax the mind in this way can have a huge effect on our overall wellbeing. Nowadays, it is easy to get started with a host of online resources, apps and classes with some studios dedicated solely to meditation.
A massage is an excellent way to help us relax. When we are stressed and tense, our bodies produce too much of the stress hormone cortisol, which can contribute to sleeplessness, headaches and other dysfunctions within the body. Massage can counteract this and promote muscle relaxation by increasing flexibility and eliminating tense areas. Massage also promotes circulation of blood to all areas, which can significantly assist in healing damaged muscle areas. On a physiological level, more vigorous massages can improve lymph circulation, which carries away waste products from around the body.
Yin yoga
Yoga nidra It’s not always you who have to do the work. What could be better than listening to someone else guide you through meditation into a relaxing and restful state? In Yoga nidra, you are guided through a progressive calming of the body and mind. Nidra means “sleep” in Sanskrit. The process mimics the physical sensation of falling asleep where the body relaxes and the mind starts to drift into a dream state. The sensation is excellent in moving the body from the sympathetic nervous system – meaning it is stressed and anxious – to the parasympathetic nervous system, which is rested and relaxed. There are an increasing number of Yoga nidra classes available.
Journaling
STEPHEN MARKS: “Around 60,000 thoughts pass through our minds every day.”
Sound baths In its simplest form, sound is energy composed of pressure waves or vibrations. Vibrations of sound have long been known to have healing qualities. As far back as 2,000 years ago, Tibetan monks utilised singing bowls within ceremonies and healing circles. As the name suggests, sound baths immerse participants in soothing meditative sound waves. Try a YouTube video or download an app to experience this. Turn the volume up, but have consideration for anyone else in the house and neighbours too. The sound should be all-encompassing and therefore make you feel totally present.
This form of yoga is an excellent way to reach true relaxation. Unlike normal yoga, it involves holding postures for two to three minutes, and sometimes longer. Many yoga teachers practise Yin as a way of recharging their bodies and minds. Staying in a position for two to three minutes as the body opens is a real practice of stillness, patience and non-reactivity. It forces us to slow down and offers the opportunity to marinate in stillness. Suddenly, deadlines, urgent matters and to-do lists can recede into the background leaving much needed space for rest and renewal. ■ Stephen Marks is holding an inaugural Men’s Urban Day Retreat on Sunday, September 9 at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch, East London. Please e-mail stephenmarksyoga@gmail.com for further details. PSYCHIC NEWS | SEPTEMBER 2018
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