How To Reduce Stress And Anxiety With Mindfulness

This long weekend why not take some time to introduce mindfulness into your life and really relax.  It doesn't have to be a lot of time but it does need to be dedicated time; time that you're going to use purely for relaxation. You may have lots of plans and it may seem like a waste of precious time to sit and do nothing for a few minutes of the day and yet did you know that by sitting and doing nothing for a few minutes you’re being incredibly productive?
 
Mindfulness triggers a lot of activity in the brain, while the body relaxes the brain rebalances.  During this rebalancing process, the body's relaxation protocol begins to slowly shrink the Amygdala, which is the area of the brain associated with fear and emotion.  It is from this area that our Stress response is triggered. While the amygdala shrinks the prefrontal cortex, which is the area of the brain responsible for executive function (e.g.  concentration ,decision-making, and motivation) becomes thicker, and the connectivity between the Amygdala and the rest of the brain becomes weaker while the connections between the areas associated with focused attention, concentration, motivation and emotional regulation become stronger. 

Research has shown that the rate of change that occurs in the brain is related to the number of hours a person spends practising mindfulness  or meditation. It has been established that mindfulness enables us to redistribute our brains resources away from the stress centre and towards the centre of emotional regulation, yes regular practice of mindfulness helps us become better at regulating our emotions.  Studies have shown changes in brain structure after just 8 weeks of practicing for 10 minutes a day.
 
By disconnecting from the brain stress centre we create a range of physical as well as mental health benefits, reducing stress and inflammation in the mind and body leads to lower anxiety levels, reduces the likelihood of developing depression and helps us avoid gut issues.  There’s a strong school of thought that says reducing stress reduces our risk of chronic disease and cancer.  Our immune system functions better when our body is not inflamed, and we are also better able to absorb vitamins, minerals and nutrients.
 
All things considered that represents a great return on an investment of 10 minutes a day.
 

Tips for practising mindfulness

1. Sit with your back straight
   
2. Feet flat on the ground
   
3. Hands resting on your lap (not crossed).
   
4. Breathe deeply in through your nose all the way down to your abdomen and maintain that breathing pattern throughout your mindfulness session.
   
5. Before you begin scan over your body and let go of any physical tension you become aware of
   
6. Remember thoughts will come and go, that’s perfectly natural your mind will never be blank or clear, however you don’t have to engage with the thoughts you can simply let them fade into the background.

If you are struggling to begin your practice of mindfulness Hypnotherapy will help clear the emotions and stressors that are blocking your progress.  If you would like help overcoming Anxiety please give me a call at Hypfocus Hypnotherapy Melbourne 0435 923 817 .  I specialise in anxiety and panic disorders as well as compulsive habits.  
Hypnotherapy is extremely effective in the treatment of Anxiety Disorders.

​It is essential that you find the right therapist, with appropriate training and their credentials verified through membership of an association such as the AHA.  I am a member of the AHA and the ACA.

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