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valorous and lionhearted Right now commit to dying fearlessly |
Chronic accelerated heart rate is a state of vigilance guarding against impending death |
But we generalize this to everyday life by resorting to high resting heart rates with our bosses |
friends and family We are living as if we are about to die Using the stethoscope you are |
feeling the very essence of your apologetic submissiveness Know that your racing heart is not |
helping to keep you alive Rather it is keeping you in the land of no tomorrow Surrendering |
your cardiac unrest will extract you from a world of death struggle for survival and animals |
ravaging and annihilating each other |
The next time you feel your heart beating out of your chest focus on it Accept it |
befriend it love it It is not there to hurt you It is literally giving you energy and power Within a |
few moments you can transform that throbbing feeling of impending doom into motivation |
People with anxiety tend to be afraid of the sensations involved in stress Dont let adrenaline |
scare you Desensitize yourself to the discomfort by not overreacting to it as you did in |
Exercise Learn to delight in it and feel comfortable in uncomfortable physiological states |
Rather than being afraid of the energy think about how you are going to channel it |
Vigorous exercise can raise your heart rate to around its maximum But when you exercise |
vigorously you dont feel crushed by panic Instead you feel vitalized It feels normal for your |
heart to speed up during exercise But when your heart speeds up in the absence of exercise |
you become afraid When this happens tell yourself that your body preparing for exercise is |
nothing to fear The more you exercise the more comfortable you become with the sensations |
involved in rapid heart rate Keep in mind that athletes have lower resting heart rates often as |
low as to beats per minute Consistently training the heart muscle causes it to push more |
blood out with each beat meaning that it does not need to beat as often The more exercise |
you get the slower your heart will beat |
Take the warrior approach to panic Luxuriate in the thumping Instead of causing you to |
withdraw in resignation the beating should make you approach in ascendency As discussed in |
the last chapter appraise it as rising to a challenge rather than descending to a threat |
Afterward if you need to take a run around the neighborhood to burn up any remaining |
negative energy |
Vagal Tone is a Measure of Calm |
This section and the next will introduce two more medical concepts vagal tone and HRV They |
add detail to the present discussion and highlight the physiological benefits of paced breathing |
Vagal tone is a measure of the activity of your vagus nerve the nerve responsible for |
calming you The vagus nerve transmits a relaxing signal from the brainstems medulla |
oblongata to much of your body This large diffuse cluster of nerves branches out from the |
brainstem down to the bladder affecting several organ systems along the way It affects |
the heart spleen bronchioles lungs stomach pancreas liver gall bladder intestines |
ureters and more |
The vagus nerve also connects the heaas brain with the guts brain and the hearts brain |
It calms them Its name comes from the Latin word vagus meaning vagrant or wanderer |
Chapter Listen to Your Heart and Gut |
because it is so long and has so many branches The activity of this nerve calming multiple |
organ systems is called vagal tone High vagal tone is associated with autonomic balance |
emotional stability lowered inflammation and better cardiovascular health Low vagal tone |
causes the opposite |
Illustration Path of the vagus nerve from brain to intestines |
Interoception Exercise Compressing the Internal Organs |
Lay over a large firm ball and press it gently into your stomach A soccer ball volleyball or |
basketball work well You can do this lying on the floor or in bed The easiest way is to stand |
or kneel by the corner of a bed Place the basketball on that corner of the mattress and drape |
the upper half of your body over it Either way you want to have good control of how deeply |
you press the ball into your abdominal cavity It is important to be stable and comfortable |
You should also try using your fingers to press into your abdomen Situate your hands as in |
the illustration below Press your fingertips into your belly especially the area around the |
belly button Anywhere that burns lightly should be massaged Compress release repeat |
You do not want to do any damage to your internal organs You can use static compression or |
active percussion but either way press carefully This is much slower firmer and deeper |
than the abdominal percussion from Exercise |
Many athletic coaches and trainers recommend a similar gut smash technique to mobilize |
the abdominal muscles Some massage therapists call it visceral manipulation People are |
using it safely However this technique like many of those in this book has not been tested |
on large populations in medical studies A certain proportion of people may seriously injure |
themselves using it Again as with all Program Peace exercises you should discontinue and |
seek medical counsel if you have any discomfort after performing the exercise |
The discomfort that this causes in your stomach may be intense at first Proceed gently and |
focus on applying firm pressure to the abdomen from the bottom of the ribs to the pelvis |
Pressure applied around the lower ribs will also help you manipulate the diaphragm You |
should notice that the tension in your stomach will not give in to the massage unless you are |
breathing slow smooth breaths When it does it should feel warm pleasurable and relieving |
almost like voiding a full bladder Relax pace your breaths and use abdominal |
compression to unwind the vice clenching your innards |
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body |
Illustration Visceral massage gently reaches into and compresses internal organs |
Mammals have a unique branch of the vagus nerve that supports social engagement |
It connects with the larynx to modulate your tone of voice and with the head to make facial |
expressions emotionally appropriate When active your vagus nerve makes your voice and face |
friendly and approachable When it is at its most active your voice relaxes and you may notice |
an improved ability to use melody and prosody When the vagus nerve is active we enjoy a |
physiological state that supports spontaneous social engagement and intimacy We feel |
outgoing rather than introverted and vibrant without being overly aroused As you might have |
guessed the vagus nerve is a pivotal component of the parasympathetic system and is largely |
responsible for lowering heart rate breathing rate and blood pressure Vagal tone decreases |
heart rate by inhibiting the firing rate of the sinoatrial node the hearts pacemaker Vagal tone |
also acts through the phrenic nerve to slow and smoothen the strokes of the diaphragm |
When it is active you stop bracing stop feeling the need to send submissive displays and regain |
your composure |
Low vagal tone makes you feel irritated and restless Vagal tone is reduced when the |
amygdala sounds its alarms Many people who live lonely lives also have shorter lives This may |
be because loneliness is associated with chronic low vagal tone High vagal tone is the calm |
pleasurable feeling you get when petting an animal taking care of small children or looking |
after a loved one High vagal tone is correlated with purpose love friendliness compassion |
affection and tenderness If you have felt these things before then you know exactly what |
vagal tone feels like Imagine that you can feel this branching structure inside you descending |
from your emotional brain down to your heart gut and diaphragm You want it to feel warm |
and fuzzy as often as possible Allow this feeling to help you debrace |
Vagal tone decreases with distressed breathing and increases with diaphragmatic |
breathing Slow deep breathing is one of the best ways to stimulate the vagus A range of |
biometric responses indicates this For instance diaphragmatic breathing elevates hand |
temperature reduces electrodermal response reduces highfrequency beta brainwaves |
and increases calming alpha brainwaves It also increases heart rate variability which is our |
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