As our class has a strong focus on self-defence Chris makes sure that he always explains in class how the skills that our exercises build are applicable to real life, practical self defence. Here in this blog we bring you the balancing perspective of how those same exercises will help in daily life, reducing stress levels and improving physical and mental balance.
Yesterday we had a focus on breath and awareness, these simple concepts can help you to manage how you feel in situations which trigger a stress response for you. We began by checking in with posture, beginning with the feet, making sure you are standing with relaxed and balanced feet, weight balanced equally between them. Now scan up to your knees, are they relaxed and comfortable? Then hips, are they balanced? Now focus on your spine, tuck your tailbone slightly, then imagine lifting each vertebrae in turn, scanning up your spine, as you pass by them give your shoulders a shake, are they relaxed? Scan up to the base of your skull, here imagine someone is pulling your head up and slightly back.
We encourage everyone to get in to the habit of doing this regularly throughout the day. If you know you are about to experience a stressful situation, practice this first, it will help to keep you grounded, centred and more equipped to deal with the situation.
If you are sat at a computer all day, its great to stand up and do this every now and then through your day to relieve the pressure that desk posture can put on us, I often suggest setting a timer to do this, and to walk around or have a stretch. If you are unable to stand up, do the exercise at your desk, beginning with the spine, this will still help to rebalance your posture and relieve some of the building pressure.
This exercise was followed by an awareness exercises, standing in your balanced posture, bring your awareness to a different part of your body with each breath, then your awareness to yourself as a whole, then your personal space bubble, then to your surroundings, observe what is around you in a neutral way.
This practice will help in situations where things are crowded or overwhelming, it will also help in times of conflict, take a moment and go through the stages, it will centre you and allow you to observe what is going on without connection to emptions, this may help to give you insight and perspective, taking a moment to gather yourself before reacting.
If practiced regularly, this process will become more instinctive to you, at the same time these practices will help to reduce your stress levels and raise your awareness of stress, tension and inner restrictions throughout the day, this in itself can leave you feeling more balanced and relaxed.
We also discussed maintaining mobility, my favourite line from the class was a well known saying, “You don’t stop moving because you get old, you get old because you stop moving”. This is something I have covered in a previous post, the basic message is if you don’t maintain your mobility, you will gradually become more restricted in your movement, this is something many of us fear but assume it will be inevitable….the more we work to maintain our mobility and strength, the more mobility and independence we are likely to retain. Even before we “get old” many of our aches, pains and restrictions are due to repetitive movement and sedentary lifestyle- How many times a day do you get up and down off the floor? How varied are your movements? I could go on and on about this, and I’m sure I will in future posts
Of course, much of what I have described here comes under mindfulness practice, and many such processes will have similar benefits, the perspective and understanding of how these things can benefit you is what is important here, and the emphasis on regular practice, just as with any skill or activity, regular repetition is key to developing the instinctive reactions to stressful situations.
Regular check ins through your day will help to maintain and extend the balance and wellness you have gained from your regular massage…
If you haven’t booked in yet, what is stopping you? Our class is a great way to develop those skills, build functional core strength and learn new things.
Why not join us in Carrig-on-Bannow next Thursday 7pm?
We have an introductory offer right now, everyone who attends our class will receive a €10 discount from their next treatment from the barefoot therapist!
The Barefoot therapist 