More Mindfulness Exercises

Stress is a natural human response that enables the body to cope during certain situations. There are three phases to our stress response:

• Phase 1 - The Alarm Phase
• Phase 2 - The Resistance Phase
• Phase 3 - Exhaustion

Phase 1 - The Alarm Phase This phase is short lived and initiated by the hormones released by the adrenal medulla.  It is triggered by excitement, exercise, emergency and embarrassment - what are commonly called the "E" situations. During this phase the sympathetic nervous system will dominate and favour body functions that support vigorous physical activity.  Once the situation is resolved the body either the parasympathetic nervous system will dominate allowing the body to relax and digestion food or the sympathetic nervous system will continue to dominate and the body will move into phase 2. Phase 2 - The Resistance Reaction This is a long term stress reaction or chronic stress and it initiated by the hypothalamic releasing hormones:

• Corticotropin
• Growth hormone
• Thyroptropin

During phase 1 stress response the heart rate is increased to increase the rate of blood flow as blood is directed away from the digestive system and digestive organs towards the skeletal muscles of the body.   Drawing blood away from the blood away from the stomach for too long can lead to indigestion or IBS.   In addition, corticotropin is the body's hormone alarm bell telling it to release steroids and adrenaline, increased exposure can lead to IBS, stomach aches, nausea, diarrhea and heartburn. All the body functions are impacted as the body's pH is increased.  The body's sodium levels are increased increasing water retention by the kidneys and maintaining the increase in blood pressure during the alarm phase.  This increase in blood pressure and blood flow helps the body cope with the demands placed upon it but in the long term can lead to hypertension. The stress hormones cause the blood to become thicker and stickier increasing its ability to clot to help the body cope with injury.  Chronic stress where there is thicker blood and no injury can lead to blood clots and therefore affect the blood flow causing damage to the heart.  The increase in the heart rate and force of the contractions of the heart in chronic stress can lead to an abnormal heart rhythm causing heart muscle damage. Adrenaline and cortisol trigger the release of fatty acids into the blood stream for the body to use as energy.  Prolonged release by cortisol can potentially increase cholesterol levels leading to a thickening of the lumen and hence a narrowing of the arteries.  Continued exposure to cortisol can increase abdominal fat, therefore increasing the risk of heart disease.    

Having spoken previously about why poor posture is bad for you, I wanted to move on to give you a simple exercise that helps promote good posture.  Brugger's exercise routine is devised to activate postural muscles weakened and simultaneously stretched by a prolonged sitting posture. Slumped Position Check the tension in your upper back and shoulders in the slumped posture and then in the Brugger's position, to see if you notice any difference as the muscle tension is dramatically reduced. Brugger Exercise Posture Step By Step Guide

1. Sit perched towards the edge of your seat; this will naturally place your lower back into a curve (lumbar lordosis) with your butt sticking out a little.  As you do this your breastbone (sternum) will naturally lift up.
2. Separate your legs to 45 degrees each side with your feet turned out slightly and in line with your knees.
3. Your shoulders are relaxed and down with your chin tucked in, making the back of your neck longer – imagine a piece of string is attached to the top of your head and someone is lifting you up.
4. Fully straighten (extend) both elbows and arms.
5. Make sure you keep your shoulders down and imagine your shoulder blades [scapula] are pushing down and together to form a V.
6. Turn your thumbs out (externally rotate), palms up.
7. Separate your fingers.
8. You should now be in the position show above in the Brugger's exercise posture picture.
9. Hold for 30 seconds.

Ideally you should perform the Brugger's exercise once for every thirty minutes of sitting, so why not try this once a day. PS The Science This exercise was developed by a Swiss Neurologist called Alois Brugger MD,  the exercise is neither a traditional stretch or strengthening technique but works neurologically by being complementary to the way your body is wired to work. Our bodies are neurologically much stronger in all of our flexor muscles. This is displayed perfectly if we look at a person with a neurological disorder, e.g. cerebral palsy; their body naturally has increased tension (hypertension) in the flexor muscles, also known as the spastic posture. This demonstrates our natural prosperity to an Upper Cross Posture which often develops when we sit for prolonged periods of time in a slumped position. Muscles work in groups. When one group is working then the opposing group are unable to work (inhibited).  An easy example to visualise of this is when you place food in your mouth. To do this you flex your fingers, wrist muscles, bicep muscles and pecs., all flexors. However, to be able to do this you have to inhibit your finger extensors, wrist extensors, triceps, rhomboids etc. This is called reciprocal inhibition. If you were unable to do this you would be unable to feed yourself. The Brugger exercise works on the principal of reciprocal inhibition. When doing this exercise you are activating all your extensor muscles and therefore inhibiting all of your (usually hyper activated) flexor muscles.