Holistic Bonfire

Suruchi Saini, MA, LPC, CCTP, TMHP, CYT

Stress Management

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~ Sense of taste ~

Sense of Taste

Would you agree that most of us eat our food in a rush these days without thinking about the consequences? If yes, then you may also agree that as a result, we seem to be losing touch with our sense of taste, in its authentic form. However it’s reversible and we can actually use this sense to relax; feel better by giving ourselves a break in between two tasks or precisely give our brain a pause in between a trigger and a response.

How it works
Have your favorite food handy around you when possible. Simply sit at a comfortable place, have your favorite food ready in front of you. Now first notice the color of the food; then its temperature; its texture; its aroma, and don’t forget to be grateful for it. Now put the food in your mouth and chew it slowly by letting it roll in different parts of your mouth. The whole idea is to pay attention to what you are eating; how you are eating, while cherishing the food and distracting from your stressor at the same time. Also, note the kind of feelings or thoughts emerge when you are eating. All these steps using sense of taste will help you to be more aware and relax for few minutes so that later you can be more attentive.

On a side note, I can’t stop myself from mentioning that let’s try our best to have something that we like and which is also healthy. When we eat something unhealthy, it makes us feel guilty later on. That’s definitely not the purpose of this exercise. Also, research shows that when we are stressed, we crave for sugar and fried food. Precisely, that is the time when we should avoid eating junk food because our body is already releasing stress hormones to protect us from any perceived or real threat or stress). When we eat unhealthy, it is double-trouble for our mind and body. We don’t need to stop eating all our favorite foods but we can always start replacing one unhealthy food item with something which is healthier and also tastes better. We have plenty of options these days!

Please be mindful of how it feels when we eat our favorite food and how to use the sense of taste to help us relax and feel better!!

Next Sunday, I’ll share about the sense of touch!

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~ Sense of Smell ~

Pink Flowers

If you think, it doesn’t work, think twice. We have over five million olfactory cells that we use to smell things and we take about 23,000 breaths per day. If we pay attention and use these cells to help us, especially when we are feeling overwhelmed or frustrated, we can really change our emotions and take charge of the situation.

Yoga Philosophy always teaches personal responsibility in taking care of ourselves as our duty. So going by that, figure out at least 3-4 different kinds of smells that you like which has calming or stimulating effects on your nerves. And just in case you are not aware of which smells you like and for which purpose, It’ time to do it now!!

Almost every material around us has smell. Just pick whatever engages your attention, whether plants, herbs, or other daily mundane items e.g.:

  • Flowers
  • Perfumes
  • Books (physical ones)
  • Masala Chai/Coffee
  • Mint gums
  • After-rain soil
  • Cheese
  • Fresh Ginger
  • Deserts or other food items
  • Fresh cut grass

Aromatherapy Oils – Lavender, Cinnamon, Lemon, Vanilla (OilyWisdom)

Take in the smell with a deep breath try to stay with that smell for a while. Note the kind of feelings the smell evokes in you and dig deeper in your mind to find out why. Do this at times you feel stressed or overwhelmed. Apart from making you feel pleasant, the smell will help you concentrate your mental energy. That experience could be an eye opener or life changing who knows!!

 

Caution – please don’t cheat yourself by thinking “I like this perfume because it is so expensive”. If we choose not be true to ourselves then how can we expect others to be genuine with us? I know that’s another discussion altogether, will write about it some other time J.

(According to Aromatherapy, we can start with just 2-3 scented oil bottles. We can put two drops on a clean paper and it’s ready to help you. Please make sure that you hold the paper about two inches away from your nose)

Next week I will write about sense of taste.

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~Using Sense of Sound to De-Stress~

Suruchi Saini, MA, LPC, NCC, CCTP

Continuing from last week, sharing a little about our five senses and how to use them as tools in our daily life. Today I am writing about the sense of Sound.

As part of human evolution, our ancestors have relied on the sense of sound to protect themselves from the multitude of dangers. Today, we can use the sense of sound to protect ourselves from the epidemic of 21st century – Stress.

Music helps but not always:

Most of us enjoy music but not all of us are aware how music affect us. We may think that our favorite music always helps us, but not necessarily. It might stimulate us when we need to calm down, or it might slow us down when we need to be active.

A quick trick for you:

While listening to a song, pay attention to the lyrics and the feelings they bring. Then move your attention to the instruments being played in the background. Once you begin to hear the instruments distinctly, follow any one of the instruments for next few minutes. This simple trick will reduce your immediate stress, relax your mind, and help you focus on the matter at hand. It’ll be like a quick meditation. Sounds fair?

Brain imaging shows that music stimulates parts of the brain (2011 Drexel University study) and helps in reducing anxiety and stress!

Few more ways of using sense of Sound to de-stress, take time out to:

  • Listen to the birds in the morning or evening hours
  • Listen to music with various sounds of water (rain, waves, waterfalls, fountains etc.)
  • Listen wind-chimes playing in soft breeze
  • Play an instrument

Music has been an important part of our history, and is equally important in our present. However it is very important to understand how we are feeling and the kind of music that will help at any particular moment.

Some of my personal favorites for different purposes:

  • Om meditation – for deep connection
  • Before I go by Yanni – for relaxation
  • Tibetan bowls – for self-reflection
  • Requiem by Mozart – for creativity
  • Santoor by Shiv K. Sharma – for pleasure
  • Gayatri Mantra chants – for empowerment

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain”- Bob Marley

Next week I’ll share about our sense of smell (Olfactory) to de-stress.

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~ When stressed, use your five senses ~

MSG_Flowers

Today and in next few blogs, I am going to share about how to use our five senses to get some immediate relief from stress.

Stress has become so common these days that we don’t even think twice before using this word in all situations, so much that even our 10 year olds have started using it. It has become part of our daily vocabulary. It was not like this until a few decades back. We were more aware of our thoughts, actions and behavior. Of all the wonderful progress that we have made, also came emotional numbness (of senses). When we don’t experience our senses, we feel partially absent from our own lives and eventually from our family & friends’ lives as well.

Although Yoga philosophy teaches detachment form senses is important for better self-control, yet we need to experience them fully first and then to learn detachment and self-control.

Our five senses – touch, taste, sight, smell, and sound are powerful tools that we carry everywhere with us. We have access to them as needed. “The access” could be a little bit of a challenge though, especially for those of us who are very busy; conditioned to spend our day a certain way; used to ignore our mind and body’s messages.

So how do we start using our senses to gain control? Let’s take an example. Imagine we are in office overloaded with work. We want to focus on the work but can’t maybe because of racing thoughts, feeling anxious, or simply overwhelmed etc. Recognize those feelings and take a time-out by using one of the senses to reduce the stress/anxiety. Let’s begin with the sense which has the closest relation with brain, the sense of sight. Try one or more of the following by:

  • Looking at pictures of a loved one or any inspirational person. Sounds familiar? Yes, it still works
  • Remembering (or if we are too busy then writing and carrying with us) five favorite events/memories from the past and reliving them with our eyes closed when stressed
  • Noticing and counting 8-10 things in our surroundings
  • Looking at something beautiful (pictures, flowers, scenery, stars, moon, birds, babies etc.)
  • Surrounding ourselves with white or yellow color (objects)
  • Watching sunrise or sunset
  • Sitting in a room full of bright light or sitting under clear sky
  • Watching TV for few minutes (I am not a fan of TV but watching it for a few minutes might give us a break and distract us from the problem)

Above are a few examples of using our sense of sight to calm us down within few minutes. Once we achieve the calm state of mind, it makes it easier to refocus and continue.

Try this technique and let me know how it worked for you. Will be happy to answer any question.

Next week I will write how to use sense of smell and touch.

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Happiness & Craving for Love

Bliss

Craving for love could be a long journey, at times painful, especially if we don’t know how to love ourselves. But we still want to feel loved. In the process, we forget that each one of us have our own journey to complete, our own feelings; struggles; actions; thoughts; behaviors; choices and a very individualized way of connecting with the world.

In our daily lives, we look for love from family; friends and people in general in different ways and at different places. Few examples – appreciation at work; recognition in community; respect at home; a smile/nod from a stranger; a hug from a child; a kiss from a partner; a warm welcome from a pet after a workday; and the feeling of peace when surrounded with trees/water/stars and so on.

All of us have this simple need of love to be happy whether we openly accept it or not. We go through various stages in life where we test and try our beliefs which we have gathered through our life experiences so far. Sometimes we get accepted/rejected by ourselves and others. Instead of getting upset/happy, do we stop and think that why we are being accepted/rejected?

We fluctuate in our need for love and happiness on daily basis as well as throughout our lifetimes. Yes others can help us to feel good at times. However the ongoing feeling of love and happiness got to come from within us. To find that spot, we need to be aware of ourselves inside-out and self-reflection is a great tool to achieve that. If we are not aware of our own needs or should I say mood swings then how can we take care of ourselves? And if we can’t take care of ourselves then how can we be genuinely there for others whether it’s co-workers/teams; Family; friends; community? When we continue to ask questions like these and constantly look for answers, we take an additional steps towards accessing our great wisdom.

When we live mindfully, we refine our thoughts; behaviors and actions. We continue to work towards the ultimate goal of being happy, feeling it at the cellular level. When we reach this stage of being happy, we become pure; unattached and full of compassion! And then the real loving and giving begins. The more we give the more we become happier. “You want to be immediately happy, make someone happy” without any expectations – Dr. Deepak Chopra. Try it!!

After achieving the happiness stage, being happy becomes our nature. We become pure; our vibrations change; we attract more happy people around us and the happiness multiplies.

Originally happiness was not dependent on anything or anyone. We just need to go back to our original nature. Happiness is like that free floating particle/atom, for which we might not have a complete explanation but we know it’s there ~