“You can’t always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.”– Wayne Dyer

Our fast paced and goal orientated society and way of living brought much anxiety to many of us. I'm sure all of us can say we've experienced anxiety at some point in our lives. Today we're being asked to stop but that can bring anxiety of its own. These are certainly challenging times but isn't it also the perfect opportunity to introduce some anxiety and stress relieving tools into our everyday lives? Let's look at how anxiety manifests itself.

We all recognise the signs. They come mentally, emotionally and physically:

• Our thoughts spiral and can become obsessive.
• We're restless, agitated, it's difficult to sit still.                                
• We constantly look for distraction away from what we're feeling.
• We turn to food, alcohol, Netflix to distract, numb or push down the anxious feelings.
• We can't sleep, we're grumpy and irritable.
• We hide, from ourselves and from others.
• Physically we may sweat, we may feel faint, we may shake.
• We may feel like we're not really in our body, our heart rate increases and we may find it difficult to breathe.

Basically our central nervous system goes into overdrive as our mind and body perceive the situation as being unsafe in some way and the body becomes wired to respond accordingly. So how can we support the mind/body system to relax when it's been triggered into this response? 

"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity"-Heave

How often do we really stop and bring our awareness to our breathe? Most of us walk around in tension and our breathe becomes shallow and restricted to the top part of our lungs. To move our system into relaxation we simply bring awareness to our breathe, elongate it and deepen it. Try it now...inhale deep down into the belly so that your belly expands as you inhale. Can you feel how the bottom of the lungs fill will air and your breathing is not restricted to the upper part of your chest? Exhale slowly from the belly up so that the top of your lungs are the last to empty. Make the exhale longer than the inhale. That's the key. So even if you're having difficulty breathing then just make the exhale longer and your breathe will begin to calm down. Maybe you inhale for 4 counts and exhale for 6 counts. 

Did you notice how the belly comes in when you exhale?  How do you feel now?

Here are some other breathing exercises that you could incorporate too.

"Smile, breathe and go slowly"-Thich Nhat Hanh 

Movement is one of the best things for working with the energy of anxiety in the body. Doesn't it feel like it just wants to get out? Isn't all that energy in the body just screaming to move instead of being shut down? So let it move! Shaking is my absolute favourite way of moving energy and here's how I do it:

• Stand feet hip width apart and bend your knees slightly. Relax into it and let your body hang heavy.
• Feel the ground beneath your feet (bare foot is best) and allow a bounce to start moving up from the ground and your feet into your legs.
• Sink into the bounce and feel how it moves into the rest of the body naturally without really needing to do anything to make it happen. 
• Allow the bounce to exaggerate and see if you can get a good full body shake going on. It really doesn't matter if it doesn't happen, just play around with it! 
• If emotions come, let them come. What has been held in check is now just all coming out. It's the natural movement of things and is totally ok. In fact it's great!
• Keep on going until the shaking-bounce naturally wants to slow down until you become still.
• How does your body feel now? Can you feel the aliveness? Can you also feel the stillness?

Here is a great little instructional video of shaking, why it works and how to do it.

I also love putting on some headphones and dancing like a mad one! Let it all out, move, shake, jump, shimmy...dance like nobody is watching! It doesn't matter what you look like, it's all about moving that anxious energy in the body...

Here are some teachers of 5Rhythms Dance/Movement Meditation in Ireland. Perhaps you could find a class near you?

“Dance is the hidden language of the soul.”-Martha Graham

Being in Nature has this incredible ability to soothe the system. It grounds us. It's a beautiful reminder to slow down and breathe. There is science behind this of course as we know that the Sun gives us vitamin D and this study speaks of Vit D deficiency in anxiety and depression. It goes without saying that getting some sun can help alleviate depression and anxiety. Placing our bare feet on the ground also helps. This is called Grounding and this is what Dr Stephen Sinatra has to say about it:

"This energy infusion is powerful stuff. It can restore and stabilize the bioelectrical circuitry that governs your physiology and organs, harmonize your basic biological rhythms, boost self-healing mechanisms, reduce inflammation and pain, and improve your sleep and feeling of calmness. When these things happen, you feel better in a big way.”

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." -Lao Tzu

We find it so difficult to be still don't we?! At least we do when it comes to being still without any distractions like watching TV or listening to music. Being still with eyes closed with nothing but what is going on inside of us can actually make some of us feel even more anxious. But trust me, it takes effort initially but once you get past the wanting to run a mile away from being still with yourself, then everything starts to relax and the rewards are enormous. The very act of remaining in the face of uncomfortable feelings and agitation wears something down and the whole system begins to soften. We learn amazing skills in doing this. We learn patience with ourselves, we learn compassion for ourselves, we learn how not to move in the face of discomfort, we become strong, willing to meet anything that may arise. It's like a muscle that has never been used that begins to strengthen and grow until one day you realise you're so much stronger than you ever felt possible. A great way to learn how to remain is to come deeply into the body space. It brings us into the present moment and away from our spiralling thoughts. The video below is taken from Judith Blackstone's "The Realisation Process" which you can find in more depth here. It's been hugely helpful for many of us in the extended Full Circle Hemp Family.

Below the video is a simple step by step guide to being still and meeting what arises in the heart of your love.

Step 5: Supporting the Endocannabinoid system may help

The Endocannabinoid System (ECS) is a complex system that is still being explored by scientists. What is known is that it consists of receptors (CB1 & CB2 and possibly more as yet undiscovered receptors) that are endogenous to all mammals, their bodies and their brains. These receptors play a key role in regulating the physiological systems that govern mood (which we're looking at here), pain, appetite and memory amongst others things. When the Endocannabinoid System is deficient it moves out of homeostasis (balance) and can cause all sorts of dis-ease or irregularities, including changes in our moods.

Step 6: All this adds up to self care

The ability to be with ourselves in all the messy times as well as the easier times is 

                                                Self Care.