(What I learned from the second week of Deepak’s “Healing the Whole Self” free online workshop.)
(Also, I have to call him Deepak instead of Chopra because Deepak is so fun to say. Deepak.)
Deepak started his healing workshop by talking about the “bodymind” and self-care. He continued that theme this week, with an increased focus on the mind.
He says the body is “an activity, a constantly flowing river of energy, intelligence and awareness” inextricable from the mind, which is why our mental states affects our bodies so profoundly.
The stress response — that fight-or-flight feeling that makes your jaw tighten and your shoulders hunch up — is horrible for your health. It floods the body with cortisol, a “stress hormone” that jacks up all of your operations, speeding your heart rate, tensing your muscles and narrowing your mental focus — great for when you’re running from a bear, not so great as a constant operational state. That’s why it’s so important to practice self-awareness, calm down and let go of what Deepak calls “limiting thoughts.”
Here are his three tips to quickly counteract the stress response:
- Exhale: Practice the “sigh of relief.” The exhale is tied to the relaxation response, so invites instant stress relief. Relax your shoulders and jaw, close your eyes and inhale through your nose for a silent count of five. Pause briefly at the top and let out an audible, open-mouthed exhale. Aaaaaaah. Repeat as often as needed.
- Progressive muscle relaxation: You have to maintain focus for several minutes to do this one (which is so hard for me because I swear sometimes it feels like I have a rodent brain — way more flitty than focused). Lie on the floor, close your eyes and breathe through your nose. Then, bring attention to one part of your body at a time. Start with the feet, tense those muscles tightly for a few seconds, then relax. Move up to the legs, pelvis, stomach, chest, arms, neck and face. Finally, contract the entire body and release with an audible sigh.
- Hugs. So easy! So simple! So available! Science shows hugs are actually good for our health. Echoing what UC Berkeley professor Dacher Keltner says in the Science of Happiness class, touch is critical to human thriving. Giving someone a sincere, hearty hug releases oxytocin, the “cuddle hormone,” in both of you. This chemical naturally counteracts cortisol’s harmful effects. Deepak suggests tuning into the other person’s breathing and heartbeat during the hug (this could be creepy depending on who you’re hugging, right?) to generate a profound sense that you are not alone.