Martha has injured herself and recovery looks like it will be at least a 1/2 year recovery. Pain is what brought her in for acupuncture. She tells me, “I don’t know how I am going to keep from going crazy, exercise is what keeps me sane. Without my active lifestyle I may become a mental basket-case. Exercise is how I let off the steam of stress.”

Marsha is like many athletes in Summit County.

Putting climbing skins on her skiis to ascend a groomed ski run early in the a.m. is business as usual. Other activities fit into a week often include hot yoga, running, bike riding, you name it, its done here and Marsha does all of them. According to Chinese medicine, bodily movement which creates flow of energy is a major key to vibrant health. This is why Summit County is such a healthy community. In addition Marsha eats a pretty good diet too.

In my clinic I hear concerns almost identical to this on a regular basis. This concerns me, here’s why…. While exercise is a major pillar for healthy living needing it to feel calm and stress free it takes on an addictive quality. Although people like Marsha are pretty healthy and happy with their regular lifestyle they easily can become irritable, anxious and even depressed when injury prevents regular activity.

Consciously making a choice to cultivate a healthy mind regardless of activity level is a practice that’s so valuable it can change your life beyond your imagination.

Without conscious work our minds are like a wild stallion that relentlessly bucks and throws us creating regular stress and struggle no matter how we try to keep calm and cool. It is the nature of the unbridled mind to do this. What do we do? A wild stallion must be “broken’ and trained as does our mind.

Martha is at a crossroads. Either she can endure the next 1/2 year and wait to get her life back OR she can take the opportunity to take control of her mind right now and reap the benefits for years to come.

Besides not going crazy without exercise, what are some of the other benefits of a ‘bridled’ mind?

• a deep sense of calm that is hard to shake even with ‘sucky’ outside world events.
• more balanced vibrant health.
• ability to choose not be victim of a bad mood.
• increased level of self-confidence.
• stronger immune system, less likely to catch the cold/flu that is going around.
• stronger ability to overcome and avoid addictions.
• less insomnia and deeper high quality sleep.

Very valuable Eh? Wouldn’t you want this? Of Course! So how do you begin?

There are many ways but here are 3 easy basic ways to get you started.

1) Make a commitment to breathe gently and deeply while watching the content of your mind.

It’s best to start with a small chunk of time and do it everyday. Try 5 minutes beginning with focusing on the breath you can increase this as you go. 5 minutes becomes 35 minutes a week! You will begin to get distracted by your mind – when you notice this distraction see if you can instead keep with the gentle breaths and observe the content of your mind without getting caught up in it emotionally. Getting control of the mind first requires awareness of what is going on in there without getting caught up in it!

2) Learn and practice EFT.

EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique and like giving yourself a mini acupuncture treatment while re-programming your mind the way you choose to. You can learn more about it and how to do it by visiting www.EmoFree.com and reading the manual or I could teach you here in my clinic. So many of my clients have changed their life with it – How about you?

3) Focus your attention on your body.

Try it right now with your neck and shoulders. Take an easy breath in and shrug your shoulders up tightly, let out your breath and release your shoulders. Notice the release you feel, is it warmer there, tingly? Just paying attention begins building the body/mind connections and is effective in calming and guiding the wild mind. Next put your consciousness on your hands. Can you feel the life force in them? You’ll notice a subtle vibration if you stick with it. This practice can either be a formal practice moving from the top to bottom of the body as a general body scan. You can also casually notice bodily sensations or even observing how some areas of your body are almost devoid of sensation – practice breathing life into those ‘dead’ areas. You can do this anywhere or anytime during your day – even in the grocery line!

4) Acupuncture is amazing for helping to build momentum to a calm, bridled mind.

Yes, for long-term change most people will need to do other practices in addition to acupuncture. This is the case because we must do something with consistent regularity to re-program ourselves to think and feel in a calmer and vibrant way. But acupuncture will allow one to experience a deep level of mind calm before the other practices begin to pay dividends in addition to quickening the pace of results.

I hope I have inspired you to begin the process of getting control over your mind. When we don’t consciously work on our minds, our minds will work against us. Yes, this takes a bit of discipline but wouldn’t you agree a bit of discipline is much preferable to being run year after year by an unruly mind?

Marsha make take some action in that direction, I sure hope so! But others I have worked with who have used these above practices on a consistent basis have experienced some or all of the benefits I listed above. I am thinking of a woman I work with who has taken this to heart and not only has she experienced every benefit above she has also recently created a career that is very financially successful and fulfilling. Wow! What is possible for you?……All of this and more!

Kathy Castrigno of Frisco Acupuncture is passionate about helping her clients attain health in all dimensions of life including the mind. She is never to busy to help you with your health challenges.