Giving Thanks

GivingThanks

by Jewa Lea, DC

At any given moment, your body - through your nervous system - is responding to stress. It responds to stress via the five senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing) constantly. Your body gets overheated, it cools off by activating its sweat glands; you eat something sour, your body activates its saliva glands, neutralizes the acid of the lemon and helps with digestion; your eyes are exposed to too much light and your nervous system constricts the iris of your eye to regulate the amount of light entering. You get the picture.

Your body also responds to stress via your thoughts and memory. If your body perceives a threat – real or imagined – it gears up the most primitive and firmly entrenched nervous system response of the body, the flight-or-fight response. Your muscles tighten, your breathing becomes shallow, your pulse quickens, your digestion stops, and your blood pressure elevates, amongst other things. This response is meant to protect us from harm. But if constantly initiated, it can cause major health problems. In today’s economic climate, mental stress is paramount. The mere thought of jobs lost, homes foreclosing, stores closing and credit markets stalling on an hourly basis is enough to make you sick. Even if your personal economic situation is good, the constant media barrage of “how bad things are” can wear you out, literally.

We live our lives through our nervous system. Every function of our body is governed by a nervous system response. No exceptions. So doesn’t it make sense to make sure your nervous system is functioning optimally? Start by asking yourself the following:

1. Am I healthier today than I was 5 years ago?
2. Are the choices I make in what I eat, drink, and breathe supporting a healthy life for me?
3. Are the majority of my thoughts disease-producing (negative) or life-enhancing (positive)?
4. Are the people in my daily life a support or a hindrance to my health?
5. How has being “realistic” kept me from living the life that I want?
6. What do I need to do TODAY in order to be as healthy as I would like?

As far as Question 6 goes, may I make a suggestion? Other than the most obvious one of ‘COME SEE ME!,’ I suggest that you start with gratitude. Yes, gratitude. By focusing on what you are thankful and grateful for, you shift the focus from some ‘doom and gloom scenario’ of the near or distant perceived future to what is real and present right now. One of the homework exercises I give to my patients (yes, they get homework) is each night to write in a Gratitude Journal five things –small or large - they are thankful and grateful. It shifts their conscious thoughts from the perceived negative to the real and present positive. Living in the present moment is great for the mind and the nervous system as well.

Another exercise I give is a neurological reset exercise called the M Power March. While performing the M Power March stance, the patients focus on what they are happy, thankful and grateful. After performing the March for the first time, patients are often amazed how their range of motion improves, how their pain immensely decreases, and how “light” they feel after relieving the compression their muscle tension created.

Remember at any given moment your nervous system is responding to your thoughts, so the more you focus on gratitude, your perception shifts and your nervous system responds in kind. The body responds to the mind. So slow down and stop right now. For what are you happy, thankful and grateful?