Want A Stress Renewal IAP?

This Life we know is the journey of the embodied. We move through time and space and relate to our world through our senses- what we see, taste, touch, feel, and hear.

This is the manifest world

in the new 'abnormal' that we call

our new 'NOW' reality.

We all experience stress. Yet the word today, has become so overused as COVID gave 'stress' a whole new depth, dimension and architecture."Stress" may have lost its true meaning.

Chronic stress, like COVID, experienced over time, creates havoc on a biochemical level in both our brains and bodies. The heart and brain become incoherent, cortisol is pumped out of the adrenals, inflammation and its chronicity is birthed and sustained. This state is hard to be disrupted. Once the cycle of stress has begun, resolution is fairly far away, but not impossible to locate, yet a well practiced stress renewal plan can easily remediate and

The key is to not only know what to do when 'stress hits,' but how to resource our eternal soul nature, beyond this 3D manifest sensorial world. That is the before, the during and the aftermath of a stress storm.

The resources chosen ought to be ones that meet the SATs. That means what is sustainable, authentic and true...for you. No one else. Having things in our toolbox that are renewable, recyclable and able to serve us to replenish our souls instead of drain our nature becomes foundational and something to be built upon.

The geopolitical stage, the mass formation psychosis, vaccinated vs. the non-vaxxed and all those sub topics that fall in between every other topic we can no longer coalesce in the time-space reality or a space time reality- I prefer the latter.

So either we fall victim and prey to it all, or we rally, set up our own Individual Alignment Plan. This is an offensive proactive piece of technology- our IAP. Do we want to be the thermostat or the temperature? How do we sustain a high level of resource whereby it celebrates a smattering of diverse actions, words, thoughts thus relevant to your lifestyle and fraught with good feelings as in a 'high level emotion.' This changes brain chemistry- the seat of how we see the world. Once again, it's all about the brain.

Honestly, once COVID began I was able to see the vulnerable states so many of us revealed to one another, yet over the long haul there has been much deal making. Some got vaccines which gave each a sense of protection, some isolated- again, feeling safe, and still others amended how they socialized, whether inside environments or hanging out in the natural world--- outside.

The true challenge, and the pandemic has revealed so much of it, is that stress ups the ante to any other feelings that have been bobbling just below the surface. Whether these were physical, mental, emotional or our connection- or lack thereof- to something larger. YOu know, the feeling of human connection that makes Life worth living. Many have felt the coolness and detachment of loneliness and the divisiveness of the past almost two years. Stress, research affirms, contributes to over 60-80 % to all disease processes. With loneliness becoming a global pandemic due to the 'us vs. them' stance -no matter the subject division has been the word of the day. So tuning into the long game, your soul scape, your eternal essence might bring a sense of community and cohesion to you, inside and out. After all, caring is more about thinking with your heart, than your mind-space. How do you show 'caring' and 'compassion' to you first and what does that even look like? This reflection of self compassion, as well as empathy toward others gifts us with the ability to understand the feelings, view points, perspectives of those other than ourself.

Write some ideas below- of some things that could bring you into heart and brain coherence.

Me? I love to engage with my school age students and engage in their mindset, connect to the child within, love to draw and unconsciously doodle. To create, dance, do handstands and even take a walk down memory lane expands my resource toolbox. When I teach my yoga classes to a specific group, with a particular objective and vision, it diversifies my sense of belonging beyond what lies outside of my own family and friend circle. Joy lies in my love to meet on video chat with those I adore. What i hold most dear is the consistent treat of a self-honor activity- one that affirms life, which is the gift of being able to dive deeper into my yoga/meditation and breath work. This triad -yoga-meditation-pranayama -practice has been my lifeline for most of my adult life, yet if I forego it, my nervous system feels it.

So this has been my Rx:

Rise, Breathe, Move,

Sit Quiet & Just be.

It is here, where I become aware of being aware of how my mind-body feels- what state it is in. This core competency of self-awareness drives our resolutions to discern exactly what we may need.

Meditation and sitting still affords us the ability to prescribe to ourselves just what we need in terms of my foundational fertile ground of those 'eat. sleep. move. pray love' aspects of Life. I can feed it what it needs to meet that place of homeostasis. Do I need to tighten my diet in with some roasted root vegetables, seaweed and some animal protein or loosen it up with some fruit, cool salad, and porridge soups garnished with fresh cilantro and or parsley? Do I need to rise earlier, to do my yoga, or go to sleep earlier? Do I feel like I lost my connection to my spiritual self, my spiritual community? Do I need to move more, or save energy and rest? Do I need to make better fences to have better neighbors in words, thoughts and actions...and people? Do I need to reevaluate who I share my heart with, how much I share...where and when? What are the qualities of my love and intimacy? Do I need less, or step in more? When we can 'change course' as Admiral Stavrides of the United States Navy encourages, it deploys a sense of adaptability, to be in the flow state of other options and to bend to the conditions at hand. Not to stay stuck on any idea, thought, theory, doubt or fear and catch the wind in your sails, and sail on home.

Reminding myself, that 'everything is always working out' taps into the awareness to look for the good and this practice helps refine the skillset to cultivate a positive outlook. Once done and practiced, it always lofts my heart-mind state, thus me being more able to have clarity and be of better service to others. My reason for being, my dharma.

And when I do feel lost, and yes, those times do happen, I know there are those there who know the system, perhaps have walked the path before me, or another time, but nonetheless are there to assist.

Surround yourselves with those who

'think with their heart'

as it eases the burden of being embodied.

This is not a mind incarnation. It is the path of the heart- a community of the heart.

As Ram Dass says,

"We are here to

walk each other home."

Walk on, with hope in your heart, and reach out to connect to those who sing your heart's life song back to you ...and stoke your resources! Know what they are and how to access.

Try new things and be open to breaking the habit of being yourself. Expand, diversify your resource portfolio and tame the stress stallion! Rein it in. Whoa, Nellie! Carry on! Blessings as you continue onward to the journey of the heart.