Tag Archive for: anxiety

Reflections From Retreat: How to Develop Resiliency in Times of Darkness

Greetings to everyone. Welcome, and it’s been quite a long time since I’ve made a video, so thank you so much for your patience and for joining me here today. I just wanted to make a few comments about some ways that we can work with the stress reduction and a little bit of somatic healing and some tricks that we can have utilized right now during these times that are becoming more painful and more dramatic and more colorful. The other day I was actually researching Trump traumatic stress disorder on the internet, and I joined a group, it was a free group with a woman who was pretty proficient with polyvagal theory and she taught us a lot of techniques that were invaluable. That was a few days after the incident at the White House with Zelensky. Somehow that was so egregious for a lot of us. I think it was the lowest, most base, most embarrassing moment in our nation’s entire history.

And a lot of us are grappling with this new world that we find ourselves living in. It happened so fast that our heads are spinning and our hearts are breaking, and we’re seeing the beginning of what looks like global warfare in these forces taking root. And I have a few things that I wanted to offer to you about what I’m finding in my own life as to how to deal with that and some of the things that my teachers have shared with me over the years. For those of you who don’t know, my name is Dawn Boiani Sandberg. I’m a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner wellness coach, and the person that runs the blog at rockymountainsomatics.com. And so after this had happened in the White House, I found myself really triggered having, I was crying, like sobbing, just thinking about all of the lives lost in Ukraine, thinking about how that Zelensky was bullied, thinking about all of the children and the frightened and scared people in Gaza and in Canada and all of us right now and somewhere inside of me, I have to believe that this is not who we are.

Insight from Retreat

I don’t believe we’re a conscienceless, murderous species that wants to destroy itself. I think there have been some very powerful global forces at play that have been brewing under the scenes for a really long time. And in fact, I wanted to share with you something, if anyone follows my blog, you’ve probably read this, but about two years before Covid Trump had gotten elected, and I started to become this activist mom because I was like, wow, we need to mitigate this damage. And I was here at my retreat house, that’s where I’m right now in Crestone, Colorado. And I was praying to source the lineage, praying for guidance and insight as to how to survive with this chaos and this type of president. And as I was doing, I was doing eight hours a day of meditation practice, really serious practicing, and some kind of teachings from source appeared in my mind and I wanted to share that with you.

The teaching said, Dawn, we have something to tell you. And I’m like, oh God, what? We need to talk. And the teachings came sort of like I imagine a field of Buddhists in front of me and they said, well, within your lifetime, you’re going to experience a tremendous amount of global upheaval and loss of life, and we need to prepare for that. Now, this was two years before Covid, so I don’t know if they were referring to the global pandemic or what’s happening now, but they said that I needed to prepare. And I said, listen, my teacher told me that one person can change the world. What if we all get together now to try to stop this? If we all fight and are activists and put ourselves in the frontline, maybe we can stop the momentum toward this global destruction and the field of merit.

Four Hours a Day Practice!

Buddha said to me, well, they said that the global forces toward this destruction had been forged for many, many years now, and not one person can stop it. We actually just have to kind of almost allow it to unfold. It’s so huge. It’s like trying to stop a landslide that the best thing that they could offer me was to do a lot of self-care and a lot of meditation practice. I happen to right now live in a pretty privileged and free space that might change, but while I have the time, they suggested I do two hours of meditation in the morning, and that meant trying to cut social media, Facebook, Instagram, blue sky, I mean to recommit to my practice in a way that’s more regular. Two hours in the morning they said, make the sacrifice, get off of social media back away and do your practice.

And then they wanted me instead of at night, just wasting time again on social media to do another two hours. So they said, if you practice four hours a day, that will give you the internal resiliency to be able to withstand what you’re going to experience in the future. And you can do that in a more grounded and fearless way. We can’t offer you a solution to these global geopolitical problems and the loss of life, but we can offer you ultimate protection such that you wouldn’t experience any fear, you can stay strong and withstand this. And they basically indicated that what’s happening is kind of it’s our collective karma coming to fruition. Maybe I am not a super geopolitical expert as to what’s happened over the years, but all I know is that a lot of us are really frightened now and we’re heartbroken and we just got through with Covid.

I mean, it’s like, give us a break. I thought we were all starting to heal again and be able to come back to life and now this. So yeah, so it’s time for, as the Buddhist suggested to me is time for doing a lot of practice. And I also think it’s important to act as well because oh, part of that teaching said that if we all work a little bit, we can mitigate some of the worst amount of damage. So it’s this mix of practice, but then a little bit of entering into the world and doing some type of social action. So I’ve been involved with the Democratic party and Indivisible and giving money and doing whatever I can with whatever limited resources I have to volunteer and help to try to be there for people and to try to make change and mitigate these dark predictions and dark time we’re in right now.

AOC-Be Joyous!

So I think also I have a child and I think about the future that we’re leaving to the next generation, and that inspires me to take personal responsibility for getting my hands dirty and doing what I can. And I listened to a recent talk with AOC Alexandra, AOC. She said, well, I grew up in Puerto Rico. My people don’t have a lot of resources. They’re very poor. There’s a lot of hard life there. She said, but my people know how to party. They dance and they sing and they celebrate life even in the midst of poverty and adversity. And she said, even though this is happening in the United States right now, this current fascist like regime, she said, make sure that you still connect to some type of joy and goodness and celebration. Because if we lose that, what are we doing all this for?

From My Teacher

It’s so hard to be alive. It’s always just so much work to sustain our lives and to be here. What are we doing all this for? Unless we can connect to some warmth and family and bliss and friendship and joy. So even in the darkest moments, I feel like I’d like to take her advice and still feel a sense of wellbeing even in the midst of darkness. And I don’t mean to speak from privilege from Colorado and I have this relative good situation right now. I don’t take that for granted. I think that could even change. I don’t think any of us can take our privilege for granted. I wanted to share with you, this is a little bit so trigger warning, a little bit dark, but I studied with a really powerful sort of Yoda, like amazingly compassionate teacher. His name was Tulku Urgyen and he was this yogi that lived in a nunnery up in a mountainside, in a nature reserve in Nepal.

And he’d always start the teachings. I think any of my Dharma friends listening to this that maybe it was almost every teaching, but most all teachings, he would start with everything that you see around you right now is impermanent. Everything is in flux. And he said at some point, even the sun itself will go nova and all life on this planet and nearby, it’s all going to exhaust itself. So he really wanted us to have our first thought be that there’s not a whole lot you can hold onto in this life. Everything is subject to decay and is in the process of decaying. It’s this kind of creation, destruction. I mean the earth itself will not endure forever. I’d like to think that if we all work together, we can have it endure a little bit longer. But it was a very powerful teaching. He also used to say, the reason you guys are here receiving these high teachings right now, we were studying this Tibetan, these powerful teachings.

Impermanence

He said, the reason why you’re receiving these right now is because it’s a little bit like a candle that right before it extinguishes itself, it rises up. So he’d always talk about the candle rising up before it goes out. And he would say that these teachings are about to die in this world realm, so that’s why you’re receiving them now. That’s why they’re flourishing and they’re so ubiquitous because they’re about to cease. So he would start with this kind of downer, bummer teachings where we’d all kind of be sad, but it was important that he said that because just like with what we’re dealing with right now with these geopolitical wars and we have dictators that are saying that they may use nuclear weapons, I mean we have to be prepared at any moment. I mean, everything is subject to disillusion. So I guess why that’s a good teaching is if you are prepared for the worst and you really, really soberly digest the teachings of impermanent, we could conceivably blow ourselves up.

There could be like that movie don’t look up, there could be a meteorite that comes. I could have a heart attack or stroke before the end of this video. And I mean, another story with these teachers is I was with his son Ache, his secretary, her name was Tina. And we were at an airport flying back from Gaia and we got a message at the airport saying, the airplane is not safe for you to go on, so we’re going to be delayed. And we were a couple hours delayed. It’s not that uncommon in India to have delays and things. They have to go out and put some duct tape on the airplane.

It’s always really chaotic over there and you have to be prepared for inconveniences. And Tina was standing in front of me and choking and Mo was on the side and we were supposed to be getting back in line after they repaired the plane. And Tina’s like, I’m scared to get on this plane. And says to her, and I’m standing right there and he goes, you have to be prepared at every moment for death at every moment. And I could see the fear in her eyes and mine too, but I was looking at her and that stayed with me as a teaching of at any moment, anything could happen. So if we prepare for the worst, but then hold out hope and work toward the best, I think that’s a really great balance because we kind of work hard and do what we can to help the world to forge our lives.

Pick Two Things

But at the same time, I think there’s this ultimate protection of knowing that everything’s impermanent and everything can go. So I think our compassion can fuel us to do whatever we can, but it feels overwhelming right now. I don’t think any one of us alone can completely fix this. One of the teachings that AOC said was everyone, if you can pick just two things that you can do to try to help the world with this current geopolitical thing. Today I gave some money to the ACLU. You could try to support politicians that will work against this current regime. And there’s a lot of open seats nationwide. Right now I’m working for the Democratic Party here in Colorado. I also work in the front range too, but we’re creating an emergency resource list because we’re concerned about some seniors and disabled people not having resources and there may not be anybody to call.

They’re shutting down a lot of social security offices. So what happens if the power goes out? What happens if Doge cuts all offices and there are no staff anymore and people aren’t getting their social security or SSDI checks? So we thought it would be good to create a countywide list and send it out to people on paper in case the internet goes down, kind of preparing for the worst and have different resources for them to call. Where are the food banks? Who would you call if you need legal advisor assistance? So those are the two things that I’m working on is giving money to organizations that have lawyers that are working with lawsuits to try to protect our democracy. And then working on grassroots with the Democratic Party and even beyond the Democratic party, just taking care of each other in a personal and real way because I think things could get bad very quickly, like lights out.
What do we do if we don’t have internet access to banks or power? I mean, I have a mountain house here where the power does go out sometimes we have terrible storms and those of us who live in the rural areas, a lot of us are kind of a little bit subversive preppers.

So I always try to keep food and fuel on hand, always prepared for the possibility of something off the grid. So I think emergency preparedness in everyone’s home is invaluable. I would stop. I don’t mean to sound like a prepper, but you never know what’s going to happen. And we buy car insurance, health insurance. I think it’s a good idea that all of us have emergency preparedness now for just some backup food and fuel and cash and know where your neighbors are. It might be good to forge friendships with neighbors now know where each other is, especially anyone that might be infirmed disabled senior alone.

So we may see a time where it’s just more about taking care of each other in a hands-on way. And then I’m lobbying the people in DC State Federal, so then that kind of thing too. So that’s what I’m personally doing right now. But back to the instructions from my teachers when I was on retreat after I had been crying for days with the Zelensky thing, I bet you a lot of you have been feeling that too. It was so heartbreaking and so shocking. And I mean seeing what’s happening in Gaza after the end of the ceasefire, and I mean if you watch this news, which I’m glad I’m watching some of it, I mean, you just cry and cry and cry all day sobbing if you really feel, I mean, I can only take on so much. So I’m trying really hard to mitigate how much news I’m taking.

I’m trying to keep it to 20 minutes a day, but it’s tending to be a little bit more than that. Also, conversations about what’s happening in geopolitics, it makes your nervous system get so scared and you’re living in this post-traumatic thing. I don’t think that’s healthy. I don’t think that we can be strong to take care of seniors in the neighborhood if they need us, if we’re just shaking and anxious and falling apart. So this self-care piece is not just based on privilege. It’s really essential now to do what we can to connect to wellbeing, groundedness, joy, family, do our best, hope for the best, and also to prepare for the worst. So I think for me, that’s just how I’m wrapping my head around all this right now. So I just wanted to show you before we close, just a few exercises that I learned when I went to this traumatic stress disorder workshop the other day.

Box Breathing

So a lot of you probably already know mindfulness meditation. I don’t want to bore you into oblivion with meditation, but we can do some of the box breathing. And as soon as I did these practices, I just instantly felt better. So I just wanted to offer them to you. So box breathing as you remember, what you’re going to do is you’re going to take a deep breath in and you’re going to count to four as you’re inhaling. And then you’re going to hold for four, and then you’re going to exhale for four, count of four, and then wait four seconds again and then do that. So it’s actually kind of makes a square of 4, 4, 4 and four. So we can just go through that together since I think this is one of the most invaluable tools and part of the box breathing is that when we’re scared, we tend to breathe very shallowly.
The bottom of our abdomen gets constricted and we kind of go upward and we have this constricted breath, like that kind of thing. So it’s important. My teachers have told me to breathe way down low into the belly and even allow the belly to come out a bit, even though it’s not very socially acceptable, but it’s actually good to let the belly come out and soften. So my teacher actually came up to me and put his hand on my belly and made sure that I was breathing really, really low down such that the belly expanded outward. So we’ll just do this box breathing and I’ll show you the technique and then you can do it at home. So we’re going to sit for a second.

We’ll do one of the box breathing. So we’re going to breathe in for the count of 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, and hold, 1, 2, 3, 4. And then exhale for the count of four through the nose. 1, 2, 3, 4. And then wait, 1, 2, 3, 4. Then again through the nose, 2, 3, 4, hold two. And then exhale one, two through the nose. So each of those breaths of the four stages of the box breathing. Once you do the inhale, you’re going to fill up the lungs and you’re going to breathe very, very low into your abdomen, kind of below your bellies, make sure it really sticks out in Tibetan Buddhist. And we have a name for that, and that’s called the gentle vase. Cca. It’s a type of breathing where you breathe into the lower abdomen and it’s really, really helpful for grounding and clearing and feeling that you’re bringing oxygen into the body. And then when you breathe through the nose rather than the mouth that activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which tells you that the world is safe, so might not be safe. It’s good to tell the body that it’s safe. It’s better to operate as if the world is safe even if it’s not.

So that’s a really good ground. And then a few of the other exercises that the therapist had us do for Trump traumatic distress disorder was to just kind of rub the head. And this feels really good. This is just go ahead and rub your scalp, give yourself a scalp massage. Really just get in there up through your forehead and massage. And that will also help to activate your parasympathetic nervous system. I know in the Ayurvedic tradition they have a particular type of, it’s like a massage that they do. It’s called, I believe it’s called shod Dara. And you’ll lay there and they will pour a warm oil over your head and you lay there and then that’s like some type of RAF that has a little nozzle out there, and they’ll rock it back and forth. So as you’re laying there, you have this warm oil go back and forth on your scalp, and that really, really helps to relax the nervous system.

So the box breathing, and then the head massage, and then this one too. This is like just go ahead and massage your ears. So just go and do it very slow with the tips of your fingers and massage the ears in the inside and go along the rims and give yourself a really good massage. It feels so relaxing. And what’s happening is this is the acupuncture tradition. They call it Accu detox. They have a whole bunch of little pressure points in the ear that map out the whole body. So if you’re massaging the ear and you’re opening up these energy spots, you can actually strengthen open the whole body. So ear massage, and then go ahead and pull, I have earrings on, but go ahead and pull the ears downward. And that even just pull and hold.

And that activates some. That begins to activate your polyvagal, your vagus nerve. So there’s a nerve that goes down through the neck and down into the stomach. It’s a huge nerve in the body. And when that gets gets activated, that can cause a fight or flight response that we’re kind of massaging here. And then go ahead and massage the neck on either side of the ears. So we’re just going to give downward strokes and that feels really good. And then if you happen to see something in the news, this is so heart-wrenching, I would say the Buddhist tradition is like, don’t block the energy. If you need to cry or you feel scared or you feel heartbroken or hopeless, go ahead and feel it, cry it out. If you feel scared, be with yourself and console the fear. This is actually good self hug, self love, self warmth.

Become yourself a beacon of light

Try to make sure there’s not a whole lot of congested energy in the heart center. So you can do just like a heart healing. They do that in the Taos tradition. Imagining a sun inside your heart, be there for yourself. It’s such a hard time right now. We have to cultivate a sense of love and wellbeing in the darkest times. Become yourself a beacon of light in times of darkness. And if we are completely balled over by fear, anxiety, hopelessness, we cannot be strong to be of help to anyone. So the self-care piece now is invaluable. So again, if you need to cry it out, don’t block it, but also don’t chase. I think that it’s like, what is that? We’re unable to look away from a car crash. So it’s like for me, it’s so hard. I have a huge problem with social media addiction, just wanting to be on and being in the fray of everything and commenting on everything and checking on everyone and just oversharing.
So that’s chasing. So don’t block the energy where you feel sad or scared, but also don’t chase. We don’t have to hook and reify everything and just digest toxic thing after toxic thing. It’s like eating bad food. It’s good to be informed. It’s good to know what’s happening. It’s probably going to get worse before it gets better. But I don’t think our little tiny one person is supposed to digest the geopolitical karma of the world and all of the anguish and all of these times of crisis right now that is not fair to our nervous system to be constantly ingesting that. So please, please go on a diet right now. You won’t be missing anything. Don’t worry. The news will come to you one way or another. So don’t block, but don’t chase. That’s the kind of instruction that’s always been given to me. And I just come to the aspirations that what we’re seeing right now, this global war bloodshed, treating vulnerable people in a way that they’re disposable.

I don’t believe that’s fundamentally who we are, but maybe there are times, just like in alcoholism, where we have to collectively hit bottom before we wake up. And it’s the waking up part that I’m holding out hope for. I believe that the human heart is strong, wisdom is strong, conscience is strong within us, and I just will hold out the hope that those principles within us are stronger than our capacity to destroy ourselves. So thank you for sharing time with me today. I really appreciate your tuning in and all love and well wishes to everyone. Please stay strong, stay blissful and joyous even in the face of darkness. Pick two things that you can do to try to mitigate the damage right now and know that everything’s impermanent. So there’s some ultimate protection, some deep inner relaxation. And this is our collective karma coming into fruition. We all were part of this. I mean, you’re not a victim. We just have to do the best we can with the time we have. And so thank you so much.

(Auto-generated transcript- there may be errors.)

 

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World Mental Health Day: How To Uncover Strength When The World Is On Fire

This October 10th, we celebrate World Mental Health Day, and I’m reminded of the many profound challenges we face today. I turn on the news, and I have family in Florida, where there has been the worst hurricane of all time. The retirement community where my grandparents lived was decimated and they have 35 people missing from the complex. I listen to the world news and heard on National Public Radio yesterday that our President is giving up requesting a cease fire in Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, lest we not forget about Ukraine and beyond, and the wars are increasing with intense loss of life.

Climate change, political uncertainty, and conflicts around the globe can feel overwhelming and hopeless, it feels literally like we’re living in times depicted from the Book of Revelations! Sometimes we just can’t handle it and we stop watching the news altogether or find coping skills that are not always that healthy, like being on social media all day and escaping and ignoring. Sometimes the pain is overwhelming, and we turn to food, alcohol, unhealthy relationships, addictive substances to cover fears and unprocessed grief.

Holding The Pain of the World?

If we really felt the pain of the world it would absolutely crush our hearts, on a daily basis. Originally, humans lived in nomadic tribes and small villages, and we were designed to be able to withstand and be resilient for life’s ups and downs in our immediate community. For instance, if there is a danger to our community: a health issue or outbreak, an attack, a fire etc., we are hard wired to become alert and have an adrenal response that gives us extra energy and strength to withstand life’s normal upheavals.

However, I don’t think we biologically are designed to be able to process the global disasters, intense climate change and wars on a daily basis. 24 hour broadcast news and incessant news-feeds through cell phones, readers, desktops and social media, all infiltrate our nervous system and can keep us in a perpetual state of fight or flight.

Our limbic system is designed to non-verbally scan and search for possible dangers and threats and we don’t do ourselves any service by constantly feeding a sense of danger and lack of safety to our nervous system, pretty much on a moment to moment basis. It’s easy to get lost in a whirlwind of anxiety and despair, but I’ve found that it is essential for mental health to… UNPLUG for periods of time. We can then reconnect to our innate sense of inner peace through mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and self-care that helps us stay grounded and thus, resilient.

A Tibetan Teacher’s Advice

Right after Trump had gotten elected in 2016, I had been working for his opponent’s campaign. Many of us were absolutely frightened and in despair, and I went to a teaching a few weeks later with a Tibetan teacher named Anam Thubten. What he said was so profound and timely that I wound up transcribing it, and it’s become a powerful solace in times of darkness. He said:

“Don’t let your mind, reality and emotions be defined by the media. Our world, throughout time is always filled with dynamic richness of display, both beautiful and utterly horrific, war, peace and changing and can never be fixed or resolved. Things arise in a complex way, it’s best to not hold extreme views about anything or anyone and polarize, when we do this we freak out. We cannot hold the pain of the whole world otherwise we’d go crazy. There is always an internal calm that can be accessed, within us is warmth, overview and strength. It’s imperative now to slow down take care of ourselves and access inner stillness. A Bodhisattva (someone that vows to help the world) knows that the world is never resolvable, has access to this inner, fundamental overview but paradoxically, works tirelessly to help to remove suffering with whatever talent is within them.” Anam Thubten Rinpoche Boulder, Colorado November 19, 2016

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Box Breathing

When I first started exploring mindfulness and breath-work, I didn’t realize how helpful to my thrashed nervous system and transformative it could be. Simply taking a moment to breathe deeply, focusing on my breath as it flows in and out, has become a lifesaver. There is a very simple practice called box breathing, where you slowly breathe in for the count of four, hold for the count of four, and then exhale for the count of four, and then there’s a pause for four seconds, until you breathe in again. This is done through the nose and you breathe very deep below the navel into your abdomen. Breathing through the nose immediately puts you in your parasympathetic nervous system and stops the limbic system from going into fight or flight. In those moments, we can let go of any outer drama to connect with the present and our natural well-being. This practice reminds me that, despite external turmoil, I have the power to recover an innate sense of calm within.

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The Power of Sitting Meditation

Sitting meditation is another powerful tool that supports mental well-being. Even just a few minutes a day can make a difference. After I had Covid, I was diagnosed with a heart condition that my doctor says is relatively common and benign. It’s called a right bundle branch block or RBBB. It is something wonky with the electrical current that can come after you’ve been exposed to a profound virus. I had gone in for my annual EKG check up and when I got there, I was feeling a little bit of biological stress by getting to the doctors appointment and I laid down on the bed and they hooked me up with all of the electrical monitors. I did my deep box breathing and went into a zen state, and after a few minutes, they took off the electrical device. My doctor came in and said you have a very unusual EKG reading that I actually have to run by one of the other heart doctors. She said when you first started the test your RBBB was there, but after a few minutes, it resolved! I told her that I was doing my powerful mindfulness practice on the table and you can actually see the results physically, I was able to correct my heart condition so now it’s considered an intermittent condition!

There are countless guided meditations online that focus on grounding and resilience. Apps like Headspace or Calm have been invaluable in helping people navigate thoughts and feelings, particularly in these uncertain times. They provide a gentle reminder that it’s okay to pause and take care of ourselves amidst the noise.

Self Care is Not Ignoring

Now, one thing that’s very important, is to strike a balance between caring for our world, paying attention, and also the self-care. We don’t want to be utterly immersed in doom scrolling, nor do we want to escape if we have fears and pain and traumatic things that happened to us during these times of climate change and war. We should befriend, listen to, and process the grief and trauma in our bodies, and find ways to release it. If we ignore, that’s what’s called in our tradition “Spiritual Bypassing.” Spiritual bypassing is where we use our religion, mindfulness, or meditation, to dissociate and check out, and that actually just stuffs trauma down further and creates further nervous system dis-regulation, maladaptive patterns and neurosis.

Somatic Healing

Somatic techniques like yoga, dance and movement also play a significant role in my ongoing wellness journey. The combination of movement and breath-work can help us release tension and stress. I love how each pose invites me to reconnect with my body, fostering a sense of strength and stability. Practicing yoga outdoors, when I can, allows me to feel the earth beneath me, reinforcing my connection to the world around us. I try to watch the sunset every single night from my porch, or going for an evening walk, or sitting up at my teacher’s spiritual monument called a Stupa. We can always try to connect to sunshine and natural beauty that can serve as a reminder of resilience.

Self-care is essential, and I’ve learned that it doesn’t have to be grand gestures. Sometimes, it’s as simple as curling up with a good book, tending to my garden, or cooking a nutrient dense- nourishing meal. Engaging in activities that bring joy can be an act of resistance against the despair that often accompanies global issues. I’ve found deep, authentic friendships, family and community support to be invaluable, where we share our experiences and uplift one another.

As we mark this day dedicated to mental health, I encourage everyone to rawly and honesty check in with yourself. How are you feeling? What does your heart want to say to you? What does your body need? Does it need to move? Does it need to be held? Do you need to cry? Do you need to face the sun with a warm cup of tea? What small practices can we integrate into our daily routine to cultivate a sense of peace?

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Mental Health Resources

If you’re looking for resources, the World Health Organization has insightful information on mental health and well-being, as well as tips for managing stress and anxiety. Mental health resources from WHO can be a great starting point. Additionally, the National Alliance on Mental Illness offers support and guidance for those navigating mental health challenges in the face of external pressures. Many insurance plans now cover therapy and mental healthcare, there are online and live support groups and even hospitals and residential treatment centers or intensive outpatient programs that can help during times of intensity or crisis. Please always seek help if you are in crisis by telling a friend or calling your emergency crisis number. I actually took a training in Mental Health First Aid, which is very similar to CPR and traditional first aid, and it teaches you how to recognize if someone might be in danger and how to get them proper help.

This World Mental Health Day, let’s take a moment to celebrate the poignant, precious and fleeting gift of just being alive, honor our feelings and acknowledge the difficulties we face in these challenging and dark times. By nurturing our mental health through self-love, mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and self-care, we can indeed, find strength and resilience. Together, we can foster a sense of hope and connection, even in the most trying of times. Remember, it’s okay to seek help and lean on others. We’re all in this together.

So much love to all and well wishes on National Mental Health Day.

Dawn Boiani-Sandberg, Somatic Sleep Coach

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Kundalini Syndrome- Demystified

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Polyvagal Theory and How To Heal Anxiety

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The Insomnia Exorcist- CBTI and the Effortless Sleep Method

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The Effortless Sleep Method

Can’t sleep? So many of us struggle with poor sleep, broken sleep or insomnia from a variety of inner, environmental and behavioral reasons. Aging is one of the most common, particularly in women over 40 and it can wreak havoc on one’s overall functioning. Believe me, I know, I’ve battled with this on and off for 10 years now. I use Tibetan, Chinese and Functional medicine, and it all helps. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia is also known as CBTI and is more powerful than sleeping pills with no dangerous side effects.

However, if your insomnia is very severe and all herbs and supplements fail, there are times where the doctors may prescribe a short term of sleeping pills (2 weeks or so). This is a temporary stop gap to reset your system, as long as they are carefully monitored and slowly tapered and used only in the most urgent situations where strict CBTI fails. Please see our other articles about sleeping pill tapering. Here is a distilled compilation of recommendations from the foremost book, The Effortless Sleep Method (the author, Sasha Stephens is referred to as the Insomnia exorcist!), CBTI for Veterans and the book Prescriptions for Natural Healing.

Here is a summary of what Sasha says, please download her e-book or listen on Audible for details.

  1. SPEND LESS TIME IN BED
  2. NO NAPS
  3. GET UP WHEN YOU CAN’T SLEEP
  4. GET UP AT THE SAME TIME EVERYDAY
  5. DO NOTHING IN BED BUT SLEEP OR SEX
  6. KICK THE PILLS
  7. STOP CLOCK WATCHING
  8. REPLACE NEGATIVE SLEEP TALK WITH POSITIVE STATEMENTS
  9. LET GO OF THE SEARCH FOR AN EXTERNAL MIRACLE CURE
  10. FIND A RELAXATION METHOD THAT WORKS FOR YOU
  11. FIND A SAFETY NET, RELAX INTO YOUR SAFETY THOUGHT
  12. PUT YOUR LIFE FIRST
  13. READ THE EFFORTLESS SLEEP METHOD OFTEN

Achieve a solid base of sleeptime habits:

A. You are really tired and sleepy when you go to bed at night and
B. Make the bed be associated with being asleep and not with lying awake fretting.

A powerful mantra that removes pressure is:

“I DON’T CARE IF I SLEEP OR NOT”

Sasha Stephens

Veterans Tools

DOWNLOAD THE CBTI MANUAL FOR VETERANS

Install the App for free:

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Sleep Hygiene

The most common cause of insomnia is a change in your daily routine. For example, traveling, change in work hours, disruption of other behaviors (eating, exercise, leisure, etc.), and relationship conflicts can all cause sleep problems. Paying attention to good sleep hygiene is the most important thing you can do to maintain good sleep.

Do’s:

1. Go to bed at the same time each day.

2. Get up from bed at the same time each day. Try to maintain something close to this on weekends.

3. Get regular exercise each day, preferably in the morning. There is good evidence that regular exercise improves restful sleep. This includes stretching and aerobic exercise.

4. Get regular exposure to outdoor or bright lights, especially in the late afternoon.

5. Keep the temperature in your bedroom comfortable.

6. Keep the bedroom quiet when sleeping.

7. Keep the bedroom dark enough to facilitate sleep.

8. Use your bed only for sleep (and sexual activity). This will help you associate your bed with sleep, not with other activities like paying bills, talking on the phone, watching TV.

9. Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine. Relaxing rituals prior to bedtime may include a warm bath or shower, aromatherapy, reading, or listening to soothing music.

10. Use a relaxation exercise just before going to sleep or use relaxing imagery. Even if you don’t fall asleep, this will allow your body to rest and feel relaxed.

11. Keep your feet and hands warm. Wear warm socks to bed.

12. Designate another time to write down problems & possible solutions in the late afternoon or early evening, not close to bedtime. Do not dwell on any one thought or idea—merely jot something down and put the idea aside.

Do Not’s:

1. Exercise just before going to bed. Try to keep it no closer than 3-4 hrs before bed.

2. Engage in stimulating activity just before bed, such as playing a competitive game, watching an exciting program on television or movie, or having an important discussion with a loved one.

3. Have caffeine in the evening (coffee, many teas, chocolate, sodas, etc.)

4. Read or watch television in bed.

5. Use alcohol to help you sleep. It actually interrupts your sleep cycle.

6. Go to bed too hungry or too full.

7. Take another person’s sleeping pills.

8. Take over-the-counter sleeping pills, without your doctor’s knowledge. Tolerance can develop rapidly with these medications.

9. Take daytime naps. If you do, keep them to no more than 20 minutes, 8 hrs before bedtime.

10. Command yourself to go to sleep. This only makes your mind and body more alert.

11. Watch the clock or count minutes; this usually causes more anxiety, which keeps you up.

12. Lie in bed awake for more than 20-30 minutes. Instead, get up, go to a different room (or different part of the bedroom), participate in a quiet activity (e.g. non-excitable reading), and then return to bed when you feel sleepy. Do not turn on lights or sit in front of a bright TV or computer, this will stimulate your brain to wake up. Stay in a dark, quiet place. Do this as many times during the night as needed.

13. Succumb to maladaptive thoughts like: “Oh no, look how late it is, I’ll never get to sleep” or “I must have eight hours of sleep each night, if I get less than eight hours of sleep I will get sick.” Challenge your concerns and avoid catastrophizing. Remember that we cannot fully control our sleep process. Trying too hard to control it will make you more tense and more awake.

14. Change your daytime routine the next day if you didn’t sleep well. Even if you have a bad night sleep and are tired it is important that you try to keep your daytime activities the same as you had planned. That is, don’t avoid activities or stay in bed late because you feel tired. This can reinforce the insomnia.

15. Increase caffeine intakes the next day, this can keep you up again the following night.

Functional Medicine Supplement and Herbs

PhyllisABalch

Functional Medicine Suggestions from Prescriptions for Natural Healing by Phyllis A. Balch CNC (Author)

I have also used this formula called SLEEP REMEDY and it has helped so much, it was made for Navy Seals!

 

*PLEASE CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR AND INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE PRACTITIONER  BEFORE TAKING ANY SUPPLEMENTS OR STARTING ON ANY HEALTHCARE REGIME. DO NOT START OR ABRUPTLY STOP TAKING SLEEPING PILLS UNLESS YOU ARE UNDER A PROVIDER’S CARE.

 

Adapted from:

http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/docs/Info-sleep%20hygiene.pdf

http://web.mac.com/jendanielle/Site/MentalHealth_file /Sleep%20Hygeine%20WORKSHEET.pdf

http://www.tufts.edu/med/phfm/pdf/fm-handouts/SleepHygiene.pdf

https://offices.vassar.edu/counseling-service/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2020/03/sleep-hygeine-handout-for-clients.pdf

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Lung: The Meditator’s Disease

Reprinted from Mandala Magazine September, 2004 DOWNLOAD THE FREE EBOOK

By Paula Chichester (Lhundup Nyingje), Retreat Advisor to Land of Joy

Ordained for the last 13 years, Ven. Paula has devoted 24 years of her life to Buddhist retreat practice. She bridges the culture gap to enable Western people to attain Buddhadharma realizations by leading inspiring retreats and by giving advice on the support for and environmental needs of retreatants.

“The most important aspect of retreat is to keep your mind happy…. Practice should be free of looking for results. Even if you spend your entire life doing practice and have not a single experience, no results at all, it should still be a cause for great joy to have spent your life like that.”—Geshe Lhundup Sopa

Lung (pronounced “loong”), or ‘meditator’s disease’, happens to almost every meditator, even very experienced ones. It is similar to an athlete who strains a muscle and then has to rest for a while to let that muscle heal. We meditators strain our nervous systems. Some of us already have a strained nervous system when we begin our meditation practice. Unless the lung is very severe, it is nothing to be afraid of or to worry about, it is just a trade hazard that we can learn to work with and endure. Lung is our teacher because it is the feedback we receive when we are not meditating properly – or not living a balanced lifestyle. Lung is the Tibetan word for ‘wind’. Generally, meditator’s lung is congested chi in and around the heart chakra. We all learn about lung when we attend our first Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist group meditation retreat. Either we get it, or we hear about it from our friends who get it. Lung literally means wind but we can translate it, in this context, as ‘mental stress’. The mind rides on the subtle winds of the body, and when the winds don’t run smoothly, we feel stress. When many people begin a retreat on a Tibetan mantra yoga sadhana practice that involves visualizing complicated forms, reciting liturgy, and reciting mantras, they discover after a week or a month that their minds actually become more agitated than they were before. They may experience pain in the chest or back pain, or headaches; they may cry easily and anger easily, too. They may feel anxious or have panic attacks or insomnia. Some people become depressed. Some people have delusional paranoia, hear things, or feel strange sensations in their bodies. Others have indigestion, constipation, or diarrhea. Lung is often experienced as a negative attitude toward the practice (your mind and body want to stop!) so you experience doubts about the practice, doubts about your lama. Lung can become bad if it is not remedied, and if the person continues the pattern that causes it, it’s possible to become severely mentally disturbed. But that is rare. Mostly it’s just a negative mind or a nagging obsession that won’t go away. Sometimes lung manifests as an aversion to meditating. You just don’t want to go back and sit on that cushion!

Anyone under mental pressure and strain experiences lung. Meeting deadlines at work, family stress, and studying for final exams all bring on lung. Everyone has their own style of lung. It’s a good idea to learn your personal pattern so you can know when to relax in your retreat. When you start to feel negative or can’t sleep one night or have indigestion, or when you uncontrollably growl at someone, then you know it is time to rest, to back off on the intensity of your practice. Often there are signs that indicate lung is on the verge of breaking out into major symptoms. For me, I almost always have an anxiety dream based on the theme of the night before a final exam at university when I haven’t studied at all and I’m frantic. That tells me, “Time to slow down, Nyingje-la!” When I used to start designing fashions in my meditation sessions while reciting a mantra, I knew it was time for a good long break and a walk.

When some of our wonderful Tibetan masters first encountered people from modern industrialized societies, they were impressed with our level of education and intellectual acuity; thus, they assumed we would make great practitioners. They taught us advanced practices and soon watched us all get lung! I think this is rather like a figure skating master who discovers a group of ballet dancers and thinks they will make great figure skaters. The ballet dancers get out on the ice and try to dance, and they all end up with sprained ankles and broken bones. We have these greatly activated minds, but they developed without any awareness of the winds that carry those mind-bytes. Watching our breath and learning about our wind-mind before we add all the visualizations and mantras is like skating round and round the rink for hours and hours before we even try to turn around on the skates.

Geshe Rabten thought all Westerners have tsog lung (chronic heart lung). After he spent a year leading a calm abiding retreat for Westerners, Gen Lamrimpa said to us that he thought Westerners could never learn to meditate: Our minds are too fast because we grew up with machines and computers. In other words, we all have chronic low- grade anxiety or tsog lung. It is so ubiquitous that we think it is normal. There is an epidemic of depression and anxiety in modern industrialized society that is growing rapidly, even among children. Our lifestyle gives us lung. This same source of most of our health problems is also what causes us to have a difficult time in meditation retreats.

When we talk about lung, we must distinguish between acute lung and chronic lung. Acute lung comes from concentrating too hard on the mandala or reciting mantras too fast or working too hard in service at our jobs, or frustration in relationships. Chronic lung can be treated with herbs, diet, acupuncture, Tibetan medicine, and talking therapies. I would try these options before going to pharmaceuticals because in the long run these chemicals may only compound the imbalance.

However, when symptoms are especially intense, people may need immediate relief. You might decide to take pharmaceuticals for a short time, with the help of other supportive therapies, and then slowly wean yourself off them. I would recommend checking with a lama before taking any pharmaceutical chemicals. It is my impression that they are dispensed far too easily, and they may harm the body and mind in the long term. If a person is willing to change their eating habits, take herbs, or go to an acupuncturist and/or a skillful psychotherapist, pharmaceutical medicines are most likely not necessary.

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How and why we get lung

Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche told us that faith and intention are the main activities of tantric practice. This is so important. We get lung because we don’t know this essential ingredient. We get too serious and try very hard to see all the details of the mandala and to say thousands of mantras a day, thinking that more is better. This gives us lung.

In Tibetan medicine, lung (wind) imbalance is related to attachment; bile imbalance is related to anger/aversion; and phlegm imbalance is related to ignorance. At first, it may not be so clear how unskillful meditation that leads to lung is related to attachment. If you think of attachment as the mind that wants, that grasps, that clings, and then check up while you meditate, you can see how a subtle version of grasping and clinging can abide with you as you focus on your meditation object. It comes in the form of wanting more clarity than you have, or wanting to finish up, or not wanting to finish. If you are in a neutral state of mind, and then think of something you want to do, you can feel a slight tightening in your chest, a little excitement or anticipation. Most of us think this is happiness, but it is actually a state of grasping. This can also cause lung.

Those who do – and don’t – get lung

People who meditate for stress reduction purposes only and aren’t interested in attaining enlightenment probably don’t get lung. We get lung because we are trying to do something, trying to attain something, instead of relaxing and letting it happen naturally. Lung comes from forcing our mind beyond its capacity to stay relaxed while meditating. The key to good meditation is a relaxed mind. Forcing the mind to concentrate only harms our development in the long run. This is very hard to learn because we don’t often know when we are forcing our mind – until we get lung! We are habituated to having a slightly grasping or excited mind when we do things, because this is often where we find the energy to do what we want to do; but this does not work for us when we want to meditate. We get lung from forcing our minds to stay on the meditation object when it is tired. We get lung from saying the mantra too fast and for too long. We get lung from forcing a visualization to be clear. We get lung from trying to keep the thoughts at bay instead of understanding that it’s okay for thoughts to come and go. What we are looking for is to stabilize on the mind that lies below the thoughts. No accepting and no rejecting…the ocean, not the waves…remember?

Lung usually comes on very slowly, after days of forcing concentration or reciting mantras too fast without being aware of it. By the time you realize you have lung, it’s very hard to dissipate without stopping the meditation altogether and resting the mind for a few days by engaging in fun and play. Lung just seems to be part of learning how to do Vajrayana practice. The more you practice, the sooner you identify the habits that lead to lung, and therefore it becomes less and less of a problem. The more you meditate, the more you are able to perceive the texture of your mind, so you can see or hear the mistakes just as an artist or a musician would. It just takes time on the cushion. Like any other form of discipline, it only becomes easy with a lot of effort…right effort: gentle, loving, relaxed, no expectation, no pushing effort. We need to remember that one of the four powers of joyous effort in Shantideva’s teachings on the six perfections is the power of rest. In modern industrialized society, resting is a sign of weakness. Rest is just as important as activity in manifesting any sort of production.

Tibetan masters describe the process of meditation as being similar to training a wild horse. If you tether it to a short rope and try to beat it into submission, you will have a very difficult time taming that horse. But if you give it a large corral to run in and approach the wild animal with kindness and love, you can ride that horse in a short while. Remember the movie, The Horse Whisperer? We have to learn to relax our minds and treat ourselves very gently. Ribur Rinpoche tells us over and over again, “…r..e..l..a..x….”

This is the key to meditation without lung.

Lung prevention and management:

1. Don’t push yourself, your body or your mind – more is not better and might is not right. Whatever you do, do it for others!

2. Prostrate before sessions or do chi gong in the breaks. Twice a day is good, if you can.

3. Begin your session with a quiet time, calming your mind, tuning in to your energy. Breathe into your lower chakras and let the anxiety come out. Melt the tension with the experience of refuge. Soothe your inner child; listen kindly to its complaints.

4. End your session with five minutes of spacious meditation, just relaxing into the three circles of emptiness of dedication or relax at the dissolution time. Even though you want to get up, just sit and breathe into the mental tension until your mind is relaxed. Aim to end the session before you are tired. Also, you can visualize your hollow body filled with five-colored lights radiating out all the lung and blessing all the sentient beings and the environment.

5. Spend a little time every day, if possible, relaxing your gaze by looking up at the sky or staring out at a long distance view as you gently recognize emptiness. This really lets the lung out.

6. Eat enough protein and cut back on (not cut out!) all sweets. Eat a well-balanced diet, suited to your body type and health needs, i.e., study nutrition. Exercise six days a week.

7. Learn to relax in all your actions. Meditation is play, not work. Relax: Lie down or sit in a comfortable chair or do chi gong for a few minutes after your session ends. (This is advice from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.)

8. Don’t force your visualization. Be satisfied with what comes.

9. Contentment is the key to a good retreat; cultivate contentment and a happy mind. Meditate on the innermost jewels of the Kadam geshes every day. The key to contentment is breathing with bodhichitta all the time. Detach yourself from grasping experiences by a deep understanding of karma, and let go of all notions of blame and shame. “Follow your bliss,” as Joseph Campbell used to say. 10. ‘Set your re-set button’ once a week, if not once a day. That is, recreate until you feel grounded, open, joyful, clear, and motivated.

RETREAT

Advice about Lung from Lama Zopa Rinpoche

[Excerpted from a forthcoming book of selections of advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche to students on everything from specific practice questions to personal problems. The book will be on sale later this year.]

1. To a monk who has lung “I understand about lung. When one is bored and tired of doing prayers, one sees the prayer book, and lung comes. Things that are difficult and things that we don’t like bring lung. I don’t think that the things you really enjoy give lung. Do you agree? Sometimes when you do something with so much energy, sudden- ly the energy changes and then you change; you give up. For example, a monk worked so hard for a very long time with computers, even through the night; then it suddenly changed, and he couldn’t do it any- more. The energy just changed! “So in this case, something that you get bored with and don’t like will give you lung. Psychologically, the antidote is to accept. Whenever you encounter problems, rather than being unhappy about it, accept it as a result of past karma, then it no longer becomes a problem, or it is much less of a problem. Think especially of the benefits. Kadam Geshe Karab Gomchung said that even a small suffering in the present finishes heavy past negative karmas that cause us to be reborn in the lower realms, where we would experience suffering for many eons.

As a result, there will be a happy life in the future. “Therefore, one should meditate, rejoicing in the suffering. Of course, as you know from thought trans- formation, you can use your problem to practice bodhichitta, use it for the ‘taking and giving’ practice — taking all sentient beings’ suffering in the form of pollution through the nostrils, taking it into the heart, destroying all the ego and the self-cherishing thought completely, so there’s nothing left. Do this a few times. At other times, think, ‘I’m experiencing this for all sentient beings.’ “By doing this, you collect skies of merit, and the body becomes like a wish-granting jewel. With this body, when you experience suffering for others with each taking and giving, many eons of negative karma are purified. Each time you come closer to enlightenment. This is the best practice, as you know! “You can also use the lung incense made by Tibetans, apply Tiger Balm, or take the Tibetan medicine, Agar 35, for life-wind sicknesses.”

2. To a student who could not sleep “People in the West think that if you do not sleep there is something wrong with you, but is it is only a problem if it is causing harm to your health; other- wise, it can be very useful. Maybe people who need to do clear light meditation need to sleep. Actually, my job is putting people to sleep, I think you know this! “If you can’t fall asleep, one method is to do prayers and read the Lam-rim. Maybe if you try to meditate for a long time you will fall asleep. For problems associated with lung eating meat can be very beneficial, and eating garlic and onion can help as well. Also, one can drink broth made from bones, boiling the bones in hot water [see Mandala June-July 2004 Tibetan Medicine]. “The best thing to do is the practice of the 35 Confession Buddhas, with prostrations and recitation. This may help because it purifies your negative karma and creates the cause for you to achieve enlighten- ment. You can do it in the morning or evening.”

3. To a student who said she had had lung for the past three years “Visualize the guru on your crown. Nectar flows from the guru’s heart down into your body, speech, and mind, purifying illness, spirit harm, negative karma, and obscurations (especially lung energy). As you visualize this, recite the guru’s mantra. “This method can also be used for any heavy sickness. While the guru is still on the crown of your head, make strong request with total reliance on the ‘ guru for this negative karma to be purified completely. Do this before absorbing the guru into the heart. “When you have strong lung, while standing, visualize an iron nine-pronged vajra at your heart, inside your body. This iron vajra is red-hot, blazing oneness with fire. Concentrate pointedly on that vajra. That is the main practice.”

4. To a nun was suffering from lung in the heart, and depression. Rinpoche recommended acupuncture and the following Tibetan precious pills: Moon Crystal, three a week for seven weeks, and Rinchen Jumar, four times a week for seven weeks. This completely got rid of her lung.

5. To a monk who had been experiencing serious lung while attending the Basic Study program. He had begun having difficulty studying, to the point that he requested permission to become a part- time student. He requested Lama Zopa’s advice as to whether he should remain at the study center and do part-time study, or work part-time. He also asked Rinpoche to recommend a practice for him to do. Rinpoche responded as follows: “Early in the morning, and at night, breathe in very strongly and then breathe out very strongly. Think that the lung has gone out as negative karma. Do this many times. Also do the physical exercises from the Six Yogas of Naropa. Chi Gong is also helpful.

“There is a special lung practice called Mani Hardun that Lama Tsongkhapa came across when he was studying and was manifesting the aspect of lung. He received the practice from an old Sakya monk. It may be difficult to find, but you could ask a geshe. A student received the transmission for this practice from Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche and was cured just by receiving the transmission.”

LungTheMeditatorsDisease PDF

 

 

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image:

https://www.pexels.com/photo/stacked-of-stones-outdoors-289586/

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A Wellness M.D.’s 12 Step Advice for Anxiety

Over the years, I’ve consulted and mentored with a few experts in the field of anxiety, alternative medicine and functional medicine. These two doctors that helped when I’ve had questions or intermittent bouts of anxiety and insomnia had positive, encouraging and alternative views about anxiety. They offered treatments that do not involve taking anti-anxiety medicine, antidepressants or any type of allopathic medicine.

As a health and wellness coach, I of course, cannot advise people to either take medicine or not, and please never discontinue your prescribed medicine without a doctor’s careful supervision. My personal choice is to work with the propensity to have anxiety in a holistic, whole-person way, and these are invaluable tools irrespective of your medication usage. Every small change helps; I suggest making just a few incremental changes when we are trying to change a hardwired habit or propensity. This list of 12 steps came as a summary and mind/body suggestions from one of my excellent Mind/Body Medical Doctors here in Boulder Colorado, and I personally have benefited from these suggestions and resources so wanted to share them with you:

sleep-soundly-womens

 

A New Way of Thinking About Anxiety

The Mind/Body doctor wanted to emphasize that anxiety and insomnia is a very common problem, and not a psychiatric disease. Anxiety, as far as he is concerned, is a normal brain responding in a very common way to experiences it has had. He said that it was very important to understand that we are not broken and we do not have a “disorder” that has to be “fixed”. He noted that people who suffer with this, have some brain circuits that developed outside of our conscious awareness, and we can work towards self healing.

He states: “I think we do ourselves a grave disservice when we call anxiety a “disorder”. It is a physiologic condition (not a psychiatric “illness”) characterized by increased adrenaline, cortisol, histamine and other inflammatory chemicals. We may be having these symptoms more frequently than we would like, but this is not a disorder or a disease. Diabetes and appendicitis are disorders/diseases and can be treated medically, but anxiety is a condition that has been shared by almost everyone on the planet, so let’s not call it a disorder. Now that we understand how your own brain (autonomic nervous system) is causing your symptoms, we can take some steps to change the patterns your brain is running.” Bradley D Fanestil, MD.

Suggestions for Education and Treatment

1. Watch this TED Talk by Johann Hari. His book has way more great information and he usually recommends that EVERYONE with anxiety or depression read his book called “Lost Connections”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB5IX-np5fE&t=873s From his TED Talk: “If you’re depressed, if you’re anxious, you’re not weak, you’re not crazy, you’re not in the main a machine with broken parts. You’re a human being with unmet needs.”

2. Watch this TEDx Talk by Tim Box about anxiety. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZidGozDhOjg

3. Or this TED Talk by Kelly McGonagle about stress. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcGyVTAoXEU&t=360s

4. Consider reading “Hope and Help for Your Nerves” by Claire Weekes MD

5. Read this blog by David Hanscom MD (author of “Back in Control: a surgeon’s roadmap out of chronic pain“. Also, internet and podcasts.

*If we have issues with anger (not everyone does), here is a podcast where David Hanscom is interviewed about anxiety and anger: https://vidalspeaks.com/podcasts/emotional-healing/dr-david-hanscom-anger-and-forgiveness-episode-84/

6. We might talk more about the power of mindfulness and meditation in the future. There is a LOT of scientific evidence that brain chemistry, brain circuitry and even brain VOLUME changes with mindfulness practices.

Active Mini-Meditation

For now, he recommended that we start doing an “active mini-meditation” – for just 3 seconds – multiple times per day:

A. Drop your shoulders.

B. Do a three second “active mini-meditation”, drop your shoulders and then take one slow deep breath in and out through the nose.

C. Repeat throughout he day, when needed.

7. If we have been told we have ADD or ADHD, consider reading  Scattered Minds by Gabor Mate.

8. Watch this 4 minute Gabor Mate video clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3bynimi8HQ

9. Watch this TED Talk by Phil Borges, director of the movie “Crazywise”-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_KSYu1Tqx8

10. Try expressive writing – ok to not continue with it if we do not perceive any benefit, but just try it for 2-3 days and see if we notice any less tension in your system or any other benefits. After that, we can decide if it is something we want to continue regularly or not at all or just on certain days.

11. Commit to engaging with the idea that we can take control over our own nervous system.

Mind Body Medicine is a form of Self-Care, and requires for us to do some work.

Our symptoms are in no way our fault. Instead they emanate from neural circuits in the brain that began outside of our conscious awareness. But even so, there are ways to rewire these neural circuits so that we can feel better. Medications and procedures might temporarily blunt symptoms, but only YOU can change the neural pathways that your brain is running, so he insists that we start educating ourselves.

12. Education, education, education. Look at the suggested videos, start reading books. We should learn as much as we can about new neuroscience in order to understand how our subconscious brain (our Autonomic Nervous System) is running alarm signals and to start believing that we can get control over it, and heal completely.

Working with these alternative doctors and both Mind/Body and Functional Medicine, has been invaluable to me over the years as part of my healing process. The doctor that I went to, Bradley D Fanestil, MD. was actually covered by insurance, as a lot of policies are now honoring alternative medicine like chiropractic, acupuncture, preventative medicine, wellness medicine and even Reiki healing. Dr. Fanesil, met with me for almost two hours awhile back and he was so excited about his craft and his understanding of the bio-mechanics of anxiety. He passionately wants to impart to all of us, how these issues are hardwired into our autonomic nervous system and, according to him, are not considered a mental illness. Anxiety and insomnia are natural, common and normal responses to trauma, stress, adrenal fatigue and certain life experiences. With a few small mindfulness techniques, education and self care, over time, he believes that we could heal and restore our systems completely.

 

Photo by Los Muertos Crew from Pexels
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That disturbed, disorderly wind! By Carolyn Chan

Including: four stages of wind disturbance along the spiritual path

(a special contribution by Segyu Choepel Rinpoche)

By Carolyn Chan

A grasp of the three humors: wind, bile, and phlegm, (tib. rlung, mkhrispa and badken), and their relationship to the development and functioning of the body-mind, underlies any understanding of Tibetan medicine. Good health which also includes mental and emotional wellbeing, depends on their balance, and because each person is different, the point of humoral balance varies from person to person. In western societies, the balancing of rlung has been problematic, with the modern high performance, furious paced lifestyle proving fertile spawning ground for numerous rlung disorders, many conveniently labelled “stress related”.

Over the past year I have had many chances to observe rlung disorders up close, as three of my close friends manifested symptoms and suffered terribly for many months. (Names changed to protect identity). Debra, after an unpleasant medical diagnosis, spiraled uncontrollably into anxiety, sleeplessness, panic attacks and rapid weight loss. Though her diagnosis pointed to something potentially serious, it was at a curable stage, and she planned to start treatment right away. She said she knew all this, but couldn’t seem to help herself. Then there was Linda, whose daughter had taken up a new set of friends and been in trouble twice at school. Linda like Debra, became anxious, sleepless, and full of fears that left her incapable of even simple tasks such as driving to the supermarket or clearing her mailbox. Both said they knew the root of the problem was their own minds, but neither were able to control the irrational thoughts which persisted. Ray was different, he had been experiencing a sharp stabbing pain on his right side for over a month. His doctor had sent him for a battery of medical tests and scans which turned up nothing, leaving him with the suggestion that it “must be muscular”. This was unhelpful to Ray who had been trying to sleep nights sitting up in a chair for a month. I told him about “drang rlung”, the cold abdominal wind, and though a cynic about all things esoteric, he dutifully followed instructions. After a few days his pain started to move, sometimes to his side, then to his back, till it gradually lessened and went away after another long month.

It was painful watching my friends suffer through these disorders. I learnt the big lesson that once a rLung disorder takes hold firmly, it is very difficult to displace and requires vast knowledge and understanding of the nature of rlung and its effects on the body-mind, to successfully treat at its root. My rudimentary knowledge of Tibetan medicine coupled with even less experience was not enough. I realized that while more obvious gross physical wind symptoms such as Ray’s pain, or the shrinking, drying skin and crooked arthritic joints of the elderly can be easily discerned, what is not obvious but just as painful, is the suffering of the mind caused by a rlung disorder.

It was with a view to learning more about the ubiquitous rlung disorder and its subtle effects on the body-mind that I spoke recently with Segyu Choepel Rinpoche, holder of the Tibetan Buddhist Segyu lineage of the Gelug school. Rinpoche has an extraordinarily rich, colorful background and is considered an expert in Transpersonal psychology as well as the healing traditions of his homeland, Brazil. With his deep roots in Tibetan Buddhist traditions and great personal interest and expertise in “treating holistically rather than specifically”[1], Rinpoche was naturally drawn to Tibetan medicine[2]. Rinpoche is very approachable, with a warm dimpled smile and kind twinkling eyes that see everything, including the questions you really want to ask. A razor sharp intellect quickly organizes his answers into bite size pieces to be chewed and digested by novices, such as myself. While I was particularly interested in Rinpoche’s perspective on rlung disorders in western society, I had the extreme good fortune of receiving much more, as Rinpoche shared his insight and knowledge of rlung disorders commonly found on the spiritual path. Rinpoche says that while rLung disorders are found in the general population, he observed some time ago that there seems to be a disproportionately higher incidence occurring in dharma centers. It is his opinion that the reason for this is because on top of any psychological problems that may be present in an individual, Vajrayana practices may further disturb the person’s rLung, as “spiritual practices go to the core of neuroses”.

tsa lung

According to Rinpoche, there are four stages of wind disturbance, which can take place along the spiritual path.

1.    Prior to spiritual practice.
Person recognizes their own emotional disturbance or psychological imbalance and goes to the dharma looking for solutions. The disturbance may manifest as unhappiness, depression, anger and aggression, and basic inability to deal with situations encountered in daily living. There is inability to control winds in the channels and blockages are present in their most gross form.

2.    Early in spiritual practice.
Person starts dharma practice and feels different, calmer, and is happy to have found a way to calm emotional disturbances. Spiritual practices create movement of the winds, in some cases it may increase the winds. The channel blocks remain and disharmony and agitation of the winds continue. The practitioner is however learning how to calm the mind and mental afflictions so there are less bouts of anger, craving, jealousy, etc., and the wind disorder manifests at a more subtle mental level as depression, agitation, insomnia, “spaciness”, and psychological angers.

3.    Seasoned spiritual practitioner.
After some time and effort in the practice, the person’s reaction to the practice is noticeable in resultant behavioral changes that have been incorporated into daily life. For example, the person has become more patient, kind, and compassionate in dealing with others, and because of these changes and knowledge gained, may even become sought after as meditation or dharma teachers. However, even with long spiritual practice that include purification practices, subtle blockages can remain. These blockages become more subtle, continuing to agitate the mind at a mental level, and the disorders above in #2 can persist in more subtle or hidden manner. It becomes difficult to eliminate these subtle blockages as due to prolonged spiritual practice the mental condition is very strong.

4.    Advanced spiritual practice
Where a practitioner is very advanced in spiritual practice, blockages can still exist, but they will exist at an extremely subtle level. They will therefore be very silent and very deep blockages. At this level the only way to uproot the blocks will be through a process of transmutation to the completion stage of complete enlightenment, where the rLung flows freely and easily through the body channels (tsa), “tsalung therapy”.

Experienced Doctors of Tibetan medicine are able to identify and calm the disturbed winds of the more gross types of wind disorders, using the tools of diet, behavior, medicines and external therapies. However, as practitioners advance in spiritual practice, channel blockages can become increasingly subtle. Where subtle blockages exist, practitioners may seek Tsalung trulkhor therapy (rtsa rlung ‘khrul ‘khor), which can restore natural channel function by cleaning the channels and removing blocks. Tsalung therapy is an advanced body-mind healing practice in Tibetan Tantric yoga meditation, where by tradition, its practice is restricted to only highly qualified Tantric practitioners.
Rinpoche is of the opinion that many western doctors do not understand the nature of the disorder, and therefore do not address the winds, ending up only treating the symptoms. Doctors of Tibetan medicine who are capable of diagnosing and treating the disorders effectively, are simply not available.
I am extremely grateful to Rinpoche for sharing his views on rlung disorders on the spiritual path. I believe this insightful breakdown can be most helpful in understanding the type of wind disorder present, and the most effective therapy to be applied. It seems obvious to me, that Doctors of Tibetan medicine with their long experience of dealing with rlung, should be considered as experts in this field. They are capable of rendering invaluable assistance to people living in western societies where rlung disorders are becoming increasingly commonplace.

 FOR CURES, SUGGESTIONS AND REMEDIES, SEE HERE and HERE.

[1] Since 2003, through Juniper Foundation in California, Rinpoche has been fulfilling the instructions of his root teacher Kyabje Lati Rinpoche (1922-2010), which were to, “…focus on the west, make the essence of Mahayana Buddhism available and accessible to the people over there”.

[2]Rinpoche recalls in 2010, his serendipitous encounter with an advertisement for the TME 3 year online course, which was just about to start. Rinpoche completed the 3-year course and is currently enrolled in the Advanced TME online course. Rinpoche speaks openly of his “pristine admiration”, for his teacher of Tibetan medicine, Dr. Pasang Y. Arya, and the ability with which he is able to “translate, update, and transmit Tibetan medicine in its true form to the west”.

Source

https://www.tibetanmedicine-edu.org/index.php/n-articles/disturbed-wind

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