By: Carleen Saeger, M.S., OTR/L
Occupational Therapist | Reiki Master | Yogi | Coach
Founder of Empower Wellness and Rehabilitation and www.EmpowerLivingWell.com
Why Meditate?
Shift your nervous system out of anxious fight or flight mode and into a more peaceful, relaxed, and restful grounded state.
Regularly practicing meditation can literally retrain your brain to more activate this calm and restful state. (Check out the video below!!)
Fight or Flight
When the sympathetic branch of your nervous system is activated the fight or flight response is stimulated. This results in the release of epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine, an increased heart rate, reduced digestion, and other functions to prepare the body for danger. This is a helpful response at times. But, at other times, our body can become too easily triggered to flip into this state or worse, our body can become stuck in this state.
Rest and Digest
When the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system is activated, the rest and digest functions are stimulated. This includes a slower heartbeat as well as increases digestion helping us feel calm and relaxed.
What Can I Do?
Activities that flip us out of the fight or flight (sympathetic) nervous system and into the rest and digest (parasympathetic) nervous system include:
-yoga
-meditation
-breathing techniques
-spending time in nature
-and more.
Easy 10 Minute Grounding and Relaxing Meditation
This guided meditation includes diaphragmatic breathing as well as a guided visualization to assist with grounding ourselves and activating the parasympathetic nervous system.
đ§đźââď¸ Namaste đ§đźââď¸
Carleen Saeger, M.S., OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Wellness Coach
Endurance Coach
Yogi
Follow Empower on:
Our Private FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3421163701337534/
The Blog: www.EmpowerLivingWell.com/blog
Facebook: @EmpowerWellnessandRehabilitation
Instagram: www.instagram.com/empower_living_well
Email: Carleen@EmpowerLivingWell.com