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The Holistic Mystic: |
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The Body In Transit
by Lonny Brown, Ph.D. |
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Wheather traveling for business or pleasure, by air, rail or raod, your body is always your primary vehicle, and the stresses of getting there are not always ideal for this highly sensitive portable bio-system. Given the vicissitudes of flying, exposure to unfamiliar climates, strange diets and novel cultures, the price of our travel rewards often includes a certain amount of imbalance, fatigue, aches and pains.
The good news is that practicing a few simple, physical exercises can help make the difference between arriving (or returning) tense and tired, or energized and relaxed. Whether the challenge is coping with cramped airplane seats and strange beds, or surviving a mountain hike, a little body-awareness and maintenance goes a long way towards insuring a healthier, happier trip.
Traveler's Stress can lead to neck and shoulder tension, backache, and the kind of debilitating tiredness that outlasts even a long night's sleep. You can use these very symptoms to remind you to practice the following easy, corrective and preventive routines, whether sitting, standing or recumbent.
SITTING: Isometric Flexing and Release
Long periods of inactivity while in transit, or waiting in airports and stations, can leave you stiff and weak. Even if you can't stand up and move around, you can improve your circulation and strength, without anyone even knowing you're doing it. Here's how:
While breathing in slowly, curl your toes in, push your feet against the floor, and press your upper legs into the chair. Deliberately build the tension from the bottom up, into your buttocks and belly. Press your spine firmly against chair back. Similarly, tighten up from your hands. If there's an arm rest, grip it and force your arms down hard against it. Continuing building up tightness through your torso, shoulders, neck and jaw. The facial muscles too, can be flexed momentarily, (without being too obvious). Hold the breath and the tension for a moment, then let go completely. You'll feel a refreshing rush of energy followed by a pleasant sense of looseness.
STANDING: Straighten and Stretch
While standing still (waiting on that ticket line?), you can relieve accumulated tension spontaneously. Tight neck muscles? Do slow motion neck rolls. Drop your jaw wide open. (If you're self-conscious, make believe you're yawning!) Shrug your shoulders up towards your ears, then drop loose, and pull your arms down, long against your side, palms and fingers extended. Elongate the spine by lifting your head as if it were being pulled towards the ceiling, while contracting the abdominal muscles and tucking your tailbone firmly under you.
After a long day of sightseeing or hiking, stretch your deserving legs by placing your foot up on a chair or a rock, bending at the knee, and leaning forward as far as is comfortable. The support might be just a foot or two high, or up to waist level, depending on your flexibility. Stay in the bend long enough to feel it stretch from your neck down to the base of your spine. For lower back pain, hunkering down in a squat - hugging knees to chest - often gives good relief.
SUPINE: Deep Relaxation and Visualization.
Lounging by the pool or on the beach are good opportunities to practice the kind of total relaxation that is as healing as it is enjoyable.
Recline on your back. Begin with the same exercises mentioned above, in preparation for deeper relaxation. After flexing, stretching, and deep breathing, let a wave of relaxation to come over you from top to bottom. Feel each muscle and limb release, as you systematically scan with your attention from your head, down through the neck and shoulders, out your arms and hands, through your trunk and belly, and out through the legs and feet. On each successive exhalation, relinquish any tension you find. Then bring your awareness to rest in your center, where your breath comes from, and just feel it. This will be pleasantly relaxing, and can easily help you get some sleep if you need it.
Finally, turn your attention within, and activate your powers of visualization: Focus on a calming or inspiring image, such as a flower, a candle flame, or even a person or animal that holds positive significance to you. Use your imagination. Picture this primary source in color and detail, and feel it as a reservoir of health, and guidance. As you connect and take in its (his/her) energy, ask for your needs to be fulfilled, and accept whatever exchange occurs. Then rest in meditative silence.
When you're done with your recharging routine, take a moment to thank your body for its years of constant service, promising to take good care of your faithful vehicle. Then you can renew your travels feeling in touch with your inner environment, all the better to appreciate the outer.
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Lonny Brown,
HHC.
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Lonny J. Brown, HHC is the author of "Self-Actuated Healing" (Naturegraph, Publ.), and "Enlightenment In Our Time," (BookLocker.com/
LonnyBrown).
His writings on holistic health have appeared on AOL's Alternative Medicine Forum and in Alternative Health Practitioner, Yoga Journal, and many other progressive publications.
Lonny Brown teaches holistic health, mind/body healing, and stress reduction courses at hospitals, schools and businesses throughout the US. His Web site also features essays, tapes, books, and links to a variety of integrative health sources.
Lonny J. Brown, HHC is also the author of " ENLIGHTENMENT ONLINE - The Newsletter for Spiritual Cyberspace.
holistic.com/lonny
lonny@holistic.com
lonnybrown@aol.com
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