Hibernation for Health
By Mary Ellen Ott, M.Ed., RCC. C.Ht.
Hibernation refers to a state of seclusion and inactivity – rare commodities in our fast-paced society. However, both are essential to maintaining vibrant health and radiant wellbeing. Without healthy hibernation, we are at greater risk for “dis-ease” in every sense of the word – mental, physical and spiritual. Our entire being relies on an opportunity to rest and recharge in order to optimally function.
More than three decades ago, cardiologists Ray Rosenman and Meyer Friedman spent 30 years studying heart-attack victims. They found that certain behavior patterns, referred to as “Type A” behaviors, contribute to more than half the cases of heart attacks that otherwise appear to be unrelated to diet, smoking or lack of exercise. They discovered that coronary-prone individuals self-impose unrealistic and inflexible standards, and are persistently vigilant about maintaining their productivity. Persons displaying the Type A behaviors are generally powerful people who enjoy competition and command a high level of respect from others. In fact, Type A individuals feel more comfortable while multi-tasking than when relaxing. For them, relaxation may actually invoke a sense of guilt.
While our society reveres high productivity, if it is not balanced with periods of rest and relaxation, it actually becomes counter-productive. People who do not take time for wellness often end up forced to take time to cope with illness. Living an unbalanced life inevitably adds to the stress of living. Since stress never can be completely eliminated, it must at least be mitigated in order to protect our bodies from its effects.
According to Dr. Andrew Weil in his book Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Physical and Spiritual Well-Being, people need to cultivate the “relaxation response” that Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard University has researched and written about. This relaxation response helps to shift the body's autonomic nervous system from sympathetic to parasympathetic dominance.
In Healthy Aging, Dr. Weil describes the sympathetic nervous system, which is the “fight or flight” response needed to deal with danger and survive. Unfortunately, in our society, many situations trigger this response. Dr. Weil writes:
Sympathetic stimulation causes the heart to beat faster, blood pressure to rise, blood sugar to rise, blood flow to shift away from the surface of the body to the core (causing cold extremities) and digestion to slow or stop. It also raises cortisol levels. Chronic over stimulation by the sympathetic nervous system can cause a multitude of diseases, from cardiac arrhythmias and hypertension to metabolic disturbances, endocrine disorders, imbalances of immunity and gastrointestinal ailments. Obviously it also is associated with anxiety and sleep disorders and, often, with defensiveness and isolation.
There are innumerable health benefits to allowing the parasympathetic nervous system to take over. The effects of cortisol, an adrenal hormone that is elevated at times of stress, are especially devastating, and as Dr. Weil states, “(it) is directly toxic to neurons in the part of the brain responsible for memory and emotion.” Research proves that unchecked stress is truly counterproductive. Everyone needs healthy hibernation.
Dr. Weil cautions readers to be wary of some common activities that are considered forms of relaxation, such as having a drink, watching television, going on vacation and working out. Drinking in moderation can be an enjoyable experience and some researchers have found that it may even have limited health benefits. However, alcohol can be addictive and excess consumption can lead to a host of problems. Watching television and taking vacations can be relaxing, depending on what you watch or where you go. However, if you are not careful, both can be enervating rather than relaxing. Lastly, exercise is a good way to release negative energy, but it should be used as a complement to other relaxation methods.
Dr. Weil, as well as other experts, recommends meditation, or a quieting of the mind, for stress management. Dr. Judith Orloff, an energy psychiatrist and author of Positive Energy, also recommends meditation. She suggests a time-limited “three minutes only” meditation, perfect for busy people. Dr. Orloff instructs her patients to set a timer for three minutes and get into a comfortable position. She has them start their meditation by taking a deep breath in and out. Next, she has patients put their hand, palm side down, on the center of their chest, an area that is known as the “heart chakra.” As patients focus on their breath, they simply allow all thoughts to come and go; she suggests visualizing thoughts as clouds just floating by. Then, she asks patients to focus their thought on an image that invokes positive feelings, such as thinking about a loved one or a beautiful sunset. As they focus on the image, they may feel a tingling or warmth as the energy is stirred and moved in that area of the body. At the end of the three minutes, her patients emerge with a sense of peacefulness that acts as a shield to combat negativity.
Another powerful tool (recommended by Dr. Weil for relaxation) that incorporates breathwork and positive visualization is hypnosis. While meditation seeks primarily to quiet the mind, hypnosis, when used for relaxation, seeks to positively guide and direct the mind, in particular, the subconscious mind. While the conscious mind is the logical, analytical, thinking mind, the subconscious mind is the literal, feeling and emotional mind. Both aspects of the mind are benevolent and act toward our highest good. However, the subconscious mind lacks the ability to evaluate the information that it processes. Therefore, as Alan Seale states in his book Soul Mission, Life Vision: Recognize Your True Gifts and Make Your Mark in the World, our level of conscious awareness is important because it is the filter for our subconscious mind as well. He explains that the subconscious mind is the larger intuitive mind, the “body-mind” that functions within every cell of the body.
In Alan Seale's words:
This is why we must always focus our attention and thought on what we do want, not on what we do not want. The subconscious mind cannot distinguish between what you want or do not want. It only knows the subject of your thought. Therefore, when the subject of your thought is what you do not want; your subconscious mind will do everything it can to manifest that which you do not want, because that has been the subject of your thought.
The need to focus attention and thoughts in a positive direction is precisely why hypnosis is so effective, especially for those people who experience difficulty relaxing. A trained hypnotherapist is an excellent resource for facilitating trance, which is a natural state of deep relaxation. Hypnotherapists also teach clients to positively reprogram their subconscious and enhance their ability to use visualization techniques.
Stress will never be eliminated, but by utilizing a variety of relaxation strategies, people can help protect themselves from its negative effects. Relaxation is not the antithesis of productivity, but rather an essential element that enhances it. Use the quiet indoor time of the winter season to “hibernate” and enhance your parasympathetic responses. Then allow your newfound inner peace to radiate throughout the year.
Mary Ellen Ott has more than 20 years of experience in the field of mental health and education, and she is the owner and founder of Nurture U. She is a registered corporate coach and a certified hypnotherapist. Her unique “Life Sculpting” sessions help clients address wellness, life balance and life-purpose issues. One of her specialties is stress management. For more information, call (440) 670-1518 or visit www.NurtureU.com.
