mindfulness- gauge healthy levels of exertion & inc activity

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marciaro
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by marciaro on Sun Aug 18, 2013 8:18 am

mindfulness- gauge healthy levels of exertion & inc activity

Hi again Adam,

Firstly I was aware of excessive energy levels yesterday which can precipitate a relapse, so downloaded a self hypnosis relaxation session. Achieved amazing levels of relaxation far deeper than with mindfulness alone. Still relaxed & calm yet my mind is very alert. A brilliant tool. Thank you.

Very keen to use mindfulness to gauge energy levels & increase activity but not quite sure how to go about it. Sure this is something that will work for me. Will a combination of hypnotherapy & mindfulness be needed? Is this something a therapist could help me with?

Thank you for all your advice which has been extremely helpful, inspiring & given me hope.

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Action for M.E.
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Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2013 2:49 pm

by Action for M.E. on Mon Aug 19, 2013 3:48 pm

Re: mindfulness- gauge healthy levels of exertion & inc acti

Hello

We ran a feature on mindfulness in our membership magazine, InterAction, and found Breathworks to be a really useful resource.

You can find their contact details in the article at http://www.actionforme.org.uk/get-infor ... -at-a-time

Best wishes

Action for M.E.

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Adam Eason
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by Adam Eason on Tue Aug 20, 2013 8:27 am

Re: mindfulness- gauge healthy levels of exertion & inc acti

Hello again, thank you for your reply, I am delighted that you found our previous discussions of value, and am also delighted that you enjoyed the hypnosis relaxation audio.

Hypnosis amplifies and magnifies. A classic theory that underpins hypnosis is that of what we refer to as an 'ideo-motor response' which is basically explaining that when we engage our imaginations vividly and focus our mind with absorption (ideo) this in turn leads to a physiological response (motor). When hypnosis (with it's focusing, absorption and other cognitive advancements) is then combined with relaxation, the results are usually far more profound than people have experienced before. With practice and repetition, you should be able to build upon this as a skill and use that level of relaxation in a cue-controlled fashion.

With regards to the mindfulness process, did you read my final reply at the previous interaction we had?

It is here: viewtopic.php?f=493&t=4691

It gave a couple of basic strategies for assessing your physiology using awareness experiments and mindfulness.

On another thread, I also wrote to someone asking about assessing correct levels of exertion to use during exercise so as not to 'crash' if too much was used. As someone who runs several marathons each year, quite a lot of my work has focused upon how the mind influences ability to perform. A method used by most runners when training is to distract themselves - often using music, or by counting, or using mantras etc, which leaves them less aware of how they actually are and unable to assess with any accuracy how much they are exerting themselves.

Evidence has shown however, that elite runners use as 'associative' strategy, not too dissimilar to a mindfulness protocol to help them assess their own well-being when running and to gauge how much 'they have left in the tank' so to speak. I have written a step-by-step guide of how to do this and while it may not be directly relevant to your with regards to running marathons, it is just as useable for day-to-day life.

I cannot offer up links to my own website here, so if you'd like to email me here or via my website, I'll send you a link to that article which I hope you find useful. I may even be able to post it on the blog here, but cannot guarantee I'll manage to do that before the clinic ends.

Many believe that hypnosis and mindfulness do make good bed-fellows, but each is a process with it's own finer distinctions that are probably best kept separate to serve their most appropriate and efficacious purposes. I think a good quality, evidence-based therapist should absolutely be able to help you with this.

:)

Best wishes, Adam.
Adam Eason
Clinical & Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist

http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... _eason.php

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