What is mindfulness? Does it matter?

To move mindfully may seem mysterious and maybe even a little strange. Let me see if I can help demystify the process. Most people have probably heard about being mindful when practicing yoga. If you have taken yoga classes, you have probably experienced your instructor telling you to focus on your breath. They may tell you to focus on exhaling, feeling the breath move in and out of your lungs. From taking it in through your nose to exhaling it out through your mouth. When you do this your focus is turned internally. You are being mindful of what is going on in your body. You’ve already started to be in your body. They may also ask you to pay attention to the tension you feel in your body. Where it feels tight, what body parts or the part of your body that you feel tension in. Your focus is still inward and mindful. It has now expanded, and you are more aware of your body and what is happening with it. As you continue to focus on your breath you may find some of the tension in these places start to dissipate and your body begin to relax. In the process you may discover tension releasing that you hadn’t even been aware of. Your experience of being in your body has become deeper. You’ve become more aware of what is going on inside your body by this simple act of turning your focus inside your body and experiencing your breathing as well as the effects it has on your body when you breath in a specific conscious way.

Pare of the reason focusing on breathing in this specific manner can with mindfulness and getting into our bodies is because of what happens in our nervous system when we focus on exhaling. In our nervous system there is a part that is designed to keep us safe and is constantly on the look out for threats. When this is activated our breathing becomes rapid and shallow, our heart races, tension in our muscles increases. We’re preparing to fight, flee or freeze to protect ourselves. The other system is designed to make sure the basic systems for our survival are being maintained. These include our heart beating, breathing, digesting food and generally conserving the energy we need to function. These are polar opposite systems designed to meet differing needs. In fact, they complement one another very well. The first system keeps us out of harms way and the second has maintained the body to respond to the first when needed. The second system also helps our bodies recover from the stress that comes from the first system being activated. It helps us return to the calm state we were at before the danger appeared reducing the physical stress on our bodies.

They are both activated during a regular breathing cycle. When we inhale the first system is triggered and heart rate increases if ever so slightly. When we exhale the second system is triggered and heart rate decreases. If our breathing is rapid and shallow, like it becomes when we perceive a threat, and our exhales are rapid and shallow as a result the systems become imbalanced. Instead of the relaxation of the second system taking place the first system remains active even though there is no threat present. For a large majority of us in this culture that is the reality. We are in the fight, flight and freeze zone most of the time because we perceive a threat, for what ever reason, and the first system doesn’t shut down. Pain, physical or emotional, can provoke this response and this pattern. Over time there are many consequences to our bodies and our lives. That’s a subject for a later day.

For now, let’s go back to how focusing on exhaling can help us be mindful while moving and get back into our body. First, let’s notice that when we are in fight, flight or freeze we are focused outsider ourselves to deal with any threat that appears. We’re out of our body to survive. When we change the breathing pattern and focus more on exhaling the second system is activated more and our body relaxes, heart rate decreases and the stress chemicals that prepare us to defend ourselves are metabolized and removed from the system. Our body perceives there is no threat, so it returns to conserving energy and the processes that keep our body functioning in a healthy way.

Recall that I mentioned above that a lot of us in this culture are in the fight, flight and freeze mode a lot of the time. How do I know that? Well try a little experiment and see what happens. Just take a moment and notice how you are breathing. Are your breaths shallow and rapid? Do you hold your breath and not even know it? Do you feel a tightness in your stomach instead of an expansion each time you inhale? How is the tension in your shoulders, neck and back? Chances are you will notice most if not all of these things going on in your body. That’s what it feels like for your body to be in fight, flight and freeze mode. Most of us have been in it for so long that we aren’t even aware of it. It has become our familiar state of being. The fact that we don’t notice it is proof we aren’t in our bodies and therefore aren’t mindful. We are focused outside of us on the threat. What threat you say? Everyday things like wondering whether you’ll get the kids to school on time, whether they’ll be safe and successful. What consequences will you experience because of the fight you had with your partner last night. Am I going to still have a job tomorrow? Will I ever get out of this dead-end job, relationship, situation…? If you pay attention to your thoughts for a minute or two, you’ll see what the threat is.

There are a significant number of us who are also experiencing more overt everyday threats as well. One in three women will experience physical or sexual violence in there, lifetime most of the time repeatedly. One in 4 girls before the age of 12 will be sexually molested. For boys the frequency is one in 6. Both statistics are probably low because of the inherent shame and fear created by such violence and trauma. Everyday we are inundated with shaming messages about how we look, what we do, how we are supposed to be to fit in and belong. These messages and experiences all focus us on the outside because of the threats they are or imply and our desire to overcome them. People who experience physical, emotional or sexual abuse usually leave or dissociate from their bodies to protect themselves. Part of leaving is being in the fight, flight or freeze state. Unfortunately, there is more than enough evidence that most of us are in that state a great deal of the time. If you want evidence you only need look at how prevalent depression, anxiety, job dissatisfaction, divorce rates, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity have become in our culture. They are all by products of being in the fight, flight or freeze state because of a perceived or actual threat. When we are mindful and in our bodies, we change this state. Even if we cannot escape the threat of violence we may experience in our daily lives right away, when we are in our bodies we have more choices. We can find more alternatives.

You may be wondering what this has to do with the pain you are currently in? Well, if you have been experiencing chronic pain chances are that at least part of it stems from the changes in posture and muscular tension you have in your body that has been present for a long time without even being aware of it. Over time this change in how your body moves and functions wears on it and its structures resulting in pain. If you did not give your body the care that it needed following an injury because of some fear or belief the same adaptations will occur for your survival and pain will result. Also, our bodies react to pain by producing tension to limit movement and prevent further damage. Pain also causes the fight, flight or freeze response and if left unchecked the pattern will remain stuck. This decreases the energy and motivation to take care of the body because of the perception that there is still a threat. It can also lead to depression, hopelessness and helplessness over time. We start to think that there is no way to resolve the pain and lose the ability to think creatively and find solutions that may improve our situation.

Sorry to leave this on kind of a depressing note. I’ll change the mood in my next post to help find more solutions. One thing that does help is starting to focus inside and becoming mindful. The simple act of lying on the floor or another hard surface and breathing with the focus on exhaling will help bring mindfulness and relaxation to your body and mind. You may be surprised at how that changes your outlook on what you are experiencing right now and how it may reduce a great deal of the tension and pain you are experiencing as well. It may be difficult at first to focus. If you stick with it that does become easier. A quiet place where you can get comfortable is also helpful along with trying not to judge yourself. Try it and see what happens. I’d be interested in how it goes.