03 Mar Mindfulness and your physical self
The benefits
Mindfulness improves endurance, reduces physical pain, reduces blood pressure, improves sleep, and improves other physical conditions like psoriasis and fibromyalgia.(Wondering what those are? Say them ten times fast and then google them – bottom line, you don’t want them.)
The mind body connection
When you work on your mind – your thoughts, that constant chatter! – you improve the body.
Your conscious mind is approximately 5% of your brain activity. These are your thoughts about the past, present and future of which you are AWARE. When you think, I’m going to miss this penalty kick, your conscious mind is driving that thought.
Your subconscious mind is 95% of your brain activity and includes all the activity outside of your awareness, like the beating or your heart, your response to a smell and the steps you take to walk to the bathroom. They all happen without much conscious thought. However, your conscious mind does impact and direct your subconscious. You think you might miss the penalty kick? Well, then Ok, the subconscious mind, because it deals with the here and now, will respond with missing the penalty kick. What your conscious mind thinks, you subconscious mind delivers.
Now you can see why your thoughts are so powerful. And those thoughts directly impact your physical self. Feeling super angry? Do you feel your heart race? Your blood pump through your veins? That’s your physical body responding to your thoughts and feelings. Have to make a speech in class and feel like you are going to throw up? That is your physical body responding to your thoughts and feelings. See your crush walking down the hallway and suddenly your cheeks feel hot and you start to shake a bit? Say, “Hello subconscious mind at work.” Your subconscious mind has responded to all the thoughts you have had about these situations. This is why making sure that our thoughts are positive and beneficial to us is so important, because our bodies will be impacted. Over the long term, less stress and more positive thoughts help our bodies to stay healthy.
So, become aware of your thoughts. Make them beneficial and your body will thank you!
wlkhs2406
Posted at 16:29h, 02 MarchWhen I get worried or anxious about something, I can feel my heart beat faster and my breath get shallower. Sometimes my hands shake too and I feel nauseous. When that happens I know I’m overwhelmed and need to take a step back to breathe evenly again;
wlkhs2415
Posted at 16:28h, 02 MarchOne time I had a very busy week that was full of assignments and work from teachers and I was very stressed. My body almost shut down and I had to take a while to reset my brain and just took a second to refresh myself. I was really scared and nervous and not only was I stressed about the week but I was stressed about myself and figured that it would be best to focus on myself for the rest of the day rather then my assignments.
WLKHS2413
Posted at 16:26h, 02 MarchWhen I got angry, I tensed up and subconsciously curled my fists. I started clenching my jaw and I couldn’t focus on what was going on around me. I felt like I had no way to express my anger, but it went away after a couple minutes.
wlkhs2416
Posted at 16:25h, 02 MarchWhen i get a good grade I usually am happy and more talkative and I happy for the rest of the day
wlks2401
Posted at 16:24h, 02 MarchOne time my body reacted to something was when I had a test in class. My heart started to race and I felt myself to get more nervous than I was before. I felt more worried and stressed out.
WLKHS2409
Posted at 16:23h, 02 MarchA time my body reacted was when I had to present a 5 minute slideshow for my final grade in front of my class. I felt extremely nervous, my face got red, I talked very fast and my heart was racing throughout the entire thing.
WLKHS2403
Posted at 16:20h, 02 MarchMy body reacted to a situation when I didn’t do well on a test. I felt angry and upset because it is my best class and I studied hard for the test.