Science Confirms Hugs Can Ease Pain, Anxiety, And Depression
17 April 2024
You might have already guessed this, but science has confirmed it: Hugs are good for you.
Hugs and other forms of physical touch can help with physical and mental health in people of all ages, according to a new review of 212 previous studies.
Health Coaching: The science and art of behavior change
Scientific evidence supports the use of lifestyle medicine to treat and even reverse common chronic diseases but how do patients turn that information into sustainable lifestyle behavior changes? Lifestyle medicine clinicians are increasingly embracing the power of health coaching to help patients achieve their health goals.
On Pausing as a Pathway to Presence:
Recently I was asked to share one ‘self-care tip’ to be included in a monthly newsletter for a members only group of Atlanta-based high performing entrepreneurs. Anyone who has worked with me can attest: I’m certainly not in the business of spray painting my clients with information and self-care tips in our sessions. My gift is in turning people on to their own genius. All the work and information exists in them.
That said, if there was only one practice that I could offer to anyone on the planet as a ‘self-care tip’ it would be to practice pausing as a pathway to presence as often as possible.
The Pause is the source of your greatest power, awareness and resourcefulness.
When we are in Presence we are BEING from a place of our own conscious creation (and not from any habitual reaction or identity that no longer serves us).
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” (author unknown)
One way to practice:
Sit comfortably, back supported. Eyes closed. Allow a nasal inhale (engage your diaphragm) followed by a nasal exhale. Repeat.
This time, bring your attention to the Pause between the inhale and exhale. Allow thoughts to come and go with a nonchalant awareness. Notice the space between the thoughts.
This is your source. Return here often.
With love,
Liani
On Gratitude in the Middle of Suffering and Conflict.
There’s no getting around conflict. The fact is, that life has its share of disappointments, losses and sadness. Life is suffering too. Negative emotions, experiences and trauma are going to show up. No amount of positive thinking is going to change that. But what we do know and what the research shows, is that after significant trauma, people can grow in many ways, increasing in a sense of purpose, compassion, the way they utilize their personal strength. There can often be significant growth out of conflict.
"If there is no conflict and struggle there is no growth and evolution! God created the dynamic of conflict and only out of this cosmic play can anything be created or manifested or condensed. The PLAY is the thing!!!"
- William Greaves
I think one of the most valuable ways I get to serve my clients, is in helping them develop the muscle of awareness. It’s through awareness, that we become truly Present. And once we are in Presence, we are creating and being from our truest and most resourceful self. And that, is the whole trick.
As a coach, when clients are experiencing conflict or so-called ‘negative emotions or thoughts’, I remind them that like all emotions - its data. Our suffering arises from over-identifying with our thoughts, beliefs or emotions.
I will invite clients to separate themselves from the troubling emotion or thought - so rather than : ‘I am Angry. I am depressed’, there is an invitation to make an observation, without attachment - so that might translate to something closer to: “I’m noticing the feeling of anger, or sadness..’ Once we can name the experience, then the inquiry begins:
I might ask a client, to describe where they feel the emotion in their body and they might answer something like - ‘my throat feels tight’, or ‘a rock in the pit of the stomach - or if they’re like me, heat rising up the on the back of my neck.
And as we continue to collect/understand the data, more curiosity:
what signal is that emotion sending you about what you value? Or, how does {the conflict} shift or compromise your values? or, what need isn’t getting met here?
And as this excavation and examination proceeds, new questions about this so-called, ‘negative emotion’ begin to emerge:
What new thing am I meant to learn here? What is available to be created or manifested from this conflict?
Liani with JG @ Thunderbird Conservation Park in Glendale, Arizona
As we engage curiosity in this way, like the sun rises at the dawn of a new day, gratitude begins to emerge.
Here’s the thing I know for sure:
If we can hold space for gratitude in ALL of our experiences, we can experience Gratitude not just as a switch we get to turn on when things are going well; we can see it also as a beacon of light in the middle of darkness and the difficult places.
With love,
Liani
Something about the way you make me feel...
Humans Generate an 'Oxidation Field', And It Changes The Air Chemistry Around Us
Humans07 September 2022By David Nield
There are all kinds of pollutants in the air around us. Outdoors, these can be washed away through the falling rain, and the oxidation that happens after ultraviolet light from the Sun interacts with ozone and water vapor.
So, what happens indoors?
As a new study shows, there's also some oxidation going on indoors too: the chemical cleaning that occurs via these hydroxyl (OH) radicals – short-lived reactive species whose job is to oxidize other molecules – happens through a combination of ozone leaking in from the outside, and from the oxidation fields that we create around ourselves.
Read the rest at Science Daily
The Anatomy of Trust
So worth a listen! In this brief talk Dr. Brené Brown offers a powerful summary of the definition of Trust.
New neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happy
By Eric BarkerMay 19, 2017
You get all kinds of happiness advice on the internet from people who don’t know what they’re talking about. Don’t trust them.
Actually, don’t trust me either. Trust neuroscientists. They study that gray blob in your head all day and have learned a lot about what truly will make you happy.
UCLA neuroscience researcher Alex Korb has some insights that can create an upward spiral of happiness in your life. Here’s what you and I can learn from the people who really have answers:
Source: New neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happy | Ladders
Don’t Let Shame Become a Self-Destructive Spiral
Holding on to shameful experiences can be a literal ball and chain to your personal growth. Re-writing the script with love and compassion for yourself and others is the way forward.
Down the Rabbit Hole
https://hbr.org/2017/06/dont-let-shame-become-a-self-destructive-spiral