This week Fayne and I had a seminar to do for Adult Protective Services. It was their annual meeting and we were asked to come in and talk with and teach them techniques in effective stress management. The preparation for this seminar gave me an opportunity to learn about their working conditions and the stresses they are placed under each day. Social workers, like teachers are often underpaid, overworked and under appreciated; to dismiss these facts and simply say that it goes with the territory is also, unfair.
The mind body connection runs deep...
Tai Chi training has three distinct levels of work; physical, mental and spiritual... Each level is guided towards a comfortable inner harmony or balance. What most people fail to realize is how fully connected these three levels are to each other. Here are some specific examples for your consideration:
PHYSICAL ---> MENTAL ---> SPIRITUAL
NEGATIVE: Chronic or acute physical pain causes mental distraction, reducing one's ability to concentrate and can strongly affect one's mood, patience and energy level. Poor diet and lack of exercise will affect energy levels as well as attitude.
POSITIVE: Strong posture, healthy physical exercise and a good diet can provide mental clarity and promote spiritual wellness through a sense of well-being.
PHYSICAL <--- MENTAL ---> SPIRITUAL
NEGATIVE: Mental confusion, disorientation or a sense of overburden can cause high blood pressure, migraines, loss of appetite, restlessness, fatigue, anger, frustration and depression
POSITIVE: Consistent meditation, quiet time and / or personal contemplation, can positively affect your mental clarity and spirit as well as lowering your blood pressure, eliminating hyper-tension and reducing fatigue
PHYSICAL <--- MENTAL <--- SPIRITUAL
NEGATIVE: Sadness, depression, anger and frustration can restrict your ability to concentrate, increase tension, affect your posture, create fatigue, insomnia and loss of appetite
POSITIVE: Taking the time to work on your spirit will help you feel lighter mentally as well and release deep seated stresses "baggage", allowing you to take life a little easier, greatly enhancing your physical well being by reducing blood pressure, relieving tension, promoting a more stable attitude and opening your Heart Center to love.
This may seem like "new age who ha" but there is clear scientific evidence for each of the points I am making as well as my own personal experiences with myself and my students. In addition, when I presented this information, along with specific exercises, to the APS Social Workers I was met with MANY nodding heads who clearly saw the connections through their own personal experiences. This is a group of people who can clearly draw relationships between the stresses of their jobs and the resulting high blood pressure, hyper-tension, migraines, depression, anger and exhaustion. Many say that "it comes with the territory" when you are trying to help people who may not understand what is going on or feel they don't need the help, even when it is painfully clear how badly they do need you.
Perspective is huge...
Tai Chi is about physical, mental and spiritual balance, no matter what causes your imbalances, your perspective on them is a huge part of how they affect you. Each day we make decisions that will determine our mood, stress level and physical health. Very often, we tell ourselves "little white lies" to help convince ourselves that we can do this...
- I don't have time for a health breakfast I can just shove a donut in my mouth on the way to the first of many meetings in my overbooked day; I can get something good to eat later
- I need the caffeine to help keep me awake
- My body hurts after I run but I don't like other forms of exercise
- I can stay up and work on this report, I really only need about 4 hours sleep; my boss will be impressed
- Drinking helps me to relax; after all it is only on the weekends
- I will slow down when I get this project to the next stage
- He is my customer, I have to do what he says, even if it is long hours and on the weekend
- My family knows I love them I don't have to tell them how I feel
- It is only a little lie, besides he/she would get upset if they knew the truth and I don't want to deal with that
- I don't have time to: cook, exercise, play a game with my kids, (insert your issue here)
The words "work / life balance" seem to have taken on a different meaning lately. It seems to be more about how much can we pile on before the balance breaks instead of determining when enough is enough. As a Cubmaster and Boy Scout Leader, each week I see kids being driven to band, soccer, scouts and baseball ALL in the same week! I have seen kids come into a scout meeting sweaty, still in their sports uniform, not having eaten anything since lunch, trying to concentrate on first aid skills for an hour then grabbing some fast food on the way home to a pile of homework. This is on top of school projects and chores! I have seen camp outs driven so hard to cram as much as possible int one weekend that the boys did not have time to truly appreciate the natural beauty we drove 5 hours to see. I am also seeing more and more obesity in these children. This begs the question; "What will the next generation be like?" Will they have the faintest idea what it means to relax, slow down and enjoy life? With 75% of disease in this country directly related to stress, what will their medical bills look like. The message I tried to impart on my students this week as well at the Social Workers at the seminar is simple, take time for yourself on your own terms or your body, sooner or later, will force you into taking time on its terms through illness, disease or a breakdown. Our bodies are like tax collectors, you can either pay me now, or pay me later.
A final thought...
Each week, I have the benefit of working with many people who are on the other side of cancer, strokes, heart attacks and other life threatening diseases. I have also lost some dear students and family to these same diseases and worked with people who faced terminal illness head on with grace and beauty. It is clear to me that they all share one thing in common. No matter what drove them to their particular illness, the fear of death has changed them forever. Suddenly they appreciate the little things, have more tolerance for the "stupid things" and express their love more freely. I would like to suggest that it is better to learn from their near death experiences than to create one of our own to affect change in our own lives. And if you still need a wake-up call, go volunteer some time with the children at Scottish Rite Hospital, that should do it.
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