Friday, January 9, 2015

Focus: Being a Thermostat and Controlling Your Stress

'We must stop being the thermometer and start being the thermostat'













I have heard that saying before, I don't know who originally wrote it.  But I was reading an article by Dr. Kenn Gordon where he was discussing being reactive or proactive?  And I thought about Stress.  Isn't Stress just really a reaction to situations around us.  A reaction where we allow ourselves to begin to boil - the stress thermometer begins to rise.  So how can we turn this around and be proactive.  If we learn to be centered or to come back to our center, we have the potential to control our reactions and become the thermostat versus the reactive thermometer.

So how can we use our Qigong principals to achieve this.  What if, when we notice that we are getting stressed about something; we begin by centering ourselves with the three intentions. And then take three deep breaths and notice if we are being reactive or proactive.   By choosing our reaction or even choosing not to react to the situation we become the thermostat.

Taking time out of our day for a short practice - maybe just the Vitality Series can recenter us and allow us to find that peace within each of us.  The more often we practice the shorter time it takes to become the thermostat, find our center and make our proactive choices in life.