“Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.”
Day 16 Morning Scorecard and Thinking Errors Self-Reflection:
Shadow Syndromes: When Brain's Overreact
Three main symptoms help psychologists diagnosing someone with paranoid schizophrenia. The first symptom is that the person has auditory hallucinations, meaning that they have a voice inside their head that tells them what to do. The second symptom is delusions of grandeur, where the person thinks they are capable of incredible things that are unlikely to become a reality. The third symptom is paranoia, where the person believes the world is conspiring against them. Most people would classify someone suffering from schizophrenia as "crazy," but the majority of us exhibit these symptoms daily. Whenever we wake up in the morning we instinctively follow orders that originate from the voice in our heads, accepting these mental wanderings as truthful without skepticism. We also have delusions of grandeur that we can take on heavy problems without the help of others, shouldering traumas and burdens from our past while under the impression that we "can do it ourselves." Lastly, we all seem to take everything personally paranoid that our self-worth is determined by the opinions of others. Most of us will never be diagnosed with schizophrenia at the doctor's office, but it does seem kinda crazy to not question the craziness of our own minds.
FACT: Self-criticism and shame activate the fight or flight response system in your body which diverts blood away from the pre-frontal cortex (rational thinking center).
TAKEAWAY: When we allow the power of our unconscious brain to go unchecked, it will deplete your ability to think for yourself. Instead, you will be at the mercy of your brain’s natural programming, which is predominantly negative leaning.
Grounding Your Brain Through Yoga
Yoga is so beneficial because it says all the right things to your brain and body. From a brain perspective, yoga is so effective because it talks to the deeper emotional centers of your cortex. To decompress after a stressful day, the brain needs to feel like the world around it is a safe place. Yoga accomplishes this task through rhythmic breathing and synchronized movement. Measured breathing gives our limbic system a steady anchor to hold onto and rehearsed movements allow our brains to accurately predict what is going to happen next. Both of these actions give your emotional brain what is most desires, consistency. From a body perspective, yoga alternates between action and relaxation. Going from one body position to another with a rest in between is great at giving your nervous system an alternating pattern of tension and release. This helps you relax because it activates your vagus nerve and opens up communication between your parasympathetic (brake) and sympathetic (gas pedal) nervous system. Also, yoga activates both sides of your body simultaneously, allowing the two hemispheres of the brain to interact. This helps you to process the conflict from your day and integrate the emotional shading of your experiences into a rational understanding of why they happened. Overall, yoga is highly successful at convincing your body and mind that all is right in the world. It may not work every time, but yoga has all of the benefits of an anti-anxiety medication without any of the side effects.
FACT: Yoga was initially started for children in India who had too much energy to stay focused during formal meditation. So yoga was created to give these children a “meditation in motion.”
TAKEAWAY: Yoga is a great way to focus your attention and re-center yourself when your feeling too overwhelmed. Yoga, therefore, is a great way to "meditate" for those who say they can't sit still and "meditate."
“Yoga is not about touching your toes. It’s about what you learn on the way down.”