For me, summer is all about relaxing, spending time with family, lots of outside time and, most of all, being at the ocean. Years ago, my intuition led me to move near the ocean – I knew that it made me feel better. What I didn’t know until now is that it’s more than just a state of mind: it’s actual physiology.
As part of my wellness program, a visit to my chiropractor is always an opportunity to learn something new about myself. On a recent visit, I learned how to get my brain into an alpha wave state.
The alpha brain wave state is the link between our conscious and subconscious mind. It signifies non-arousal and deep relaxation. Increased alpha wave activity has been found to promote creativity and peak performance. It also reduces stress and anxiety, which promotes the body’s self-healing.
While I was connected via sensors to the computer for my weekly biofeedback training, I learned that it was easier to get into alpha mode when my eyes were closed — probably because there were fewer distractions. My challenge was to access that healing frequency when I was awake, and present, and had my eyes open.
Watching the real-time results appear on the screen, I learned that I know how to create the state myself in two places – in my garden and at the ocean. All I had to do was visualize being there and my brain responded.
For me, being in alpha state felt like total relaxation and peace combined with full presence and awareness. It was sort of like being in another zone – in a flow. It was the rhythm of walking along the beach while keeping my eyes and ears peeled for treasures along the way. Or it was the rhythmic movement through the garden with a focus on finding weeds to pull. For my husband, it’s when he runs. In a sense, these examples reflect forms of moving meditation.
Most of us have had the experience of being “in the zone” – we just probably didn’t realize that our health and well-being were improving in the process. If we allow it, intuition and awareness can lead us toward these healing experiences.
Summer is a perfect time to increase your alpha brain wave activity. So when you’re feeling stressed, it’s important that you go to the place that allows you to relax into that zone between alertness and sleep. Go there physically or take the journey in your mind’s eye.
If you don’t know where that is, ask for help. After all, it’s good for you – body , mind and spirit.
Marla Hunter-Bellavia is a writer and owner of Ocean Spirit Communications.
This entry was posted on Sunday, July 26th, 2009 at 10:25 am and is filed under HEALTH & WELLNESS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.