Where’re you going? (6) Fitting into the wider scheme of things.

In the last post, we considered the detail of accessing, and using internal and external resources – these including our skills, attitudes, and beliefs.

Now – before we start – is the time to consider the wider picture .. the wider implications.

Every action we take, and resource we use is part of a wider system. Just as we are mindful of how we are to get from the ‘here’ (present state) to the ‘there’ (desired state), we need also be mindful of both the effect our outcome actions will have on the system, and the effect the system will have on our outcome.

Here are some useful systemic questions to consider ..

• How much time and effort will we need?
• What can we do without to make room for this outcome?
• What will we let go? What will we give up? What will we compromise?
• How will others be effected by our actions? From their perspective, will we need to make adjustments?
• What aspects of the present set-up do we want to keep, individually, or as an organisation?
• In what context do we want changes to occur? What boundaries do we want to set?
• What will be the secondary consequences of our outcome? Do we want them?

Next week’s post concludes this mini-series. (To search for all seven posts in this series, enter the keyword ‘taxi’ in the search box).

IEMT

IEMT – Integrated Eye Movement Technique.

Last weekend I attended a London workshop in the change work method called IEMT, led by its ‘maverick!’ developer Andrew Austin. I came away both excited, and with my head full of questions which I knew could only really be answered through further experience of using the technique.

Throughout the week, I began using some of the many aspects of what I learnt with clients (and consistently with good effect!).

Today, I’ve spent time further refining my thinking about how to apply the technique and integrate it in my work – especially with children and young people, or in shorter session work. (Andrew works with people in 2-3 hour sessions, something I’m usually not able to do in my school based work).

Integral Eye Movement Technique is a process of brief change work that applies finely calibrated eye movements based on Andrews’ observation of neurological principles to generate rapid change in the area of undesired neurological imprints. The I.E.M. therapy model answers the question, “How did the client learn to feel this way, about thatthing?” and applies specific change at the right neuro-logical level. (Click on logo for more information).

Its all fascinating stuff, and goes much much further than both nlp eye-accessing cues, and it seems, EMDR. Of particular interest to me is Andrews’ emphasis on what IEMT is not! Being change work, IEMT is not care & support, not counselling, and not a ‘universal healing aid’ – mm ..refreshing!

Some of what we covered on the course revisited and/or complemented my studies to date – especially in linguistics, the different use and effects of referential indices, systemic thinking, clean language, Lee Jampolskys’ Addiction cycle, and Lucas Derks’ Social Panorama work. There was plenty of fresh learning for me too, and whilst there was too much on the course to cover right here, I’m confident that over time, it will creep into the different aspects of my work. I already for example have ideas to build in to my compassion course work.

For now, I’ll leave you with something Andrew said, during his explanation of his patterns of chronicity ..

“Anxiety is a way of planning / organising the future.”

Thank you Andrew for developing IEMT, which I’m certain gives us another choice.

I missed the train ..

I missed the train this morning.

OK – I’ll be honest, I didn’t really run for it. In fact I slowed down yards from the station whilst weighing up in my mind whether I wanted to run the last few yards as the train pulled in, or rather slow down, in which case I’d have time to take in the beautiful sunrise. My legs listened to my heart – my brain didn’t really have a say in the matter.

As you can see, the sunrise won my heart.

The next train still got me to work on time.

For once,

I chose what was important, rather than what was ‘urgent’.

It left me with a good feeling all day.

Does more money make you happy?

‘Just came across this on-line article in the Daily Mail – about that old chestnut -  the role of money in happiness.

An interesting read – and it happens to refer to Robert Holden’s recent short workshop, The Real More. (See recent posts about Robert Holden’s happiness work)

Balance and Health: how do positive emotions lead to good health?

An article by Wayne Jencke,
first published in www.positivepsychologynews.com

Wayne Jencke is the product development manager of Innate Intelligence – an Australian based business that specializes in the Science of Thriving. Innate Intelligence’s Thriving Blog is constantly updated to reflect the latest research that enables people to move from surviving to thriving. Wayne’s ACCEPTional™ Resilience and Positive Emotional Intelligence (EI+™) programs are delivered by affiliates throughout the Asia Pacific and Europe.

This excellent article (which I’m inserting here in full with permission – see footer), explains so much of the science behind the intention of complementary approaches to health and wellbeing.

Whatever the approach used, the common intention for the individual is to bring back their natural balance.  In the west, we’re likely to talk about how unresolved negative emotion is a contributing factor to poor health. Practitioners in the east are not only more likely to say that poor health is a contributor to emotional problems, but further that the blockage and inbalance of chi energy is a major factor in poor emotional and physical health.

Its interesting therefore to remember the yin and yang energies mentioned yesterday, as you read this! ..

There are numerous studies linking positive emotions to improved health outcomes (Steptoe & Wardle, 2005). Several researchers are speculating that the pathway might be the autonomic nervous system(ANS) (Thayer & Ruiz-Padial, 2006). The ANS is responsible for managing homeostasis in the body. It consists of two major parts – the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) which generally increases the activity of organs within the body (eg increases the heart rate) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) which has the opposite effects to the SNS (eg slows the heart rate ). A useful analogy is that the SNS acts like the accelerator on your car and the PNS like the brakes.

In healthy human beings the two parts of the autonomic nervous system work synergistically. The PNS is the most dynamic part of the ANS and tends to respond more quickly than the SNS (Porges, 2001). For example when confronted with a stressor, the PNS decreases in activity which allows the SNS to dominate. This activates the so called stress response (“fright, fight or flight”). When the stressor has passed the PNS increases in activity and calms the body restoring it to its normally balanced state. Consequently the PNS is commonly called the calming or relaxation response.

However for various reasons (eg aging, lack of sleep, chronic stress and lack of exercise) the activity of the PNS can decrease which results in SNS dominance. This impacts the body’s ability to function optimally, which can in turn result in physical illness (Masi et al, 2006).

PNS activity is also predictive of emotional health –in particularly the ability to regulate emotions in a healthy and appropriate manner (Appelhans & Luecken, 2006). Lower levels of PNS are associated with depression (Chambers & Allen, 2002), anxiety (Friedman & Thayer, 1993), aggression (Beauchaine et al, 2007) defensiveness (Movius & Allen, 2005), post traumatic stress disorder (Hopper et al, 2006) and hostility (Virtanen et al, 2003). Perhaps when we refer to a “nervous breakdown” we are literally referring to a breakdown (failure of the brakes) in the PNS.

Higher levels of PNS are associated with psychological resilience. For example children with higher levels of PNS are less likely to be effected by marital conflict (Katz & Gottman, 1997). Similarly a longitudinal study found that British Civil servants with higher levels of the PNS are more resilient to stress (A. Britton et al, 2008).

There is also evidence that positive emotions are associated with higher levels of PNS activity. Some of the earliest research by Barbara Fredrickson found that positive emotions resulted in quicker heart rate recovery after people had been exposed to film clips that aroused negative emotions (Fredrickson & Levenson, 1998). New research from Barbara’s Positive emotion and Psychophysiology (PEP) Lab has found that PNS is related to positivity and social connectedness (Kok & Fredrickson, no date). Not surprisingly asking people to recall an experience where they felt gratitude results in higher levels of PNS (McCraty et al, 1995). And higher levels of PNS are associated with spirituality (Berntson et al, 2008).

There are a number of interventions that increase PNS activity, especially effective stress management techniques such as exercise (Sandercock et al, 2005), tai chi (Lee et al, 2002), meditation (Takahashi et al, 2005), massage (Delaney et al, 2002) and yoga (Khattab et al, 2007) – as does consuming fish oil (Holguin et al, 2005). And for some reason walking a dog increases PNS more than walking by yourself (Mattok et al, 2006).

There is also PC based software that teaches you to breathe in an optimal way to increase PNS (Lehrer et al, 2003). The software has been effective in treating depression (Karavides et al, 2007), asthma (Lehrer et al, 2007), fibromyalgia (Hassett et al, 2007), anger and anxiety (Reiner, 2008).

The software also appears to be sensitive to a persons emotional state. The software is my preferred coaching tool as it takes all the guess work out of identifying what activates a persons positive emotions – particularly the most powerful positive emotion called contentment (Gilbert et al, 2008). This shouldn’t be surprising given that the software is measuring instantaneous levels of the calming response. I have also made the following empirical observations about factors that increase PNS (as measured by the software):

• Engaging in flow activities
• Resolving a problem
• Practicing mindfulness
• Reflecting on activities that align with values/strengths
• Engaging in an active constructive conversation

We all talk about living more balanced lives – beyond the metaphor perhaps we are referring to a balanced autonomic nervous system that allows us to respond to (and recover from) life’s inevitable challenges.

References
Appelhans, B.M., Luecken, L J. (2006). Heart rate variability as an index of regulated emotional responding. Review of General Psychology, 10(3), 229-240.

Beauchaine, T.P., Gatze-Kopp, L., & Mead, H.K. (2007). Polyvagal theory and developmental psychopathology: Emotion dysregulation and conduct problems from preschool to adolescence.Biological Psychology, 74, 174-184.

Berntson, G.G. , Norman, G.J. , Hawkley, L.C. (2008) Spirituality and autonomic cardiac control.Annals of Behavioural Medicine, 35(2), 198-208.

Britton, A., Singh-Manoux, A., Hnatkova, K., Malik, M., Marmot, M.G., & Shipley, M. (2008). The association between heart rate variability and cognitive impairment in middle-aged men and women: The Whitehall II cohort study. Neuroepidemiology 31 (2), 115-121.

Chambers A.S. & Allen, J.B. (2002). Vagal tone as an indicator of treatment response in major depression. Psychophysiology, 39, 861-864.

Delaney, J.P., Leong, K.S., Brodie, D. (2002). The short term effects of myofascial trigger point massage therapy on cardiac autonomic tone in healthy subjects. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 37(4), 364-71.

Fredrickson, B., Levenson, R. (1998). Positive emotions speed recovery from cardiovascular sequelae of negative emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 12, 191-220.

Gilbert, P., McEwan, K., Mitra, R., Franks, L., Richter, A., & Rockliff, H. (2008). Feeling safe and content: A specific affect regulation system? Relationship to depression, anxiety, stress, and self-criticism. Journal of Positive Psychology, 3(3), 182-191.

Hassett, A. L., Radvanski, D. C., Vaschillo, E. G., Vaschillo, B., Sigal, L. H., Karavidas, M. K., et al. (2007). A pilot study of the efficacy of heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback in patients with fibromyalgia. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 32, 1–10.

Holguin, F., Téllez-Rojo, M.M., Lazo, M., Mannino, D., Schwartz, J., Hernández, M., Romieu, I. (2005). Cardiac autonomic changes associated with fish oil vs soy oil supplementation in the elderly. Chest, 127 (4), 1102-1107.

Hopper, J.W., Spinazzola, J., Simpson, W.B., Van Der Lol., B.A. (2006), Preliminary evidence of parasympathetic influence on basal heart rate in post traumatic stress disorder. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 60, 83-90.

Karavidas, M. K., Lehrer, P. M., Vaschillo, E., Vaschillo, B., Marin, H., Buyske, S., et al. (2007). Preliminary results of an open-label study of heart rate variability biofeedback for the treatment of major depression. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 32, 19–30.

Katz, L.F. & Gottman, J.M. Buffering children from marital conflict and dissolution (1997). Journal of Consulting and Clinical Child Psychology, 26(2), 157-171.

Khattab, K., Khattab, A.A., Ortak, J., Richardt, G., Bonnemeier, H.(2007). Iyengar Yoga increases cardiac parasympathetic nervous modulation among healthy yoga practitioners.Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 4(4), 511-517.

Kok, B. E. & Fredrickson, B. L. (no date). The process of other-focus: Evidence for a psychophysiological model. Retrieved October 3, 2008 from http://www.bethanykok.com/BEK_APS_5_23_08.pdf

Lee, M.S., Huh, H.J., Kim, B.G., Ryu, H., Lee, H.S., Kim, J.M., Chung, H.T. (2002). Effects of Qi-training on heart rate variability. American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 30(4), 463-70.

Lehrer, P. M., Vaschillo, E., Vaschillo, B., Lu, S.-E., Eckberg, D. L., Edelberg, R., et al. (2003). Heart rate variability biofeedback increases baroreflex gain and peak expiratory flow.Psychosomatic Medicine, 65, 796–805.

Lehrer P.M., Vaschillo E, Vaschillo B, et al. (2004) Biofeedback treatment for asthma. Chest, 126, 352 – 61.

Masi, C.M., Hawkley,L.C., Rickett, E.M., Cacioppo, J.C. (2006). Respiratory sinus arrhythmia and diseases of aging: Obesity, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. Biological Psychology, 74 (2), 212-223.

Mattok, M., Koike. H., Yokoyama, T., Kennedy, N.L. (2006). Effect of walking a dog on autonomic nervous system activity in senior citizens. Medical Journal of Australia, 184(2), 60-62.

McCraty, R., Atkinson, M. Willer, W.A. Rein, G. Watkins, A.D. (1995), The effects of emotions on short-term power spectrum analysis of heart rate variability. American Journal of Cardiology, 76 (14), 1089-1092.

Movius, H.L., Allen, J.N. (2005). Cardiac vagal tone, defensiveness and motivational style.Biological Psychology, 68, 147-162.

Porges, S.W. (2001). The polyvagal theory: Phylogenetic substrates of a social nervous system. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 42, 123–146.

Reiner, R. (2008). Integrating a Portable Biofeedback Device into Clinical Practice for Patients with Anxiety Disorders: Results of a Pilot Study. Applied Psychophysiology Biofeedback 33, 55–61.

Sandercock, G.R., Bromley, P.D., Brodie, D.A. (2005). Effects of exercise on heart rate variability: Inferences from meta analysis. Medical Science Sports Exercise, 37(3), 433-439.

Steptoe, A. & Wardle, J. (2005). Positive affect and biological function in everyday life.Neurobiology of Aging, 26, S108-S112.

Takahashi, T., Murata, T., Hamad, T. Omoria, M. Koska, H, Kikuchi, M, Yoshida, H., Wada, Y. (2005). Changes in EEG and autonomic nervous system activity during meditation and their association with personality traits. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 55, 199-207.

Thayer, J.F. & Ruiz-Padial, E. (2006). Neurovisceral integration, emotions and health: An update. International Congress Series, 1287, 122-127.

Virtanen, R., et al. (2003). Anxiety and hostility are associated with reduced baroreflex sensitivity and increased beat-to-beat blood pressure variability. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65(5), 751–756.

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This article is © 2009 PositivePsychologyNews.com. The original article was authored by Guest Author on October 7, 2008, and can be seen here. To join the discussion about this article, click here.

Are you more yin or yang today?

According to Chinese philosophy, yin and yang are complementary opposites within a greater whole. Everything has both yin and yang aspects. These aspects constantly interact, never existing in absolute stasis. wikipedia entry here . In case you’re wondering exactly what ‘stasis’ means ~ its along the lines of standing still, static balance between opposing forces, abnormal state where normal flow of liquid is slowed or stopped. ‘Human Homeostasis’ refers to the body’s ability to regulate physiologically its inner environment to ensure its stability in response to fluctuations in the outside environment and the weather. wikepedia entry here

So we’re talking again about balance – hence the good reason for pausing and asking yourself .. ‘am I more yin or yang today?’ !!

Yin is symbolic of the earth, moon, water, female or woman, right, stillness, night, darkness, autumn or winter, interior, cold, deficit, bottom, concave and in the human body it also refers to blood, body fluid (such as secretion) or simply put, it refers to substance including muscle or body mass.

Yang is symbolic of heaven, sun, fire, male or man, left hardness, movement, day, brightness, spring or summer, exterior, heat excess, top convex, and last (if not least), it refers to Qi energy which is activity produced by the energy in the human body.