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How to manage stress and anxiety to feel better
ABC Wellness for Kavaalya
Meditation and yoga teacher Prashant Pandey and psychologist Belén Colomina provide tools to manage stress and techniques to prevent anxiety in a specific program
La insecurity created by the pandemic potentiates in a decisive way the feeling of “being at risk”, causing the problems of Stress y anxiety, words that are already part of our daily vocabulary. In fact, after almost a year of adaptation to this new situation of uncertainty, many people have developed symptoms of stress and anxiety, according to the Gestalt psychologist and psychotherapist, Belén Colomina.
But really stress, as defined by Prashant Pandey, meditation and yoga teacher and therapist and Director of Programs at Kavaalya, is just the name we give to the “energy” we need to face our life’s challenges. Well, without that energy we would feel unmotivated. But if we do not manage it properly and endure it for a long period of time, stress problems will arise which, if they persist, can become “structural” and lead to anxiety.
Thus, as specified by Colomina, stress is a physiological response to the perception of threat, danger or pressure that allows us to increase the capacity of our body for the optimal defense or resolution of a situation. “It prepares us to react, to fight and to flee. But once the danger is overcome, the body will prepare to regain balance. It is then when the physiological reaction to stress is regulated until it disappears », he clarifies.
The problem comes when it is sustained too long or the excitement is too high. Then it becomes “Distracted”, our performance decreases and other symptoms related to excess cortisol arise such as insomnia, digestive problems or the anxiety. «Anxiety triggers mechanisms of anticipation to a future that creates greater anguish and uncertainty for the person. And, like stress, its symptoms will vary in intensity according to the degree of regulation and adaptation that the person develops in this situation ”, reveals Colomina.
Signs That Tell Why I Should Act
We often live with “automatic pilot” and let time pass without analyzing what we feel and without acting thinking that the situation will change and that everything will be resolved without us doing anything. However, as Belén Colomina recommends, it is important to pay attention to some of the signals from the body and mind that tell us that we need to get down to work to manage the stress and anxiety that we are experiencing.
Each filtering bag somatic symptoms reflected by the body range from headaches, migraines, or decreased appetite to neck, shoulder, and back pain, muscle tension, stomach pain, or the feeling of a lump in your throat or feeling weight on your chest . They could also lead to illnesses such as skin rashes, infections, or intestinal problems.
Each filtering bag psychological symptoms may include irritability, anxiety (we go back to the past or future to interpret the present reality as negative or threatening), decreased concentration, easily angry, feeling restless, trouble sleeping, sadness, guilt, worry, crying, or tiredness .
How to work to manage this situation
No prior knowledge of yoga or meditation is required to participate in the Kavaalya Stress and Anxiety Management program. “All it takes is sincerity, seriousness and commitment and the determination to stop looking outside for what’s on the inside,” explains Pandey. The expert also argues that although we usually use all our efforts to try to make life as we want, in reality our ability to influence things that can go wrong is minimal. “What we can have is total control over how we respond to what happens to us and that is precisely what this course teaches us to do,” he clarifies.
Some of the techniques that are used in the program are meditation, which according to Pandey, helps to explore the mind and heal emotional wounds; yoga nidra (mental yoga), which is a deep relaxation method for release physical-mental stress that improves the quality of sleep and awakens creativity, breathing techniques (pranayamas), which help to strengthen the nervous system and awaken the sleeping energy centers and mindfulness, which regulates the mind’s response to what we consider threats .
As Colomina argues, the continued practice of mindfulness leads us to fully inhabit the body, to pay more attention to its changing states, and to learn to cultivate a internal observation system to detect the early presence of stress or tension and thus activate our regulation system. “All this will facilitate the recovery of internal balance,” he says.
In addition, with this practice we gain the clarity to work with the potentially stressful events of the day to day and recognize the reality before us as it is, not always as a threat, so that we take the first steps towards transforming our response. to her. “In mindfulness training, states of relaxation and calm can be cultivated, reducing levels of stress and anxiety, and improving physical health and a sense of well-being for a more fulfilling and satisfying life. It is not about being calm all day, but about knowing how to deal with and regulate the different emotional states that arise on a day-to-day basis and, with this, promote internal balance ”, he argues.
How to participate in the program
Sign up here: Stress and anxiety management program.
Duration: monthly subscription.
Activity: 3 live online classes a week at times compatible with work activity.
Access to the recording of the sessions.
Price: 150 euros the first month and 50 euros the second month and beyond. Offer for ABC Bienestar users: 7 days of free access and a 40% discount on the first month of subscription.
The teachers
Prashant Pandey. Meditation and Yoga Teacher and Therapist trained for 10 years in the most traditional school in India, «Bihar School of Yoga». Professor in training for doctors and health professionals. She currently collaborates with the Jehangir Hospital in Pune (India) conducting weekly stress management sessions with patients and nurses. Director of Programs at Kavaalya.
Belén Colomina. Health psychologist and Gestalt psychotherapist. Teacher in psychology, psychotherapy and meditation training. Member of the team of psychological intervention in emergencies and catastrophes of the COP Valencia. Author of the books «Mindfulness for Families», «Adolescence. 7 Keys to Preventing Behavior Problems ». Collaborator in ABC Bienestar and in other media.