Stress is embedded into our lifestyles, even children nowadays suffer from stress and anxiety. We have seen radical shifts from the global pandemic, with widespread fear and uncertainty people were worried for their lives, and the safety of their loved ones, they also felt threatened by others. In Hong Kong, we were the last city in the world to drop the mask mandate and social distancing measures, yet you still see many wearing their masks as a choice to protect themselves, many feel exposed and anxious without it and a sense of social awkwardness being put into group gatherings again after 3 years.
Our stress management programs help our clients feel safe and comfortable again, especially in a changing and highly unpredictable world. The workshops provide a space to feel quiet within and to stop the constant mental chatter. When we are able to feel at peace within we are more willing to connect deeply with others, the program has both these factors intertwined, personal self-care and interpersonal compassionate connections.
Stress is a mechanism where perceived stress feels like it will determine our survival, leaving us with feelings of helplessness, fear, isolation, and aggression. The brain’s chemistry moves from long-term problem-solving to immediate survival and avoidance, this causes a breakdown in communication, logic, and rational thinking. On a physical level, the body is prepared to fight or take flight, both requiring an active physical response, blood rushes to the muscles, heartbeat increases, breathing becomes faster and energy is redirected away from long-term sustenance processes like reproduction, digestion, and repair. This connection indicates how stress causes chronic muscle tension and puts a strain on the cardiovascular system and the body is hijacked in an emergency state.
Our program help to discern what is a real and a imagined threat so that we can take more ownership of our state of mind and despite the uncertainty remain calm and have clear thinking. Yoga helps to bring us back to the present moment, dislodging any fears from our imagination and rooting us to the feeling of safety and comfort at this moment. Through mindfulness and movement, we attain a meditative flow that connects us to our body and silences mental rumination. The body and mind are deeply interconnected, as we gain strength, poise, balance, and agility physically we unpack inner programming to gain inner strength, courage, confidence, open-mindedness, and equanimity.
Furthermore, the course moves into communication strategies, rather than putting ourselves in victim consciousness by blaming and judging we learn the process of letting go, compassionate conversations, asserting personal boundaries collaborating authentically with a shared sense of purpose. Stress makes us feel isolated like we have to shoulder the weight of the world on our own shoulders, when we learn how to reverse the mechanisms of stress we are in a place to truly connect with others, how articulate support, and transform self-sabotaging to self-serving thought processes. The program has seen great success in bringing teams together, reducing interpersonal tensions, and creating resilience and harmony in the workplace, the defining factor of this series is the interplay of insights and practice on a personal and collective level.
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