If I could wave a magic wand and grant every newly diagnosed person one essential skill, it would be this: the power to intentionally shift out of stress. To do that, you need to understand your body’s control center: the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). 💡 Here’s the essential takeaway: Stress is Sympathetic. Peace is Parasympathetic.Continue reading “Peace is Parasympathetic: Learn the Essential Skill for Your Cancer Journey”
Tag Archives: relaxation
Navigating Scanxiety: 5 Tools to Find Peace Before Your Test
Almost every cancer patient I’ve ever worked with talks about scanxiety—that intense anxiety that arises when they have an upcoming medical test, be it a CT scan, MRI, or ultrasound. It’s completely normal to feel this fear. After everything you’ve been through, it makes sense that you’d feel triggered and reluctant to face another potentialContinue reading “Navigating Scanxiety: 5 Tools to Find Peace Before Your Test”
July Brightness
Happy Summer! I hope you’re able to embrace the joyous expansiveness of summer – to be big and bright like the sun. Part of my own joyous expansiveness lately has truly been centered on gratitude. I’m incredibly grateful for so many things – from the stability of my home to the unwavering support of myContinue reading “July Brightness”
The Magic Carpet
Do you get on your yoga mat daily? Lately, I’ve been thinking about the yoga mat as a magic carpet. I know that sounds funny but stick with me. Not a magic carpet that literally flies away, but a magic carpet that helps you create a ritual that can become magical. In this ritual, you roll out yourContinue reading “The Magic Carpet”
You can choose.
I went on a meditation retreat a couple of weekends ago and it was great! On a silent meditation retreat, we can step out of our normal routines and slow way, waaaaay down. We’re invited to sit in stillness and to settle the mind into a quiet state of awareness. This can be quite a process, this stilling.Continue reading “You can choose.”
Slow down, you move too fast.
One of my yoga class participants recently said that she’s never still – she’s always busy doing something, gardening, cleaning, community projects, etc.. This is all great, but it left me thinking about our cultural programming around stillness and busyness. We’re taught to value constant productivity. It’s not okay to just be still. What IContinue reading “Slow down, you move too fast.”
Chill Out – Deep Relaxation
All yoga classes end in a pose that is designed to take you into a state of deep relaxation. The pose is called savasana and, in my class, I also weave in elements of Yoga Nidra. During this deep relaxation, the body enters a hypometabolic state. Here it restores and regenerates tissue and this is what happens everyContinue reading “Chill Out – Deep Relaxation”
Michelle Stortz 