This Week's Little Life Notes From Me to You

All I want to do is paint these days! The gorgeous flowers blooming, the budding trees and the laughing creek are calling me daily. You will probably find my latest painting featured here for a few weeks. 

With creativity on my mind, I've included a wonderful Resource below to a magazine featuring and celebrating local and upcoming Canadian talent. 

Be inspired! Our birthright is creativity and it manifests in myriad ways- embrace your artistry whatever it is. I'd love to hear from you about what you do creatively! Reply to this email to let me know.

How Stretching and Breath Work Improves Your Body’s Unconscious Daily Maintenance
by Francie Adamson

Yesterday my teenage son walked into the room with confidence and announced that he was his brain!

In fact, he is his brain and his body, and together they form the mind. Viewing ourselves as separate parts is a way that we try and understand who we are. It’s important to know that our being is an intricate system in constant communication and there is no seperation.

For instance, there’s as many numerous-transmitters in our gut as in our brain.

Although our big fore-brain thinks it’s us, all the cells of our body are in constant communication with each other forming a complete being.

Stretching the body to relieve tension is one way that demonstrates the interconnection of our body and mind. The way your muscles are contracted or relaxed has an impact on your thoughts, your digestion, and your ability to rest.

Under stress your muscles tense up to prepare for action.

Whether stress is mental or physical, our body diverts energy to the brain or muscles and away from cellular activities. Our body must wait until the stress subsides to get to work creating or storing energy, digesting or repairing cells.

Under chronic stress, these muscles have trouble going back to normal, causing a feedback loop- tense muscles signal the mind and the body prepares for fight or flight, and round the loop it goes.

Stretching the body in a calm and relaxed way restores the body’s balance.

Prolonged stress prevents the body from getting a clear message that it’s safe to do cellular maintenance, that’s why stress is behind so much illness- because our cells are unable to do what they need to do- produce energy or repair damaged parts.

Stretching the body clearly signals to the cells that all is well.

Stopping to stretch is conscious action that slows you down, from the breath to the heart rate and mind chatter. It clearly signals that normal cellular operations can start again. It also works best with strengthening, as squeezing a foam stress-release ball demonstrates.

When you combine stretching and strengthening with meditative breathing techniques, you exponentially increase the impact of the stretching. Plus it’s a time saver. Rather than spend time stretching, then do breathing, you can do them together.

With yoga you can check off both stretching and breath work to for stress relief and healing in one activity.

All kinds of bodily processes take place without our conscious control or awareness, and when they are working well, we are well. The good news is that there are these actions you can take to consciously impact your body’s autonomic systems.

Stretching and breath work, or the combination of the two in yoga, works on the body’s unconscious daily processes. .

It doesn’t matter how flexible you are, connecting to your body and breath will impact your health through the release of tension and by balancing the needs of your whole body, your individual cells and your mind.

Begin to move and stretch from the level you are right now with yoga therapy.

Schedule an Appointment

CHAIR YOGA IN COURTICE

Chair yoga is a great way to get started in a gentle way with your exploration of yoga. 

In partnership with PHYSIOTOUCH in Courtice, 2727 Courtice Road, Unit B5, Courtice, ON, L1E 3A2. The investment is $25 for an hour of personalized Chair yoga where you'll learn some full body stretches that will ease pain and mobilize your body. Class time TBA

For more information and to register contact the team at PHYSIOTOUCH:

Email: admin@physiotouch.net
Phone: 905-429-2222

Feel free to contact me more more info: Virtual Coffee Chat with Francie

ART RESOURCE
Prairie Fire Magazine

Yesterday I got an invitation to subscribe to Prairie Fire, a Canadian literary magazine dedicated to uplifting and supporting local artists and writers. As the name implies, this publication started in Manitoba, but now has a national reach. My Father, Arthur Adamson, was a contributor when he was alive, and it's exciting that soon entertainment will be in the mail! In particular it's poetry that is tweaking my interest. You can expect thought-provoking personal essays, fiction and poetry in an eclectic range of styles.

To subscribe contact Prairie Fire, they currently have a special offer. 

Phone: 204-943-9066
email: prfire@prairiefire.ca
Web: prairiefire.ca 

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