The UltraMind Solution (132 page)

Chronic illness

Allergens

Toxins

Sugar and high-fructose corn syrup

Saturated and trans fats

Processed foods

Chronic infections

Alcohol, tobacco, drugs

Once you have made a list of your various stressors, try to think of ways that you might eliminate them. In some cases, this is easy. For example, if you are sitting watching four hours of television a day or drinking half a bottle of wine every night, these might be physical stressors for you. Instead of watching TV you can take an hour to move your body or do something else that gives you energy. Instead of drinking half a bottle of wine every night, you can choose to drink less.

In other cases, it may be more difficult. If you are dealing with chronic psychological or health issues, for example, it will probably take some energy to get them worked out.

But always remember you
can
take some action to reduce the amount of stress in your life.

My three favorite tools for pushing my pause button are described in Part III and in other keys. They are:

1.
SoftBelly Breathing (the UltraMind Solution)

2.
The UltraBath (the UltraMind Solution)

3.
Hyperthermic or Sauna Therapy (Enhance Detoxification)

You need to find your own favorites: try to incorporate a few of these during your six-week program.

Other Pause Button Pushers

Yoga
is a wonderful way to increase fitness and flexibility, calm your mind, and deeply relax. There are classes in almost every town. My favorite yogic technique is called yogic sleep or yoga “nidra.” See the Resources for recommendations on CDs, videos, and DVDs for yoga and relaxation.

Massage.
Learn massage and use it on your partner or friends. And then exchange. Or get a massage as often as you can.

Tense and relax.
By slowly tensing and relaxing your whole body (all at once or moving progressively from one muscle group to the next—face, neck and shoulders, arms, legs) and then relaxing your whole body (or each muscle group progressively), you will shift the stress response and enter into deep relaxation.

Use biofeedback.
There are some wonderful computer-simulated tools and devices that can lead you through various mental and physical exercises that will activate the stress response. See the Resources for some options. Just load it into your computer, put three little sensors on your fingers that measure your heart rate variability, and take a journey into deep relaxation.