I received a query from a writer:
How stress related is psoriasis and can meditation help?
What are a couple of meditation exercises or de-stressing
lifestyle changes a person could make to relieve psoriasis
symptoms?
This is my response:
I am an NGH Consulting Hypnotist and specialize in Hypnotherapy for Health.
Meditation and other stress relieving practices certainly help people with
psoriasis relieve the number and severity of outbreaks. Because psoriasis
can be viewed as the defensive tendency of the body to overproduce skin, it
is related to the state of the immune system. Stress reduces the function
of the immune system by 70% immediately. Enough sleep is crucial to the
health of the immune system, because the body restores the immune system
beginning only in the 7th hour of sleep! The body also needs to be relaxed
and rested in order to repair skin.
A very effective technique to reduce stress and restore the body that I use
in hypnotherapy is borrowed from Hatha Yoga - Progressive Relaxation. It is
easy to learn and pleasurable to do. Lying in a comfortable supported
position, focus on your toes. say to yourself: "Relax every muscle fibre
in the toes. Breathe out any tension that is there. Breathe in and forget
about the toes. Bring your attention to the feet..." (repeat, and continue
with ankles, calves, knees, thighs etc all the way to the scalp and face).
If you find it difficult to relax the muscles, then add on the IN breath a
squeezing of all the muscles in that body part until exhaling to relax
completely.
The mind communicates with the body through imagery. When we are ill or
unhappy with our bodies, we often visualize what is wrong many times a day.
This communicates the problem to the body instead of the desired solution.
I feel it is wise to treat the body like an obedient child with yourself as
the loving parent. Listen to the body with compassion, then tell it with
imagery and visualizations what you want it to do, what you wish for it.
Often clients tell me that in simply listening to the body, that they
become aware of the root causes of their condition, and they get better.
If you are interested in any further ideas or explanations, please contact
me.
Tracey TieF
647 827 6968