Practice

PRACTICE SLOWLY - PROGRESS QUICKLY

While listening to a podcast today on music and perfect pitch, I'm fondly reminded of my piano teacher. 

It's my 10 year old niece's birthday next week and we're buying her a Casio digital keyboard. Learning to play a musical instrument is something we should all try in our lifetime. Playing a piano has been one of the greatest things I've achieved for connecting the body and mind. As well as playing jazz/blues, I've also learned classical music and this has been one of my greatest endeavours.

To learn the notes that have been produced by the musical masters like Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin, is truly to be connected with genius itself. This skill wouldn't come immediately, as there'd be a lot of work put in to accomplish this feat with much practice. It would be difficult at first. To learn how to read the musical notes, takes much patience and time, just as we would need time learning a foreign language. And to then play this music, written by these great composers, will also require lots of slow, careful practice and a highly focussed commitment to do this over a period of time. Eventually, with these very deliberate efforts, the notes will flow faster until the song could be performed well enough in front of an audience where the appreciation of the mastery can be fully appreciated.

I can clearly remember the many hours of practice on our piano at home and I believe this focus has helped with my creativity, dexterity plus appreciation of music and the arts as well as boosting confidence and ability to perform well under pressure with such close scrutiny.

Stress Relations

MANIFESTATIONS OF STRESS

Back problems can be a manifestation of stress, called Mind Body Syndrome or TMS. American doctors are now talking more about the symptoms of back pain being originating from psychological issues and there's been a few latching on to the idea now here in the UK too.

Those suffering with chronic back issues, and wishing to avoid surgery (often not required anyway), have been looking inward at any psychological factors that may be causing the symptoms. 

I've been suffering with lower back, neck, shoulder and elbow pain over the last 5 years. I have been scanned, stuck with pins, had electric nerve conduction studies and all kinds of therapies, some of which have been assessed by some long-standing professionals in the field of medicine. Yet no answers from any experts of how to fix these pains. It's just a part of getting old, I've been told or wear & tear and I've been told to just try and manage it as best as I can. 

After reading about TMS studies and learning more info on some on the common findings in individuals suffering from stress related ailments, I have clearly seen parallels in what my symptoms are and seen how my job & working environment plus other life circumstances have affected me psychologically to such a degree that, even after months of rehabilitation, the symptoms still persist. 

Through yoga, Qui Gong, meditation and having a better understanding of myself, including my character type (which appears to suffer the most from this stress syndrome) and hearing about other people's stories, I am much better equipped to deal with the healing process with the new tools I now possess. 

Stress As A Friend?

Stress affects us all. Stress is also good for us. It readies us for challenges and helps us achieve goals. But too much stress can be a killer. Understanding when stress is good and bad, will help us manage our lives better and we'll know when we are over-stressed. 

Everything has a cause & effect, and we are influenced by everything we see, hear, read and believe. Hence, the the idea that stress can be damaging, according to Kelly McGonigal's video below, is actually more harmful than we realise, as we place so much power on words, we feel stress effects psychosomatically even when the stress we are experiencing is normal and healthy for us to better perform. 

Listen to your body

WARNING SIGNALS

Our bodies are finely tuned machines that are working 24/7 to retain homeostasis. In order to remain in an optimum state for functioning at our best, we have to take good care of ourselves through quality nutrition and regular rest. We need to listen carefully to our bodies, because sometimes, the signals are being sent and we're not aware, because we're not listening.

Our body has to adjust to certain states that we put ourselves through. Our conditions are constantly being measured and assessed through our central nervous system. Our nerve receptors pick up information relayed from our five senses to determine how our body systems are functioning within our environment and our brains interpret these signals to then motivate us to act appropriately. This is how we know if we are getting damaged - because we feel pain - which are the brain's warning signals. And this is how we know to avoid doing whatever it is that is causing the pain receptors to fire off these warning signals. Being constantly exposed to stressful situations, or by not getting enough sleep, rest or good nutrition, we may be so exhausted and therefore missing these important signals. Over time we may even become entirely de-sensitised to them and we later wonder why our looks and functionality have deteriorated so much.

Working at a tough level of intensity over long periods could set our pain thresholds at higher peaks and change our acceptable non-harmful state. This is how injuries creep up on us. This is also why it's important to have regular breaks throughout the day, relaxing evenings, weekends and planned holidays. It's in these moments, we can then use meditation, breathing techniques or yoga practise to help us identify these potential areas which are giving off warning signals. If we listen and act upon these signals, the chances of having any lasting damage done to our bodies will be greatly reduced.

Testing The Metal

ALTERNATIVE STRENGTH TRAINING

Training for an endurance event and want to harden the resolve? Try a festival. Cutting down on food intake and jumping around in a hilly field with no sleep for 3 days straight will test the strength of body. This, combined with a bit of time invested at the gym, will help with your half/full marathons, sprint triathlons and any Tough Guy equivalent assault courses. 

But, after all this weekend revelry, if you can then push through the day after to perform a tough 6am start doing intense boxing training - when the mind is saying no, stay in bed - that will really prove you have the strength of character to take on an iron man race, euro event or ultra marathon. I truly believe that after this morning's boxing session. 

Understanding Body Energy Systems

FACTORS AFFECTING ENERGY USAGE

Energy. We need the best quality sources to perform well - just like we need good fuel in a sports car. Unlike a conventional car however, our body has more than just one energy type that it draws from. Depending on the activity, our body's energy regulation systems will switch over to the best energy source required for the task at hand.

A brief summary...

We take in fuel through food/drink in the form of carbohydrates, fat and protein. The sugars from these food sources are broken down into glucose, which in turn is stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen. Any extra intake of fuel is processed and deposited around the body as fat. Our bodies will then access the stored fuel for correct usage to regulate blood sugar levels - ensuring energy is deployed to brain, organs and limbs - prioritising fast-access energy sources for the vital functions of the body.

The fast access energy comes mostly from our glycogen stores of which we have a limited amount of. During exercise, our muscles adapt to using different energy sources and will break down fatty acids known as triglyceerides into energy for muscles as our bodies regulate the different energy processes depending on what we're doing and at what level. Certain energy breakdown and transformation processes are faster to access and deploy than others and it's how we train our bodies to use these energy sources that determines how well we perform and ultimately how good we will look in our beach attire.

Read on to better understand how we use energy in a workout or skip to the end for a few quick tips...

Sources
Our energy is metabolised into a form we can use after eating/drinking & digestion, sourced from three natural food components. Complex carbs like bread, pasta and rice being the easiest to draw energy from and those with high GI (High Glycemic Index) are the fastest to be absorbed into our bloodstream. They are prioritised for being metabolised by the body in this order:

- Carbohydrates

- Fats

- Proteins

During exercise
Three factors will determine how our body uses carbohydrates in relationship to fat: 

- Intensity levels

- Duration of exercise

- Fitness levels

Our body extracts the energy (calories) from digested food (macronutrients):

• Carbs (4kcal per gram). These should form 60% of our daily calories and are our staple for energy production. 

• Fats (9kcal per gram). 30% of daily calories. Also a major source of energy as well as providing insulation & protection. 

• Protein (4kcal per gram). Forming 10-15% of daily calories. Main role is for growth and repair. 

For us to actually use the three energy food sources, we use an energy transfer process called ATP (Adenosine Tri-phosphate) which calls on three energy systems:

- Creatine Phosphate (anaerobic)

- Anaerobic Glycolysis (anaerobic)

- Aerobic

Anaerobic & Aerobic

In essence - the first two, which are the fastest energy systems, do not require oxygen (anaerobic) - but there is only a finite amount of energy stored and will need constant replenishing after just a very short period when exercising at a peak level (from around 60-100% max output). 

The preferred energy source for operating at aerobic levels (up to around 60% max output) is taken from fat stores around the body and deployed through oxygenated blood. Our blood sugar levels will be regulated and fats converted into fuel, mobilised for use as we perform exercise and to replenish energy reserves in our muscles/liver, continuing to work long after we've finished activities.

By increasing our fitness levels - ie. raising our threshold for max output levels above 60% - our bodies will become more efficient at replenishing depleted muscles while we're undergoing intense periods of exercise. In turn, energy is taken from fat stores to be better used by the heart, lungs and limbs, leaving reserves of fast energy glucose back for brain function and intense bursts of activity. As we increase fitness levels, the body also starts to form more capillaries in order to better oxygenate the blood, thus aiding transfer of energy to the muscles and allowing quicker repair and recovery times as well. 

Using the right system

When starting to exercise, energy is produced without oxygen for at least the first few seconds before heart and lungs can catch up with the demands. For the following 5-15 minutes, muscles will use glycogen stores while the body mobilises fats to be broken down to fatty acids for use as energy in the muscles. It's key to have balanced levels of blood sugars at this point so the body is ready for drawing on fat stores as an energy source. If weight loss is the goal - this is why having a warm up before exercise if beneficial for optimising fat burning.

Tips on energy management for sports activities or weight control 
For optimising fat burning and greater performance in body and mind, consider the following:
- Only take on complex and processed carbohydrates with a high glycemic value (white bread, white rice, pasta, jacket/mashed potatoes) in smaller quantities and subsidise with unprocessed varieties, ie. whole grains or organic oats plus fresh fruit & vegetables where possible. Carbohydrates are a great source of energy but taking on extra carbs should be for when we really need them - ie. for playing sports and doing endurance activities. The body is good at breaking down the sugars from carbohydrates into an energy source for storage and as the liver only has room for a certain amount, once the muscles have been replenished - everything else will be stored as fat around the body. So it's good to be aware of this fact if weight-loss is your goal.
- Eat protein rich meals, fresh veg and fruit before resistance training - especially if it's the first meal of the day as the metabolism will be working hard to process proteins and will switch to fat stores on the body for it's energy sources. Alternatively, if the morning meal is made up of easy to absorb carbohydrates (ie. bread/toast, sugary cereals and fruit juices) it will be great for quick energy access but the fat stores will take second place as the body uses the newly taken on fast energy carbohydrates sources.
- Make sure to include a 5-10 minute warm-up before having intense workouts to activate the aerobic (ie. fat burning) energy system which helps burn fat while you work out.

Mind Control

OUT OF OUR HANDS

As humans, we think of ourselves as rational sentient beings, masters of our own minds who only make rational decisions based on sound reasoning. Not so. Research concludes that we are greatly influenced by our environment, the value we place on other's opinions and swayed by subversive messages, particularly when our minds are low in blood sugar.

I wrote earlier in the year about a BBC Horizon series called: How You Really Make Decisions. In it, Nobel Prize winner Professor Daniel Kahneman reveals to us the truth about how our brains are making irrational, biased and lazy decisions more often than we realise. His book (available to download in audio format too) goes into greater detail on the subject and helps us to understand why and when we make the wrong decisions. Essentially, when we are making these decisions, we're pulling resources from two brain 'systems'. The two systems are: (1) fast and the other (2) slow. The fast system (1) intuitive/unconscious decision maker, accesses pre-learned ideas & cemented 'truths', making quick associations to construct easy explanations. Our 'slow' system (2) which we align to our Ego and is the conscious & reasoning part of our brain, often get's left behind as the fast brain kicks in first, telling us 'I've got this covered' and then, 'move on to the next task'.

All too often, we'll let the quick (1) 'gut instinct' decision-making part of our brain take over in favour of using (2) deep, rational thinking, as the (2) takes a lot more energy and we have just a finite amount stored, we are wired to use the quick access memory more, to free up brain power for other tasks and conserve energy at the same time.

Some of our (1) fast-decision making decisions are based on hard-coded rules learned through the evolutionary process - ie. knowing when to run/fight is integral to our survival and this fast brain can give us an advantage for success in other situations too. But not knowing when to give extra focus on making decisions when we're faced with more complex tasks/problems, can lead to errors made through cognitive biases - ie. falling into the trap of making assumptions without thinking things through properly. It's this assumptive mind state that gets us into trouble and stops us from really understanding the world around us.

Studies carried out by psychologist, Roy Baumeister, into our brain's fast/slow system switching and will-power or ego depletion centred around glucose levels being a major contributing factor, have shown clear instances of this effect occurring at higher levels within our society. It was demonstrated for example, that Judges granting parole before and after lunch, awarded parole to a greater percentage of prisoners after lunch than those just before or closer to the end of the day. This is something that knowledgable/well-educated, responsible/powerful and all too self-confident people fail to understand in themselves. Try challenging the reasoning of your doctor next time and possibly you'll witness this phenomena - as they'll often sooner take offence than admit they've jumped to conclusions based on pre-learned information or assumptions.

So, back again to the case of parole decision making for judges....timing was more likely a factor in the decision making process in this example, because of glucose levels. The judge would have unconsciously been conserving brain glucose/energy - as lower levels of glucose were required to make a decision to 'put-off' parole until a later date, rather than make a complex analysed decision requiring more brain power. Additional studies on brain energy have also shown the levels of self-control can diminish - to the point where the 'self' is devoid completely. This is when the emotional, irrational & primitive brain makes itself known - generating unhelpful, unhealthy and at times, just plain crazy outcomes....and good reason why we should always have a brain-boosting refreshment to hand!

We have just a finite amount of glucose energy available over periods of time which can still be replenished, but just like a muscle, the brain fatigues and rest/sleep is required to repair and replenish for full functionality to resume. Good news - the brain can be worked-out like a muscle and focus, required for taking in information, processing and making complex decisions, can be improved/stretched over time by practising some techniques - like these found in Leo Babauta's book (free version here).

I also discovered a couple of easy tricks that worked this morning.
Set timers for focus: Tell yourself, you're going to dedicate some quality time to something ie. blog/read/meditate etc. for a set time, eg. 30 mins. Any other thoughts/distractions, push out till after. Have a break - then repeat for the next task. Your brain will stack each and wait.
Adjust your lens: This really simple technique works! Cup your eyes for a tele-focus lens. SO, reading something that requires concentration - laser-in on it. Do this every time and a pavlovian response for conditioning yourself is triggered over time.

Mind Control
If you've ever watched a magician or illusionist perform at a live show or on TV - chances are you've already witnessed the power of suggestion. A friend of mine was on a Derren Brown episode where, as part of a creative duo, he had to come up with the idea for an advert in just 30 minutes. Unbeknownst to him and his colleague, the show's production team had conceived a clever plan to strategically place visual triggers along the route for the taxi drive in to the TV studios. These strong visual messages, fresh in their minds, would play a part in steering them towards creating a very similar advertising campaign to that which Derren himself had scamped-up before they strted. What is amazing about this clip (shown below), is that something so 'complex' like an advertising campaign, which requires experience and creative thinking to achieve well, can be so easily primed in these guys minds to obtain predicted results as the experiment in this illusionist's episode clearly shows. It's this kind of 'priming' that we unconsciously pick up throughout the day which affect and ultimately, make our decisions!

The Power of Suggestion 

Something that I'm noticing more and more - are the suggestive messages from adverts and junk emails that I'm receiving. I realised just recently (how naive) that if you use Google, Yahoo or MSN mail - buzz words will be scanned from your mail and your profiling will be tweaked to ensure your next adverts are adjusted to fit your preferences. If you don't believe me - try it yourself. I prefer to use adblock and watch TV shows and documentaries without advertising in them which can be streamed/downloaded and your browsing choices hidden from marketeers through use of a VPN.

It's frightening to think that everything we do digitally (and also far beyond) is being tracked through computers and intelligence agencies. It's even more discerning to learn that your decisions are not your own. That's right, you and I are being persuaded through clever marketing techniques day-in and day-out. Whether it's in the form of newspapers or through TV or on the internet - we are all being swayed and primed for parting with our money or being cordoned/shepherded by mass control and the controlling elite. The media have been using a number of tricks and techniques to cajole and control the masses over the years and there's been a number of studies from the likes of Walter Lippman and Carl Jung about using mass media, propaganda and mind control techniques - a lot of which are being widely used today and something everyone needs to be aware of.

Take The Pressure Off

PRESSURE GOOD - STRESS BAD

Doing something difficult, dangerous and time-precious and getting good results at the end, will leave us feeling invigorated and satisfied that we are successful at delivering under pressure. I like doing adrenalin sports for the same reason that I like performing at my peak. Mind & body working together in 'the flow' - enjoying the feeling of being focussed & connected to the environment and the task in hand. The thing is, as you do more adrenalin sports over time, the fix will lesson as you become used to the danger situation or your adrenalin levels drop as you fatigue. You need to take a break because constant exposure to high-pressure becomes exhausting.

Adrenalin sports are fun for me - and I don't want to take the thrill away by having too much of the same thing, plus there's a risk of performing in potentially damaging situations when you're tired. It's the same for being in a work environment and having deadlines to meet. You get the buzz of completing a task in record time but if you continue to function in this heightened state, you either flood your system with the stress hormone Cortisol, creating an imbalance or your body starts to weaken as the effects of prolonged release of this hormone take it's toll.

Work is rarely fun and ceases to be enjoyable a lot quicker if the pressure becomes too much. Unlike adrenalin-fuelled pass times that you can stop when you've had enough, work has to be endured until it's finished. So it's easier to move from being under a lot of pressure to being over-stressed if you're putting up with these levels for sustained periods of time.

Cortisol
The hormone Cortisol is secreted by our adrenal glands and helps maintain blood pressure, immune system, blood sugar levels and is important in heightening our systems for responding in survival situations. Cortisol, released by glands forming part of our endocrine system, is also termed 'the stress hormone' and having too much of this in our bodies can weaken our immune systems, cause fatigue, insomnia and a number of other health issues if measures are not taken.

Cortisol levels can fluctuate throughout the day with the circadian rhythm of the body and can be maintained by relaxation (deep breathing, meditation & yoga) and via taking adaptogenic herbal supplements shown to improve//lower/restore cortisol levels.

If you are subjected to being in a stressful environment and are suffering with anxiety, digestion issues, tiredness, insomnia - chances are, you've over-stressed your body and need to take time to relax or get some additional help via having some of these 7 adaptogen herbs in order to bring back a balanced state of wellbeing.

Rhodiola
One of the key herbs for treating stress, anxiety, improving perfomance/stamina and combatting fatigue is Rhodiola and can be found in high street stores like Holland and Barrett. More information on herbs for strength, stamina and stress relief can be found in this comprehensive book by David Winston and Steven Maimes.