Hacks for Negative Thoughts
/Dear Yogis,
A wonderful guy comes up on my socials promising me neuro hacks for negative thoughts and all kinds of ways to ‘UpSpiral’ my life. His name is Michael Hunter from UpSpiral Life (@upspiral.life). He started my day today with the steps to take when a negative thought is in reoccurrence mode:
1. Recognise the thought, and name it. Here’s that thought again. Here is my worried brain. Here is the loop. Label it to interrupt the looping. (You put the prefrontal cortex back in charge by doing that which is the problem-solving brain.
2. Now that you have interrupted the chemistry, interrupt the body response! Press the tongue to the roof of your mouth and hold it for a count of three, then release slowly. Do this 3 times.
3. Now my favourite part. The breathing. Breathe in for a count of four and out for a count of six in order to, of course, bathe the nervous system. This is to quieten the brain's threat centre, the amygdala.
4. Redirect your attention. Look at three things in the environment like a flower, a bird, the sky. Then feel two things like the air on your skin or the ground beneath bare feet.
Michael Hunter says that instead of eliminating negative thoughts, you out-train them. You build the reflex to interrupt them and do it repeatedly “till your mind starts working for you”.
Classes
So, evening classes are all now Stretchy classes. Next Sunday morning (24th) my new yoga-for-strength class starts. It is 90-minute Ashtanga yoga class with extra drills, press-ups, strengthening ideas and fun.
Coming in June is a proper Friday evening unwind-from-the-week Restorative class. It will be a 90-minute class, which reflects the nature of the style of yoga. A 90-minute class will make it properly worth your while to give the body and nervous system time to dial down.
Mon, Tues & Wed evenings = Stretchy yoga at 7.00-8.00pm – this is the popular one.
Friday morning = Ashtanga at 8.30-9.30am – this is the one that pushes you.
COMING SOON: Friday evening = Long Restorative Yoga – 6.30-8.00pm – A proper unwind
Saturday morning = Ashtanga at 8.30 – 10.00am – this is the longer one that pushes you.
Sunday morning = Yoga-For-Strength at 8.30 – 10.00am – this is Ashtanga with press-ups
And, by the way, you can post a google review of my classes here.
Yoga in the News
The Glasgow Times has: Surprise yoga session encourages construction workers to embrace 'softer side'. ‘’ Popular quiet pleasures like petting animals, listening to soothing music, or taking bubble baths are rarely talked about openly. To help change this, Irn Bru hosted a surprising yoga session for construction workers on Glasgow’s Clydeside.’
Advocate.com: has: How a queer-led yoga community is helping refugees heal & rebuild. “The partnership began in 2023 when Donatien Fundi, a refugee living in Dzaleka, wrote to our Boston studio about the scholarship and fellowship programs that help disadvantaged people become certified yoga instructors. Fundi had discovered yoga on his own and found it deeply healing while coping with the trauma of war and forced migration. He thought that becoming certified in yoga would help him further support many fellow refugees in rebuilding their lives, starting with their own health and well-being.”
Woman & Home has: Yoga instructor reveals favourite workout for bone density. "I dare you to do 10 jumps and not feel better by the end. Even just the novelty of doing something so childlike can boost mental wellbeing, but studies show that 60 seconds of bouncing triggers endorphin release."
