Life Unlocked: 7 Revolutionary Lessons to Overcome Fear by Srinivasan S. Pillay, MD

As humans we rely on our brains to protect us from mortal dangers to ensure our survival. As a species, we’ve developed a highly sensitized system of functioning to alert us to dangers that may be present in our environment but how often do these ingrained systems block us from the courage required to start that new job or new romantic relationship. Have you ever wondered how your fear of success or love prevents you from actually attaining it? Though you may profess and take steps to reach for the things you want, yet you somehow always run from or reject it. Deep within our faculties lie answers to unlocking the reoccurring thought patterns and behaviors that limit us from living to our fullest potential. 

Srinivasan S. Pillay, MD, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, recently published, Life Unlocked: 7 Revolutionary Lessons to Overcome Fear, a book that gives the biological and psychological implications in our brains' responses to fear in clear and accessible language for any reader, along with practical tools and practices to overcome these patterns. Pillay explains the latest research findings of Cognitive Neuroscience and applies these findings to his experience as a therapist and director of the Outpatient Anxiety Disorders Program and the Panic Disorders Research Program in the Brain Imaging Center at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts through real life stories of patients.

Pillay outlines seven common fears that everyone experiences to some degree and that most of our fears come from the unconscious. Our brains process visual stimulus much quicker than our conscious realizes. An example is seeing a coiled rope in a dark hallway. Our first emotional response occurs in the thalamus which sends signals directly to the amygdala alerting us to the "snake".  After a moment we are able to process the stimulus again, this time through the long route from the thalamus to the cortex(reasoning) which concludes it is actually a rope and then sends signals to the calm the reaction of amygdala.  

The bridge he constructs for overcoming the isolating behaviors of fear is through personal exploration and therapy to understand the nature of our fears while we re-stitch the patterns of our brain connections with practices that can replace fear with hope so that we begin to change our previously established patterns. Based on his experience in clinical psychiatry and brain-imaging research, Pillay illustrates what ignites our fears and anxiety and how we have the possibility to rewire our responses with the proven concept of Neuroplasticity. He offers the reader a MAP-CHANGE approach at the end of every chapter to use as a practical tool towards establishing new connections and responses to life.

Life Unlocked contains the science and clinical research data to assist us in understanding and overcoming our fears and anxieties so that we may move past what we fear and truly reach for the stars. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the deeper science behind the mind-body-spirit connection to use as a platform for unlocking your hidden potential.     

Maitreya: The Asian Experience

Maitreya "The Asian Experience"

I can't say more about the calming and energizing effects of this album. Participants always have positive comments about the music after I use it in class. It is a perfect compliment to any yoga/pilates practice with it's mellow downtempo rhythms and ambient eastern additions that awaken one's facutlies for attention without distracting the mind from the activity.  Also, a great album to put on after a stressful day at work. It's calming but not sleep inducing. Check it out at the link above.

In the Heart of the Moon

Ali Farka Touré's album "In the Heart of the Moon" is one of the best albums of West African string music and I highly recommend everyone adding this your music collection. Ali Farka Touré is a West African musician from Mali whose music is celebrated around the world. There is the smallest amount of vocals used on the album making it almost an entirely instrumental album.  It's a favorite of mine to use in Pilates and Yoga classes because the compositions are rhythmic, relaxing, and stimulating. The music calms the mind while the melodies keep the mind present in the activity. This album has the uncanny ability to calm and focus my mind within the first track, allowing me to concentrate on an important task. There's something absolutely magical about the polyrhythmic strings of Ali Farka Touré and I assure you, his music will make your spirit soar.

Humming Improves Sinus Health- Not Just for the Happy and Carefree

Remember how much you enjoyed humming as a child, fascinated by the sounds and vibrations it produced.  Remember the joy attached to your sense of wonder that you were creating these sounds. Ask any child to hum their favorite song and they enjoy it so much it's hard to get them to stop. For most adults the fascination with the human body has diminished and we suffer from the body more than we take joy from it. Well, kick the adult worries aside and get humming, it's good for your sinus health.
 
The New York Times reported on two new studies conducted in Europe  that indicated the simple act of humming provided enough stimulation to the sinus cavity to improve its health function. So humming on a regular basis could help prevent a cold from becoming a sinus infection. Scientists discovered that humming caused dramatic increases in the levels of nitric oxide in the sinus cavity than when the breathing was silent. The studies focused on the levels the nitric oxide which its biological function acts to promote the relaxation of smooth muscle and improve blood flow to the area. 

Yoga practices have a deep understanding of the subtle effects of chanting on the mind and body but in addition to the rapid exchange of gases which promote relaxation and blood flow of the nasal passages, humming stimulates the hypothalamus gland which regulates the immune system. Thus humming and chanting can help to fight a cold before it even begins.

It's winter and the colds are aplenty, so if you've been too shy to try the Om's in a yoga class, open up and say ahhhhh to the benefits your head will receive unless you prefer the fogginess of a cold.  If you already chant Om, try a home practice of 11 rounds of Om to see feel how chanting for longer periods brings you into deeper levels concentration and really opens the lungs, throat, and head. Feel good this season and hum your way to better health.