It is estimated that by 2020, the number one cause of deaths in the world will be stress. Doctors now agree that 86 per cent of diseases are psychosomatic, which means, negative emotions are adding to physical and mental health problems. This could range from simple aches and pains to chronic illnesses such as diabetes or heart attack. And the only hope is to ensure that stress chemicals are either not released or neutralised before it gets too late.
Is it possible? Thankfully the answer is, yes. Mindfulness and Emotional Freedom Therapy (EFT) are the tools being used by two Bengaluru-based meditation experts—Neeraj Kumar and Mridula Nair—to fight this challenge.
Hailing from different backgrounds, the certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Matrix Reimprinting and Alpha Mind control practitioners Kumar and Nair met during the EFT programme.And in 2015, they decided to conduct workshops and healing sessions for those in need of help.
Kumar, 47, says, “Mindfulness is all about being in the present, with a purpose and being non-judgmental. This helps us live in the present and experience every moment of our life without being critical of self or others. Mindfulness is something that we possess and it’s available to us anytime we want. It’s all about bringing awareness to the present moment, it could be eating, walking, listening or talking or any other activity.” A corporate trainer with 18 years of experience, Kumar chose to be full-time trainer in 2009 to help people practice mindfulness.
Neuro-science research also shows that benefits of mindfulness are enormous. EFT is an equally helpful in neutralising the stress chemicals.“Unlike many traditional methods, EFT is simple to learn, easy to use, produces immediate results, and costs nothing to practice. It can be learnt by anyone easily within a few days. And one person can teach others. But, it is not at a replacement for any medical treatments,” says the 60-year-old Nair, who started her career as an entrepreneur with a travel agency, but moved on to learning therapies and works with many leading medical professionals.
The obvious next question is how to achieve mindfulness and emotional freedom to ensure that the effects are long term.“Mindfulness can be achieved through simple yet powerful breathing techniques, by entering into alpha mindful meditation, and also by leveraging some of the clinically proven behavioural sciences such as EFT, along with alpha meditation,” says Kumar.
Alpha meditation is all about entering into a meditative state by relaxing the body through progressive relaxation and releasing unwanted thoughts by focusing on breath. “The process leads to releasing of Dopamine, Endorphin, Oxytocin and DHEA, thus restoring our physical and mental health,” he says.
On the other hand, EFT not only helps in achieving mindfulness in a short term, but also helps in healing emotional scars from the past.
Nair explains, “EFT is a combination of ancient eastern science such as Marma Therapy from Ayurveda, acupuncture from China, and Cognitive Behavioral and Exposure Therapy from the western world. It is perfectly in sync with the philosophy that body and mind have the capability to heal themselves. We have to just help them do so.”
The process taps a few nerve clusters in our body called meridian points. This sends calming signals to the part of the brain called Amygdala and prevents a phenomenon called ‘Amygdala Hijack’, which triggers the Fight, Flight and Freeze response under stress.So let’s switch to mindfulness and be at peace.
What you get
EFT: It helps achieve mindfulness by neutralising the stress chemicals and producing happy chemicals in your body.
mindfulness: When you reach this state your concentration level increases. You feel happy.
Alpha Meditation: It helps refresh one’s mind and body.
Cost: `8,900 per person for Unboxing Happiness & `25,000 per person for EFT certification. Both are two-day courses
Timings: (10:30 am-6:30 pm).