Daily Self-Care
There’s so many suggestions for daily self care out there. They are probably all really helpful, however even self care can feel a little exhausting to try to fit into your daily routine. I like things you can do while sitting having a cup of tea, or just before bed as you drift off to sleep; easy things you can fit into your schedule. ESR is one of these things. Be your own “helping hand”.
In Kinesiology we use ESR, Emotional Stress Relief acupressure points. These are acupoints located on the forehead. All you need to do is - take your fingertips or palm and place over your forehead. Hold for 3-5 mins and allow your body and energy to soften. These points are great for anxiety and overwhelm. If you are feeling stressed, either generally, or when something happens in the day to day, use this simple tool, as daily self-care.
How does ESR help you?
Gentle pressure on the acupoints located on the forehead, sends a signal to the brain that the body is safe. Physiologically it brings blood back to the stomach, calming dow the nervous stomach feeling, as well as bringing blood back to the brain, and the frontal cortex, where we think more rationally and clearly. This is where we make our decisions from, so it may help you move forward with a decision you need to make. This area of the brain is responsible for emotional regulation helping us to modulate our emotional responses and control impulses. Another function is around social behaviour and capacity for empathy, self-awareness and understanding the intentions and emotions of others.
ESR may help your whole body in times of stress. It is a lovely tool to use for either yourself or someone else. You can hold these points for your your kids in times of stress or high emotions. They can sit or lay down, while you hold their forehead and bring them back into body from the flight/fight response.
The fight or flight response is a natural response to acute threats that prepares the body to react or retreat. For our ancestors, this response made sense when they lived outdoors and were more likely to encounter threats from predators. However in the modern world, we find any stressor may put us in this mode. The problem is when we go there too often or even get stuck in the fight/flight response. It is still necessary to go into this mode for short bursts of time, however chronic fight/flight mode may lead to both physical and mental health ill effects.
ESR is a simple and powerful tool to remind your body to come out of this mode and back into the emotional regulation part of your brain, and calm your whole system down.
Try it for yourself and see the benefits for you.
Reference
https://mundus2035.com/the-prefrontal-cortex-unveiled-a-fascinating-journey-into-the-science-of-decision-making
https://neurodivergentinsights.com/blog/how-to-calm-down-fight-flight-response
