One of the most difficult challenges to any kind of healing process is the persistence of "stuck places." We all have them. We all become discouraged when, despite our various efforts to push and pull our way through these constricted passages, we remain stuck and then feel even more discouraged.

Recent neuroscience has focused on brain plasticity, or our capacity for regeneration and growth. This is one of the important focal points in getting unstuck.  

What's important is to know how to activate this natural regenerative process that creates new experiences that can effectively free us from stuckness.

Here's what research teaches us:

• The experience of psychotherapy has been found to change brain function in ways that are associated with more positive mood. 
  
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• Exercise (at least in animal studies) has been demonstrated to stimulate new brain cell growth in the hippocampus, a brain structure in the limbic system that has an important role in consolidating information into memory. Other research has shown that a brisk walk around a one-block radius creates improved mood effects in humans that are even more significant than anti-depressant medication.
  
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• Meditation also changes brain function, decreasing activity in areas associated with unhappiness, depression, and despair, and increasing activity in other areas that are crucial to love, compassion, and happiness.

Dr. James Gordon, director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine and author of the recent bestseller Unstuck, has included an excellent section on the benefits of meditation from a mind-body perspective.

Gordon emphasizes several common advantages of the mindfulness approach including: developing the inner observer, which helps to regulate difficult emotions, thoughts, and body experiences; improving concentration and attentional focus; and expanding awareness to include intuition and creativity. He also includes several unique uses of meditation. One of these is expressive meditation to help facilitate the surrender to change.   

The first step is to raise your energy. Several methods are recommended for this including "the crazed chicken," shaking your body chaotically for 10-15 minutes, and then putting on fast music, such as African drumming music, and dancing.  Next is to let out whatever's inside, to allow the raised energy to churn up emotions, thoughts, and sensations that need to be released. The last step is to express these through continued movement and dancing. It's especially important to express feelings you might be ashamed of such as resentments, jealousy, anger, fear, and judgments toward yourself or others.

The author notes that even patients who are in hospital beds can still wiggle their toes and open and close hands and fists slowly. He cautions against overdoing this type of meditation in a way that might bring injury, or practice too late in the day, which might be overstimulating and prevent sleep.

Beyond specific types of meditation, Unstuck features a seven stage model that leads to change:

1. The call: finding the right path for you
2. Identifying guides for the journey
3. Surrendering to change
4. Dealing with demons
5. Passing through the dark night of the soul
6. Receiving the blessing of spirituality
7. The return from imbalance, which includes the practice of intentional celebration

You can order
Gordon's book online here.

The perfect complement to Gordon's approach is participation in our mindfulness teleseminar on Friday, August 3rd with Dr. Ron Alexander on The Art and Science of Embodying Mindfulness. Again, the link to register is here.