Category Archives: fright or freeze

Fire – Hug heart to heart

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

Fire – Hug heart to heart   The hug Next time you go in for or are receiving a hug, take note.  Do you lean in left shoulder to left shoulder, right shoulder to right shoulder or reach for the waist with a side hug? Are you comfortable with a hug? Were you raised with hugs? How long is your natural hug? Do you want to practice hugging?   Word Origin Etymologically, “hug” is thought to come from the Old Norse word hugga, which translates to “to comfort or console”.   A lesson from one of my clinical mentors in … Continue reading →

Earth: explore the arising & passing of sensations

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

Sensations arise and sensations pass. Paying close attention to the coming and going of feelings within the body leads us to a deeper understanding of impermanence.  This mind-body understanding of impermanence guides us deeper into allowing.  Have you tried body scanning?  Enjoy a free body scan script here or choose from a free guided 20, 30 or 45 minute audio here   Body scanning is a widely used technique for stress reduction. As we practice this mindfulness act again and again, we may start to notice the sensation arise prior to an emotion or feeling.  The question then becomes, are … Continue reading →

Water ~ Tone your vagal nerve

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

Stimulation of the vagus nerve plays an important role in the management of anxiety and mental health issues. The vagus nerve is the longest running cranial nerve in your body. It is one of ten paired cranial nerves and runs from the stem of your brain all the way down to your gut. The word “vagus” translates to “wandering” in Latin, and the vagus nerve certainly does that.   As the longest and most complex of all the cranial nerves, it starts at the stem of the brain, behind the ears before it meanders down the sides of the neck, … Continue reading →