Managing Stress In Fight Or Flight Mode

This live recording starts with a class discussion about the fight/flight response and research around the benefits of mindfulness meditation. Teacher and musician Amy then guides a mindfulness meditation starting with body scan, breathing practices, and mindful thought concepts. Amy concludes with a slow, calming improvisation on her viola, followed by an improvisation by a class member on African-American flute. Note: This practice was recorded at 6pm on the 15th November at Worldly Treasures, Orange NSW 2800.

Transcript

I can handle a few extremes.

Just seven years the same,

But all the same stuff.

Yeah.

It's just a step down.

Yeah.

So I was looking into,

Earlier on when I first started talking about the self-love seminar,

I started to mention the concept of the fight or flight mechanism that we sometimes deal with.

Because one of the big questions I'm curious about that I wanted to look into was,

Why do we feel like when we're in the moment we just don't have a choice with how we respond?

It's almost like we kind of lose our mind or we lose some capacity to choose in that moment.

So I did some research this week about the biological aspect of fight or flight,

Which of course is rooted in our biology.

When we were more primitive mammals we would be needing to be looking after our own safety.

And if there was danger we would need that response to help us get away from it.

But that mechanism is still in us and is triggered by different things.

So the threats these days are we have a packed calendar,

Or we have all these things we've got to respond to,

Family pressures.

They're more subtle than the sabre-toothed tiger in the corner of the jungle,

But they're more persistent.

They're there almost all the time.

And I found some interesting statistics because I love numbers.

Apparently 70% of us check our smartphones within an hour of getting up.

And I think that that's even higher.

I've been trying to consciously make an effort of leaving my phone in the next room and having the clock radio or something.

And apparently also 56% of us check our phone within an hour of going to sleep.

So we go to sleep and then we're still checking the phone,

Like if the phone's beeping or something.

So the research around the concept of chronic fight or flight,

Which has also been called hyperarousal,

Where we're in a constant state of arousal,

Is interesting that there's been MRIs done on brain scans of people that have been exposed in tests.

And they've shown that the prefrontal cortex in the brain,

Which is where higher-order thinking and decision-making is processing,

That's actually being shrunk by constant stress.

So we have lesser ability to think in a higher-order way,

And we have less ability to make decisions in a rational way.

And the other thing they mentioned is that we have a habit of going back into our habits,

Which is what you were mentioning,

Gay,

Where you feel like the same pattern is going on and on and on for seven years.

Now,

We all know these things,

But the actual studies are being done now.

There's a mind-body medicine clinic in Boston in Massachusetts,

And they've found that between 60 and 90 percent of all visits to the doctor are prompted by stress-induced illness.

So the illnesses that we're getting in our modern day are being induced by stress.

Now,

This is all so familiar to us.

Yes,

Isn't it?

And just to say that stress causes cancer.

Yeah,

But so many people,

Because it's not tangible,

Or the medical AMA,

Because the data doesn't exist.

You know,

We're waiting for that data to build up.

So I looked into then research done on some positive sides of brain scans with mindfulness,

And there's a neuroimaging center at UCLA in LA.

And what regular meditation has shown to improve is the gray matter in the cerebral cortex,

Which improves the brain's capacity to process information,

Your memory,

Your emotional regulation,

And your decision-making.

That's all improved because that gray matter is thickened in a good way,

Sort of strengthened in a way.

And it also shrinks the size of the amygdala,

Which is the part of the brain that triggers fight or flight that we still have,

That we need to a degree,

I mean,

If we're walking in front of a car or something,

But we certainly don't need constantly in our lives.

So there were some really interesting questions in a book that I looked through.

They were kind of coaching questions that I thought maybe we could reflect on today in our meditation.

And I certainly make a conscious effort to do this when I perform,

Because I suffer from performance anxiety.

On Sunday I had,

You know,

Probably the most important gig today,

And I went through all the processes of the day,

Everything happened,

My sweaty palms,

My heart was beating fast,

My breathing was shallow.

And the other interesting thing I noticed was my mind was slippery.

All these thoughts were coming through into my mind that I normally wouldn't let in,

Like thoughts that were taking me out,

You know,

Things that were doing negative things to me.

So one of the questions this book suggested we ask ourselves is,

What signs,

If any,

Are telling you that you might be in a state of fight or flight?

So for me personally,

I know that when I can't remember what I've done in all the moments leading up to when I woke up,

There's been a period of time in there where I've been on autopilot or my habits,

Or I'm just kind of surviving in that moment.

Another interesting one that I read about in The Secret actually,

Which talks about the law of attraction,

Was something that I noticed.

If I bump myself or I trip or something kind of like a big bang,

It means that I wasn't mindful in that moment.

And in this book,

The lady speaks about that being sort of actually the universe saying,

Wake up,

You're not awake right now,

You're not quite there.

And yes,

My performance anxiety things too.

So maybe we can reflect on what we know about our bodies today when we're suffering from that mild anxiety,

What kind of can help us be aware of it.

The second question is,

What situation causes you to go into fight or flight?

Like if you were to imagine stepping into a guaranteed situation,

100%,

That you're going to go into that mode,

You can imagine what it would be.

It might be performing or it might be having a conversation with someone that you don't want to have a conversation about.

And then the last question was,

What is one easy thing that you can do right now in that moment to engage your rest and digest response,

Which is the nervous system that when it isn't engaged with the fight or flight,

It's actually working to calm the body down.

So that's why they call it the rest and sort of digest state that we can be in.

And that's the state that we enter when we're in our meditation,

When we're being mindful.

So personally for me,

One of the biggest things that's helped me is just awareness in any moment when it's happening.

And the easiest thing I've found is actually a tip from an image I saw on Facebook about how to handle a panic attack.

I've never had a panic attack before,

But I've had a partner who has and friends who have.

And they say,

When you're in it,

Just name five things you see in that moment,

Four things that you feel,

Three things you can hear,

Two things you can smell and one thing you can taste,

To sort of bring you out of your mind into the moment.

So naming those things.

So when I was struggling a bit on Sunday,

I just named my symptom.

My heart's racing.

My palms are sweaty.

Oh,

Look.

My palms are sweaty.

Not judgmental or not,

Oh no,

Oh no,

But just kind of trying to name it and being a little separated from it.

I found a beautiful meditation about when you,

We practice being in that state and we observe the thoughts as they come in and we try and let them go without judging them.

In that process,

Just naming it,

Is that a worrying thought?

Is it a fearful thought?

Is it a future thought?

Or a past thought?

Or is it an expectation thought?

Or an angry thought?

Or a melancholic thought?

Or maybe a sad thought?

So it's like giving a name to these tangible things.

They are tangible because they have a biological effect on us,

But I think one of the reasons why this is still not in the mainstream medical practice is because it is in the mind.

It's not like you can see it on your arm.

I find this naming exercise quite interesting,

So we might try that in the meditation tonight.

And the thing that I love about this is the best time to practice it isn't,

Of course,

In this beautiful room when it's quiet and there's music and everything.

The best time to practice is when you're right in the thick of it and you're like completely confronted.

And all you can do is say thank you.

This is my opportunity to grow now because I actually need to move in this moment,

Like just a little thing stepping in dog poo today.

Thank you.

I was not very mindful.

So there's some thoughts to think about.

So we'll do a body scan today and some more breathing and maybe some naming of thoughts and see if we can watch them as they pass.

And then I'm going to play.

That's beeping at me to tell me that it doesn't like me.

Then I'm going to play without my loop,

Just something actually I've never done before.

So I hope you really enjoy it.

Okay.

So when you're ready.

Closing your eyes if you feel comfortable to,

Making yourself feel comfy.

I'll begin and end with the sound of three strikes of the bell.

And the air conditioning may go off during our meditation.

Bell.

Closing our eyes,

Sensing our attention going inwards and checking in with ourselves.

Becoming aware of what's been going on inside.

Sensing that you might make yourself at home in this moment,

In this room.

Feeling comfortable and grounded with your connection to the earth or the chair.

Just relaxing with your experience and noticing the sounds that are around.

Just doing a preliminary scan of the body,

Noticing any areas of tension,

Any tingling,

Any pain.

Just being there for that sensation,

Noticing it,

Letting it be.

We'll just settle deeply with some long deep breaths.

Just exhaling and breathing in and out slowly.

And again breathing in.

Just hold and out.

And just letting the breath go back to its natural rhythm.

And sensing the possibility of perhaps relaxing even more in the body.

Feeling the breath come into a softening belly.

Relaxing open and just breathing out by letting go.

Focusing on the sounds around you,

The sounds in this room,

Any distant or faint sounds outside of the room.

Letting yourself be receptive to the sensations inside as they focus on any sounds around you.

Bringing your attention now to the home breaths,

The sensations as we breathe in and out around the lips and the nostrils.

Just being aware of our body as a whole,

Breathing in and out.

Bringing our attention now to the crown of the head,

Any sensations around the crown.

Down to the left ear,

Noticing any tingling or vibration in the left ear.

Moving over to the right ear,

Again any tingling,

Any sensations of listening,

Of hearing.

Moving from the back of the neck to the shoulders.

Sensing the shoulders can just fall away a little bit more from the ears.

Perhaps encouraging the posture to be a bit more upright,

Strong.

Bringing our attention now to the forehead,

Softening down to the eyebrows,

Relaxing the eyebrows.

To the left eye,

Inside the eye,

Down to the back of the muscle,

Letting it fall into its socket.

Letting it loosen and relax.

Down to the nose,

Full of thousands of receptors.

Just observing any feeling or sensation in the nose as you breathe in and out.

Perhaps the tip of the nose,

Around the nostrils,

Down to the lips as they relax.

Feeling the inside of the lips as you breathe in and out.

Moving to the inside of the mouth,

The palate at the top of the mouth.

Feeling an opening as you breathe in.

Bringing your attention now down the back of the throat,

Down to the area where the root of the tongue lies.

Sensing the tongue can just relax and drop down into the throat chakra area.

And as you breathe in,

This area opens.

As you breathe out,

Release any energy in this area.

We sometimes hold emotions in here that we may or may not be aware of.

And the breath and visualization of letting this go is an opportunity to let that emotion go.

As you breathe in,

Opening up the throat area.

And as you breathe out,

Letting the energy go.

Moving down the throat now to the chest and the collarbones.

Any areas of tension or discomfort,

Any warmth or heat in the collarbone area.

Moving over to the left shoulder.

Just gently observing around the left shoulder,

Inside.

Is there any pressure or tension here?

Down the left arm to the left elbow.

Noticing how the left elbow is bent at an angle.

Down to the forearm and the wrist and the palm.

Noticing where the palm connects with the body.

Observing the pressure,

The warmth.

Moving to the inside of the left hand.

Feeling the volume of the inside of the left hand.

Moving your awareness out to the fingers and to the left fingertips.

Noticing any energy in them,

Any vibration or tingling.

Moving your attention back over to the right shoulder.

Again,

Are there any areas of pain or slight sensations that you might observe and breathe into and let go with the out-breath?

Just taking a gentle attention around the right shoulder,

Inside the right shoulder.

Down the right arm to the elbow.

Any areas of tension in the right elbow.

Down the right forearm to the wrist.

Feeling any warmth or pressure where the right hand is resting.

Feeling the inside hollowness of the right hand,

The volume of the right hand.

Moving your awareness out of the fingers to the fingertips.

Noticing any vibration,

Any tingling.

Aware of the whole upper body now moving down the torso to the hip region.

A very important centre for emotion.

Observing now the left hip.

Looking inside.

Just gently observing the connection between the left hip and the floor or the chair.

Any pain in the left hip.

Consciously breathing into the areas that might cause you discomfort and letting go with the next breath.

Letting any emotions go with that out-breath.

Moving down the left leg.

Feeling the volume of the left thigh.

Down to the left knee.

Observing how the left knee is bent.

Are there any sensations coming from the left knee?

From inside the knee.

Moving down the left shin.

Down to the ankle.

And to the foot and feeling the connection with the floor.

Moving our awareness to the inside of the left foot.

Feeling the space inside the foot.

Feeling the toes.

Any tingling or vibrations.

Being aware now of the entire left leg as a whole.

Attached to the hip to the floor.

Moving your attention now to the right hip.

Again,

You may notice or sense some blockage or tension.

Or maybe some feeling of numbness.

That may be an energy,

An emotional energy that we're not aware of.

Just observe and notice the feeling and breathe deeply into the area of the right hip.

And as you breathe out,

Let go of that energy.

Looking around the hip.

Inside the hip.

Inside that connection.

Any area of tingling or vibrations.

Or pain.

Moving down now the right leg.

The thigh.

Feeling the volume of the thigh.

To the right knee.

Noticing any tension in the right knee.

Any warmth or pressure.

Moving down now the right leg,

The shin to the ankle.

And noticing the connection between the right foot and the ground.

Feeling the volume in the inside of the right foot.

Feeling the vibration and tingling of the base of the foot.

And the vibration perhaps in the toes.

Bringing your awareness out now to the entire body.

And attempting to visualize the senses of tingling and vibration of the entire body now as you breathe in and out.

Noticing your body as one,

One entire organism breathing in and out in unison.

Practicing now our four,

Five,

Six breaths where we breathe in for four counts,

We hold for five counts and then we breathe out on the sixth count.

Constricting the throat slightly to make the out-breath slower if you wish.

Preparing with an exhalation now.

Breathing in on one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Holding one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and out,

Six.

Bringing your awareness back to the body.

Noticing any changes.

As you go back to your natural breathing rhythm.

Sensing any changes in your nervous system.

Perhaps an injection of energy or vibration.

Preparing again with an exhale.

Breathing in on one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Holding one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and six.

Observing the response of the body.

The nervous system getting a chance to engage a bit more with the influx of oxygen.

Deepening the practice now one more time.

Preparing with an exhalation.

Breathing in on one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Holding one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and six.

Feeling the beautiful sensations of the deepened breath.

Practicing now in silence before the music begins.

Naming the thoughts as they come through our mind.

By focusing on the breath and the sensations in the nostrils and the mouth.

And letting the mind experience the thought.

And before letting it go with the breath.

Just giving it a name.

A quality,

A color.

Bringing it to a new attention and then letting it go.

As we sit in silence for a few minutes,

Practicing this.

Relaxation.

Allowing the mind to wander by just naming that thought before you let it go bringing back to the sensation of the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril the breath on the lips and the nostril

Reviews

Hello from 2025 in Boise. Your talk, relaxation, and that Viola are incredibly soothing to my F*** nervous system TU so much for uploading this here!

This was a peaceful experience, your voice is calming, and the music lovely. I will definitely listen again and discover what else you have to offer.

What a wonderful body scan. Your voice, tone and pace is ideal. I’m not sure about the music. I will listen to again and again.❤️

Very nice talk, mostly a grounding meditation after 15 minutes. Thank you for sharing!

I am grateful for the insights from the talk before the practice, and for the honest transparency of your personal journey. The body scan was thoughtful, unrushed, and engaging. Thank you, too, for playing your instruments as the meditation came to a close; they carried the flow along in a fresh way. The 4-5-6 breath was also very valuable, especially in the way that you allowed for space between them. Thank you for sharing this with us in such an open, full-hearted manner.

That was so nice. Thank you! Love your voice and music. ❤️🙏🏻🌙☀️🌱

It as just lovely. Much food for thought, yet calming as well. Loved the music at the end. Thank you!

A centering practice that threads its mindful way through thought, sensation, and feeling — a meditative journey of cleansing, restoration, and unifying wholeness.

Thank you for taking me to Nirvana! 💖
Namaste 🙏🏻

Interesting discussion at the start. Gentle voice that I find soothing. Excellent body scan/ awareness. Lovely music. I'll revisit this teacher! Thank you

Loved the music at the end. Also some new aspects to body scan I hadn’t heard before. ❤️🙏

Excellent! I very much enjoyed this. Thank you.