IC and Stress: 7 Energy Science Techniques to Cope

When I read posts from the IC community about triggers for their IC many respond that stress is a common trigger  This makes complete sense from an energy science point of view because the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia) is caused from the provocation of the energy patterns of Vata(energy of physiologic movement) and Pitta(energy of transformation or metabolism)  Both of these energy patterns are involved in stress and engages the control dramas of Vata which is flight(run away) or Pitta(fight) or a mixture of the two energy patterns

Stress and Retraining the Nervous System to Reduce IC Flares

Our reaction to an event in our environment as a perceived threat can engage the flight or fight response  This mental response to “out there” prompts a part of our nervous system named the sympathetic nervous system  The opposing part is the parasympathetic nervous system  It turns out that the former is engaged in times of stress(fight or flight) and the latter is engaged during periods of relaxation

The accumulation of stress events that are not dealt with adequately leads to a heightened level of stress over and above baseline  This increased sympathetic nervous system activity puts us in a altered physiologic state where we are then more responsive to simple stress events that would not ordinarily trigger us(crying child puts us over the top)  This is called “chronic stress syndrome” but is nothing more than a primed sympathetic system that is operating over and above what is appropriate  Done for long periods of time it can lead to adrenal fatigue

Everyone experiences stress in their lives but it’s how we deal with it that’s important  So retraining our nervous system out of hypervigilance or “fight or flight response” and to teach it to be calmer in the face of that “perceived threat” whatever it might be is the key to dealing with the stress trigger that can lead to IC flares

9 Energy Science Things That You Can Do To Reduce Stress and Flares

The energy science of Ayurveda and the yoga tradition state that it’s not just one thing that we do to help deal with stress but a multiplicity of things that we can do to invoke a more calm(parasympathetic) response to events that occur to us in our environment

Nutrition Amazingly when we eat foods that produce imbalance it brings about a minor stressor   Over time as discussed earlier this loads the sympathetic nervous system, raising its level of activity

Herbal support There a number of Ayurvedic herbs that can lend support to the nervous system that are called rasayanas  These are a special group of herbs that can provide strengthening support to an overloaded system

Pranayama  These are breathing practices that can have a calming effect to the autonomic nervous system by increasing the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system which happens to be in very high concentration anatomically in the diaphragm

Nasya  At the upper part of the nasal cavity is a plate that has direct access to the brainstem  Named the cribiform plate this provides herbal access to the nervous system so that they can provide strengthening support to an overly fatigued nervous system

Asana practice Done properly by focusing on bodily sensations, asana practice can be meditative and hence reduce the mind’s tendency to respond in a sympathetic way

Meditation is an energy science tool to quiet the mind  In so doing it produces a parasympathetic response, that is, a calming effect  Done over time(at least 3mo of practice) it will retrain the nervous system so that it is not so reactive to events in our environment

Watching thoughts as clouds   This practice helps us disengage our internal world  At times our thoughts become so real for us that we think they are us!  But we are not our thoughts we are the observer of our thoughts  Thoughts are like hotel guests….they come and go but we as the observer….we never change  When we watch the thoughts come and go as clouds we disengage from the mind

By and by introducing each of these tools can be life changing and help you conquer IC flares  Just begin with 5 minutes and you’ll see benefits and want to spend more time