Cholesterol - friend or foe?

Have you been for your mid-life health check recently? Many women at this time of life are diagnosed with high cholesterol. There’s good reason for this and it’s important to understand why.

Cholesterol is manufactured in the liver. It is responsible for repairing damaged tissue. Steroid hormones such as oestrogen, progesterone and cortisol are derived from cholesterol. As oestrogen levels are lowering at mid-life, it is not unlikely that we will have raised levels of cholesterol which is more of a problem in conjunction with high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity or a genetic tendency to gain weight around the middle.

Cortisol is one of our stress hormones and its main role is to modulate inflammation. The body is unable to metabolise the amount of cortisol circulating when chronically stressed. Cortisol then becomes dysfunctional and the result is actually increased inflammation. Not only is cholesterol needed for greater cortisol production but also to repair any damage to the tissues as a result of inflammation.

Food intolerances are inflammatory and are common in women at mid-life. Arthritis and rheumatism are inflammatory conditions also. Higher levels of cholesterol is necessary for the body to derive cortisol whose role is to modulate inflammation in these circumstances. Remember that cortisol is our friend until it gets out of control.

Stress is often the root cause of dis-ease and disease and this certainly needs to be addressed. Downregulating an overactive nervous system and developing skills to manage stress can reduce cortisol and thereby lower cholesterol.

If like me, you prefer to find a natural solution before going down a medical road, consider whether there is a source of inflammation that could be the cause of high cholesterol. Address that and you may find your cholesterol levels lower. It is important to get them checked again to take a different course of action should it be sensible or necessary.

References:

https://www.uscjournal.com/articles/menopause-cholesterol-and-cardiovascular-disease-0#:~:text=Menopause%20is%20associated%20with%20a,%2Ddensity%20lipoprotein%20(HDL).

https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/how-its-made-cholesterol-production-in-your-body

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4263906/#:~:text=Cortisol%20is%20a%20potent%20anti,survival%20and%20avoidance%20of%20danger.

Mindfulness? Easy? No!

Recently I achieved Level 1 in Mindulness with the Clear Mind Institute (CMI). This gives me the title of a Mindfulness Yoga Teacher which enables me to integrate some of the practices into my yoga classes. In January 2017 I will be offering a Therapeutic Yoga class which will do just that. We will include mindful movement,  breathing practices and formal mindfulness practices.

What's mindful movement I hear you ask? Well it's yoga but with really focused attention on the sensations of movement. We slow things down to notice. Mindful movement included in the Mindfulness Based Stress Relief (MBSR) course is based on research; the movements practiced are considered safe for all. However in the therapeutic yoga class we will include other movements as this is not a short course but an ongoing lesson.

I personally have been practicing mindfulness now for three years. I began with a Mindful Living course based on the MBSR course. I then practiced during the Yoga Therapy for the Mind training after which I found an online course through www.soundstrue.com. This amazing course with the fabulous Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield took me to a new level of practice. It was the first time this course had been run. We had online mentoring in groups which opened my mind to ways of communicating with my yoga therapy clients.

I found the formal sitting practices immensely challenging. When I first began yoga I was unable to sit for pranayama without feeling threatened and panicky. So the steady movement of yoga helped me immensely. In my yoga practice it is possible to slow things down so much that one develops such self awareness moment by moment. Jon Kabat-Zinn's famous definition of mindfulness is “The awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.” Well yoga certainly offered the opportunity to do just that. However looking back, I didn't experience the same sense of calm and serenity, the change in my being or my behaviour that formal practice did.

I wanted to continue along the mindfulness path and delve deeper, so this year I undertook the first British Wheel of Yoga Mindfulness Module with Cathy-Mae Karelse of CMI followed by a conversion course to Level 1. I now practice nearly every day and feel enormous benefits from it. My mind has slowed down. I am able to pause before reacting (well most of the time; there are always some people who know how to press my buttons but I am getting better at pausing even with them). I am so much better at taking care of my needs. And I have many more moments in my day when I just notice.

The hardest thing for me along this journey has been finding a regular time to practice. I initially practiced straight after lunch but found it too easy to say 'Nah, I'm too busy'. At the moment I practice as soon as I wake up. I sleep in a pretty cold room so I don't feel like getting out of bed. Sometimes I fall back to sleep, I probably needed to and I will try to fit a shorter practice in during the day. But often I don't and I get up feeling better prepared for the day ahead.

I plan to continue training with CMI.

Research on mindfulness-based interventions is growing and now includes neuroimaging studies and more sophisticated research designs.

Effects include:

• Reductions in depression, anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders, stress and pain.
• Increased immunological response, reduced blood pressure and cortisol.
• Increased psychological well-being and enhanced cognitive functioning.

(Halzel, Lazar et al, 2011)

Invest in nature. Invest in yourself.

I don't know about you, but I always feel better after a walk in the countryside, both physically and mentally; particularly when surrounded by such stunning colours as we have been blessed with this autumn. This was one of the reasons why I chose to situate my studio amongst nature.
Birchwood Yoga studio is nestled into a copse from where it has a beautiful view of trees and flowers changing with the seasons and a multitude of wildlife that comes and goes. During the day the birdsong is delightful and at night we are often serenaded by tawny owls. I was interested to read in this article that much research has been carried out to discover whether there is any scientific basis for the sense of wellbeing that nature offers us and was delighted to discover that there is! Practicing yoga at Birchwood Yoga studio may be better for your mental health than you realised!