First appeared in the Ealing & Acton Gazette on May 5th 2007
 We all know that modern life involves stress. You don’t need a doctor’s report to feel the blood pounding in your ears when you’re running for the train or thinking about targets at work. We are designed for explosive performance under fight or flight conditions, but lead lives which convince our bodies we’re at a low and constant level of threat. A lot of my work as a hypnotherapist is dealing with people who have lived with unhealthy levels of stress for so long that they’ve forgotten what it’s like to feel normal. Panic attacks are not unusual for many, along with sleeplessness, low energy levels and the inability to think clearly.
But until the property section lists ‘Garden of Eden’ alongside ‘Hanwell’, ‘Acton’ and ‘Boston Manor’, the only real option we have is to do all those small things that help us to thrive, rather than limping along, coping minute by minute.
The first thing I always teach panic attack sufferers (and figures suggest this will be one or two in ten of us each year) is to breathe properly. Singers, athletes and practitioners of yoga all breathe from deep in their bellies, rather than high in their chests. Lie down on the floor with a pile of books on your lower abdomen and see how far the books rise and fall as you breathe. The further they travel, the deeper you’re breathing.
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You’ve probably noticed how this automatically happens when you’re in a natural environment. Each year I visit a very special and little-known part of the borough, Perivale Wood. Highly unusual in that it has never been farmed or occupied - totally original forest and pasture land, intact since the last ice-age - its prime function is as a nature reserve. But on the first Sunday in May when the bluebells are in full-bloom, the 27 acre plot is opened to the public.
Perivale Wood provides a natural habitat for many wild species. As volunteer co-ordinator Nic Ferriday told me “99 percent of the world is run for people – it’s nice to have this held to one side for nature”. Nic is supported in this work by an industrious team of volunteers who manage the wood and keep an eye on the plants and animals living there. Data from the wood, along with that from other reserves throughout the country are used by influential bodies including DEFRA to keep track of pollution and our impact upon our environment.
So next time you can feel your shoulders clamped firmly to your earlobes, tingling in your finger-ends because of your shallow breathing and can hear you heart pounding in your head, try a ten minute walk out to one of our mini Gardens of Eden – the borough is full of beautiful parks – and practice breathing like Pavarotti.
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