monomer/program_peace · Datasets at Hugging Face

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My experience with chronic stress was an extreme version of the same issue that everyone on
this planet contends with Thus recounting my story of recovery provides a vivid case study
with which to compare your experience It also allows me to describe how the Program Peace
exercises relieved my symptoms so that you can see how they can relieve yours My symptoms
were pretty bad
My breathing was shallow and rapid My eyebrows were constantly raised was always
squinting and had purple creases under my eyes couldnt maintain eye contact for long before
my eyes would dart away of their own accord had an enduring lump in my throat and a
hoarse and high voice had persistent kinks in my neck tweaks in my lower back and a
clenched jaw mumbled and stammered when spoke held my breath during conversations
gasped between sentences and looked at the floor when speaking had almost no capacity to
glare frown flare my nostrils or straighten my neck in the company of others
Throughout my twenties was deeply afflicted by anxiety depression and bodily
discomfort was unaware that the symptoms described in the previous paragraph were causal
factors in this discomfort All knew is that felt perpetually distressed and couldnt figure out
why The feeling would not abate and was resulting in chronic lowgrade pain This made me
wonder Where in my body do hold this pain and how can access and extinguish it found
the physical manifestations of my stress to be completely elusive tried many different clinical
and alternative methods to improve my condition without success Popular breathing exercises
medical recommendations psychological therapy and stress reduction programs did nothing
for me So began experimenting on myself using methods derived from my knowledge of
social cognition neuroplasticity and mammalian biology The result was a system designed to
train the body to reflect an optimal environment
The core idea is this Had you been raised in a perfect world with zero negativity the way
you hold your body would be painless and symptomfree But no one is raised in an ideal world
Our spines facial muscles breathing musculature and brains have internalized trauma over our
life course Trillions of individual cells are altered on a molecular level The alterations cause
muscles and soft tissues throughout the body to become stiff and sore These insidious changes
rob us of our composure and put us in a metaphorical straitjacket That straitjacket constricts
more and more with the passage of time Left unchecked it fits a little tighter every day
until death The system presented here will teach you how to recompose yourself to escape
this stranglehold
This book presents activities and exercises for you to practice each accompanied by
relevant scientific background for perspective The focus will be on comparative physiology
explaining how our bodies function by comparing us with other animals Considering these
parallels helps us make inferences about ideal functioning in humans We saw an example of
this in the Preface When mammals are calm they breathe with the respiratory diaphragm
When they are distressed they tense the diaphragm and breathe with other respiratory
muscles The more traumatized a mammal becomes the more tense and inactive its
diaphragm becomes
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
In fact the diaphragm is one of your bodys main repositories of trauma The tightening
stranglehold discussed above partially corresponds to cumulative changes to your breathing
style that make you breathe more shallowly unevenly and rapidly You can release this trauma
by training your diaphragm which we will start later in this chapter before focusing on it in
depth in Chapter You will learn a series of methods to make your breathing permanently
deeper smoother and slower This sends an its okay to relax message to the entire body
By training your diaphragm to preside over your breathing you can convince your body to
assume that it resides in a habitat free from danger The remainder of the book will guide you
through exercises that combine this form of peaceful breathing with various postures
expressions and forms of body language In performing them you will reprogram yourself for
confidence health and peace
Stress Resides in the Way We Carry Ourselves
Most of us have knowingly or not experienced intense longterm periods of stress In my case
it happened throughout my twenties In the morning would wake up feeling anxious After
just a few social encounters my heart would be racing and my adrenaline overwhelming
Friends and acquaintances were often alarmed by the way behaved wondering what could
possibly be so stressed about would greet a friend and the expression on my face would
cause them to scan the immediate environment for threats because the fear on my face
suggested to them we were in immediate danger People would ask me What is it that youre
so worried about To which would reply Im rarely worried about anything specific It must
be biological
Under conditions of chronic stress symptoms continually worsen over time My default
stress level had been elevated over many years Upon going to bed instead of allowing myself
to return to a tranquil baseline fell asleep more frantic than the night before When this
happens the bodys systems become stuck in a state of overdrive Thought processes become
overclocked It becomes hard to fall asleep difficult to rest and impossible to relax Many of us
reach a point at which our experience of life is like a bad trip infused with the sensations of
both withdrawal and overdose As tolerance to the sensations of stress builds many people
barely notice how deranged they have allowed themselves to become
Pressing social concerns and professional responsibilities cause us to ignore the symptoms
As we habituate to the physical and mental anguish our body continues making longterm
adjustments that further entrench us in overexertion This is compounded by the fact that it has
historically been very difficult to successfully treat chronic stress Modern medicine has no real
solution aside from drugs and rest This is why most people do little to nothing about it
After a particularly bad day while lying in bed trying to meditate had an epiphany
recognized the way was holding my body as the source of my mental suffering For the first
time could feel my anxiety not as diffuse and psychological but as aching localized in my gut
stiffness in distinct spinal muscles as agonizing contortions of my face and as the misery of
stiff shaky breathing
Recognizing that did not hold my body in this way as a child immediately wanted to
know how had come to do it From that point on have been working to discover how the
body and mind compensate after being exposed to trauma In creating this system spent
countless hours analyzing my behavior and how carried myself in minute detail After
Chapter Optimal Quality of Life Training
comparing my mannerisms with the scientific literature on the manifestations of stress in
mammalian biology came to realize was a model of precisely what not to do This process of
selfdeconstruction took me from being the most nervous person knew to the calmest
Why is stress so extensive in humans It is because it had survival benefits As a result of
our prehistoric past we react to minor threats as if they were matters of life and death Most
modern human stress derives from mundane frustrations that our bodys evolved mechanisms
misinterpret as lifethreatening dangers Although most people dont realize it most of these
minor threats are ultimately social in nature believe that the predominant source of stress
is the apprehension of social conflict and the tension that it creates Deep down we are afraid
that others will reject us if we are too calm We make ourselves feel uneasy and excitable so
that our outward manifestations of stress communicate goodwill hope this book will convince
you that you dont need to manufacture and advertise stress to avoid conflict and make friends
Illustration A Facial muscles B Crosssection of the heart C Diaphragm and bottom of the rib cage
Submissive Nonverbal Behavior Is in Our Genes
Nonverbal social displays perpetuate the majority of our bodily tension In biology a display is

My experience with chronic stress was an extreme version of the same issue that everyone on

this planet contends with Thus recounting my story of recovery provides a vivid case study

with which to compare your experience It also allows me to describe how the Program Peace

exercises relieved my symptoms so that you can see how they can relieve yours My symptoms

were pretty bad

My breathing was shallow and rapid My eyebrows were constantly raised was always

squinting and had purple creases under my eyes couldnt maintain eye contact for long before

my eyes would dart away of their own accord had an enduring lump in my throat and a

hoarse and high voice had persistent kinks in my neck tweaks in my lower back and a

clenched jaw mumbled and stammered when spoke held my breath during conversations

gasped between sentences and looked at the floor when speaking had almost no capacity to

glare frown flare my nostrils or straighten my neck in the company of others

Throughout my twenties was deeply afflicted by anxiety depression and bodily

discomfort was unaware that the symptoms described in the previous paragraph were causal

factors in this discomfort All knew is that felt perpetually distressed and couldnt figure out

why The feeling would not abate and was resulting in chronic lowgrade pain This made me

wonder Where in my body do hold this pain and how can access and extinguish it found

the physical manifestations of my stress to be completely elusive tried many different clinical

and alternative methods to improve my condition without success Popular breathing exercises

medical recommendations psychological therapy and stress reduction programs did nothing

for me So began experimenting on myself using methods derived from my knowledge of

social cognition neuroplasticity and mammalian biology The result was a system designed to

train the body to reflect an optimal environment

The core idea is this Had you been raised in a perfect world with zero negativity the way

you hold your body would be painless and symptomfree But no one is raised in an ideal world

Our spines facial muscles breathing musculature and brains have internalized trauma over our

life course Trillions of individual cells are altered on a molecular level The alterations cause

muscles and soft tissues throughout the body to become stiff and sore These insidious changes

rob us of our composure and put us in a metaphorical straitjacket That straitjacket constricts

more and more with the passage of time Left unchecked it fits a little tighter every day

until death The system presented here will teach you how to recompose yourself to escape

this stranglehold

This book presents activities and exercises for you to practice each accompanied by

relevant scientific background for perspective The focus will be on comparative physiology

explaining how our bodies function by comparing us with other animals Considering these

parallels helps us make inferences about ideal functioning in humans We saw an example of

this in the Preface When mammals are calm they breathe with the respiratory diaphragm

When they are distressed they tense the diaphragm and breathe with other respiratory

muscles The more traumatized a mammal becomes the more tense and inactive its

diaphragm becomes

PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body

In fact the diaphragm is one of your bodys main repositories of trauma The tightening

stranglehold discussed above partially corresponds to cumulative changes to your breathing

style that make you breathe more shallowly unevenly and rapidly You can release this trauma

by training your diaphragm which we will start later in this chapter before focusing on it in

depth in Chapter You will learn a series of methods to make your breathing permanently

deeper smoother and slower This sends an its okay to relax message to the entire body

By training your diaphragm to preside over your breathing you can convince your body to

assume that it resides in a habitat free from danger The remainder of the book will guide you

through exercises that combine this form of peaceful breathing with various postures

expressions and forms of body language In performing them you will reprogram yourself for

confidence health and peace

Stress Resides in the Way We Carry Ourselves

Most of us have knowingly or not experienced intense longterm periods of stress In my case

it happened throughout my twenties In the morning would wake up feeling anxious After

just a few social encounters my heart would be racing and my adrenaline overwhelming

Friends and acquaintances were often alarmed by the way behaved wondering what could

possibly be so stressed about would greet a friend and the expression on my face would

cause them to scan the immediate environment for threats because the fear on my face

suggested to them we were in immediate danger People would ask me What is it that youre

so worried about To which would reply Im rarely worried about anything specific It must

be biological

Under conditions of chronic stress symptoms continually worsen over time My default

stress level had been elevated over many years Upon going to bed instead of allowing myself

to return to a tranquil baseline fell asleep more frantic than the night before When this

happens the bodys systems become stuck in a state of overdrive Thought processes become

overclocked It becomes hard to fall asleep difficult to rest and impossible to relax Many of us

reach a point at which our experience of life is like a bad trip infused with the sensations of

both withdrawal and overdose As tolerance to the sensations of stress builds many people

barely notice how deranged they have allowed themselves to become

Pressing social concerns and professional responsibilities cause us to ignore the symptoms

As we habituate to the physical and mental anguish our body continues making longterm

adjustments that further entrench us in overexertion This is compounded by the fact that it has

historically been very difficult to successfully treat chronic stress Modern medicine has no real

solution aside from drugs and rest This is why most people do little to nothing about it

After a particularly bad day while lying in bed trying to meditate had an epiphany

recognized the way was holding my body as the source of my mental suffering For the first

time could feel my anxiety not as diffuse and psychological but as aching localized in my gut

stiffness in distinct spinal muscles as agonizing contortions of my face and as the misery of

stiff shaky breathing

Recognizing that did not hold my body in this way as a child immediately wanted to

know how had come to do it From that point on have been working to discover how the

body and mind compensate after being exposed to trauma In creating this system spent

countless hours analyzing my behavior and how carried myself in minute detail After

Chapter Optimal Quality of Life Training

comparing my mannerisms with the scientific literature on the manifestations of stress in

mammalian biology came to realize was a model of precisely what not to do This process of

selfdeconstruction took me from being the most nervous person knew to the calmest

Why is stress so extensive in humans It is because it had survival benefits As a result of

our prehistoric past we react to minor threats as if they were matters of life and death Most

modern human stress derives from mundane frustrations that our bodys evolved mechanisms

misinterpret as lifethreatening dangers Although most people dont realize it most of these

minor threats are ultimately social in nature believe that the predominant source of stress

is the apprehension of social conflict and the tension that it creates Deep down we are afraid

that others will reject us if we are too calm We make ourselves feel uneasy and excitable so

that our outward manifestations of stress communicate goodwill hope this book will convince

you that you dont need to manufacture and advertise stress to avoid conflict and make friends

Illustration A Facial muscles B Crosssection of the heart C Diaphragm and bottom of the rib cage

Submissive Nonverbal Behavior Is in Our Genes

Nonverbal social displays perpetuate the majority of our bodily tension In biology a display is