(This article also appears in the Partners to Empowerment April Newsletter).
How Does Stress Occur?
Our bodies are cleverly designed to react to stress. When we detect a stressful event, stress hormones such as adrenaline, cause our blood to move from the brain and the stomach to our arms and legs. This means that we are ready for the fight or flight response. Evolutionarily these stress hormones were hugely beneficial – we were fighting with people who might steal our precious resources or were running away from a woolly mammoth!
In the 21st century, many of the events in our world are perceived stressors, that is events that do not require us to activate our fight or flight system – job interviews, deadlines, traffic. This means that the hormones cause our blood to move, but frequently we don’t expend the hormones by running away from the woolly mammoth. This is significant for two reasons.
The first is that the hormones accumulate in our body. Most of us have huge amounts of these hormones flowing through our system, which contributes to long-term health problems, such as insomnia, which then has the resultant effect of increasing stimulant use, such as caffeine.
The second is that the blood flows from our brains and our stomachs and digestive systems. When our brains have less blood flowing through them, we are not able to think as clearly as we might with a calmer, more blood-filled brain. We can all relate to making bad decisions in stressful situations. A digestive tract without blood, means that all the movements necessary for processing food occur less efficiently, which can lead to health problems.
What Can We Do?
The next time your boss shouts at you or someone carves you up on the road – focus on your breath: breathe more consciously. Start by slowing down your breathing, focusing on the length of the exhale. Long, slow exhales activate the other part of your nervous system, often called the rest and digest system.
Meditation is also hugely beneficial in helping you learn how not to have such extreme reactions. Meditation trains you to put the brakes on before you react – you learn not to follow your thought patterns. This practice then spreads into your life, giving you a powerful tool – the ability to step back and take a moment before you react. Take a seat – criss-crossed legs on the floor, or feet planted under knees in your seat. Spine is tall, chin slightly tucked, hands rest on thighs, tongue touches the roof of the mouth and eyes are open, but the gaze is dropped. Notice your breath. Inhaling and exhaling. When your mind wanders off – which it will do – label your thoughts “thinking” and come back to the breath. You can also count your exhales, returning to #1 after you have done 10 exhales.
As with all things in life, these techniques require practice, so don’t give up and keep returning to the practices of breath awareness and meditation.
©Tamsin Astor-Jack, Yoga Brained LLC