It should be no surprise that most of us live with stress in our lives. A July 2013 US study by the American Institute of Stress showed that 77% of people regularly experience physical symptoms caused by stress in their lives.* Between our jobs, our relationships and just life in general, our western lifestyle is more stressful now then ever before. We tend to expect everything to happen right now and our focus is either on what we need to get done tomorrow or we are stewing about how horribly wrong that business meeting went yesterday. So why it is important to reduce stress in your life and what are some ways you can do this? Read on for some thoughts and suggestions.
Let's start with defining what stress is. One of Webster's dictionary definitions of stress is "a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation". On a more practical level there are a couple different types of stress that you can relate to. Acute and chronic. Acute stress is short term stress such as a business meeting or the in-laws coming over for the weekend. Chronic stress is the type of stress that is ongoing in our lives. Examples are working at a high stress job for several years or being in an unhappy relationship for an extended time.
High levels of stress are strongly linked to the development of illness and disease in the body. The reason for this is that stress reduces the function of the immune system which is our natural defense against disease. How does this happen? One of the body's reactions to stress is to release stress hormones into the blood stream. Cortisol is one of the bodies key stress hormones and triggers the body's "fight or flight" response. Temporarily this gives the body increased energy and lower sensitivity to pain. However, when Cortisol is continuously released into the blood stream the environment in the body becomes very acidic and corrosive breaking down the immune functions of the body opening the door to imbalances that lead to disease.
What can we do to reduce stress? One of the first things you can do is identify the elements in your life that are causing stress and try to makes changes to reduce or eliminate them. However, that cannot always be done right away and may take some time to make the changes required. A more immediate step you can take is ensuring a proper diet and exercise program to help manage stress levels. I won't talk about diet in this article as it merits a whole discussion in and of itself, but ensuring that whole, none processed foods are a major part of your food intake on a daily basis so that your body has the nutrients required to maintain proper immune function will also play a key role in stress management.
With exercise, there are many options but it's important that you find an activity that you like and will stick with on a regular basis. One of the best physical activities to help reduce stress is yoga. Why is yoga so beneficial for reducing stress? Through the use of yoga postures (asanas) and controlled breathe, the practice of yoga allows you to tap into the bodies natural ability to heal itself. Yoga practice helps reduce the biochemical effects of the sympathetic nervous system and taps into the parasympathetic nervous system, lowering the suppression of the immune system. Yoga is also an activity that is low impact and can be done for the rest of your life. If you're reading this, you have probably already tried some type of yoga but as with any physical activity, it's important to keep up a regular practice to get the maximum therapeutic benefits.
It may not be realistic to eliminate all stress from your life but being aware of what the causes and impacts of stress are and having some tools that will assist you in managing stress in your life will go a long way to helping you live a long, healthy life full of vitality and energy.
Namaste
Wayne Hall
Bikram Yoga Instructor
*American Psychological Association,
American Institute of Stress, NY
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