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Just living our
lives invites stress. Compound that with
an unexpected ailment or trauma and our
stress may increase exponentially. Whether
it's the everyday stress of life or the
fear of unforeseen circumstances
meditation
combined with exercise and proper diet can
help. Meditation is increasingly proving
itself to be a reliable tool for
decreasing stress and anxiety while
increasing joy, calm, confidence and
self-compassion.
Perhaps you've
heard of the "fight or flight reaction".
When experiencing either a real or
perceived threat it is normal for human
beings to experience a rush of adrenaline
via the sympathetic nervous system to
prepare the body to act. Adrenaline gives
the body the added energy it needs to
either fight off the threat or run away
from the threat. This was useful on the
plains of Africa when our ancestors were
confronted by wild animals. It can also be
useful today in crisis situations where
quick action and strength are needed. But
with most life stressors this added energy
has no outlet. We don't punch our doctor
when she says "You have
cancer."
In our everyday
lives we have many experiences that
trigger our stress response hormones but
where fighting or fleeing are not
acceptable behaviors. An angry boss,
traffic snarls and raising a family are
just a few of the common stressors we all
experiences that can set off our anger and
our fear. Road rage is an expression of
the fight or flight reaction. But with few
acceptable outlets to exhaust our highly
reactive state, stress hormones remain in
our system and cause havoc with our
physical and emotional health.
Mindfulness-meditation can
help.
Meditation, in
and of itself, is a non-religious skill
that anyone can learn to increase being in
the present moment. Being in the present
moment during stressful experiences is key
to reducing levels of stress hormone.
Through mindfulness-meditation we learn to
respond to stress rather than react
through fear or anger. Reducing levels of
stress hormone increases feelings of
calm.
For more
information, please call me with any
questions at 503-252-3739
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