What is Stress

 Stress is the bodies Fight or Flight reaction to external events. A saber tooth tiger walks up, Fight or Flight was our only option. Either you ran away or you got eaten. No doubt, no ambiguity, just action.

*Our fast paced lives today include many long-term stresses with no clear resolution.

The most common is our jobs. We don’t like our jobs or the people we work with or for. Its no accident that heart attack rates peak on Monday morning when people wake up to return to their jobs.

*Unlike the Saber Tooth Tiger, these stressors tend to be permanent factors in our lives.

Long-term extreme stress conditions, psychologists say, are detrimental to human health but in moderation stress is normal and, in many cases, proves useful.

According to Paul J. Rosch, M.D., M.A., F.A.C.P. President of the American Institute of Stress  

"Increased stress increases productivity – up to a point, after which things rapidly deteriorate, and that level also differs for each of us. It’s much like the tension on a violin string. Not enough produces a dull raspy sound and too much an irritating screech or snaps the string –but just the correct degree of tension creates a beautiful tone.
Similarly, we all have to find the right amount of stress that permits us to make pleasant music in our daily lives. "

"You can learn how to utilize and transform stress so that it will make you more productive and less self-destructive."

My personal experience is that I get nothing done without stress. Most of the stress in my life today is created by me to get things done….deadlines, schedules Etc. I find that when I over do it, nothing works, so I back off. There have been times when the stress in my life was other created, related to a job or to outside events over which I thought I had little or no control.

*I remember feelings of being trapped, of not having options especially related to employment.

My body felt clinched and tight. I'd handle these feelings by doing a long run, or going to the gym. These activities allowed me to manage the stress reaction in my body but it didn't help the mental feelings I had regarding the situation I was in.

*Physical activity helped me to understand the connection between mind and body.

All physical activity is ultimately about breathing. Running long distances creates a deep, long, rhythmic breathing pattern that settles the body and the mind into a relaxed semi-meditative state.

*You don’t have to be a runner or go to the gym to develop an effective breathing practice.

Learning to use the breath as a tool to manage the body' s reaction to stress is key to eliminating the negative affect of stress. The breath is a portable tool that can be used anytime to control the body's reaction to the stressful events in life. Click here for Free Breathing Tests.