Welcome to our Healthy Holiday Trilogy:
Episode 3 – Tamping Down the Stress
The above video is taken from a live webinar.
(Edit as of 12.2016: Hi guys, I can’t believe I didn’t catch this but I made a mistake in the first part of this video. It’s the sympathetic nervous system that’s mostly involved in amping up the fight or flight mechanisms, not the parasympathetic nervous system. Thanks for watching!)
In this video I share some powerful, proven techniques
that can help relieve stress quickly, and effectively
The body’s primal reaction to stress
is fight or flight. It’s a reaction that’s in our DNA. look at it this way – those of us that had the genetic code to fight or run in the face of danger, survived!
The fight or flight system works the way it’s meant to:
As our stress hormones increase, our performance also improves. We get faster, think quicker on our feet, we even get stronger if necessary. Exercise is healthy stress.
Some stress is good, but too much is bad.
When stress turns chronic (lasts for long periods of time) Our immune system can’t work properly, our ability to digest and absorb nutrients start to suffer, our ability to reproduce diminishes, our brains don’t work the same, we lose sleep, we put ourselves at risk for heart disease, and many other serious illnesses. There is a huge list of consequences that chronic stress can have on our body’s ability to function.
We’ve found that cumulative effects of high-dose stress chemicals have a different, more long-lasting and harmful impact than if the body produces a lot of little, short bursts of them. In other words, even if we have a lot of stress on a regular basis, if we can get a little break in-between the stressors, our body can recuperate.
Having simple rituals that can provide quick stress relief
can really be helpful. They can provide a break from stress and reduce its harmful effects. They can even change your brain to one that thinks more clearly and keeps better focus (see video above and references below).
Click PLAY and join us.
I talk more about how stress works. I’ll also give you some proven methods to reduce your stress quickly and effectively during the holidays, and anytime, so that you can get back to having holiday fun.
I’m also sharing one of my own unique creations – the manifestation meditation.
Try it! It can help you to have a very positive day.
Share in the comments –
When do you experience stress and what do you do about it?
Click here to see Episode 1: How to Handle Sweet Temptations and Holiday Sugar
Click here to see Episode 2: Cravings: Find out what your body is trying to tell you
References and Supplemental Readings:
Video: Sara Lazar at TEDxCambridge. (2011). How Meditation Can Reshape Our Brains. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8rRzTtP7Tc
Meditation Research from the Lab of Sara Lazar. Retrieved from: http://www.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/~lazar/publications.html
Christof Koch. (Jun 6, 2013). Neuroscientists and the Dalai Lama Swap Insights on Meditation. Scientific American. Retrieved from: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/neuroscientists-dalai-lama-swap-insights-meditation
Massachusetts General Hospital. (21 January 2011). Mindfulness meditation training changes brain structure in eight weeks. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110121144007.htm
Lisa Takeuchi Cullen. (Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006). How to Get Smarter, One Breath at a Time: Scientists find that meditation not only reduces stress but also reshapes the brain. Time. Retrieved from: http://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/web/News/Time_Jan06.html
Maia Szalavitz. (Feb. 20, 2013). How Stress Gets Under the Skin: Q&A With Neuroscientist Bruce McEwen. Time. Retrieved From: http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/20/how-stress-gets-under-the-skin-qa-with-neuroscientist-bruce-mcewen/