Stress is the leading modern disease. Back in the 80’s, Time Magazine released an issue that referred to stress as the “Epidemic of the Eighties.” Without a doubt, the situation has worsened since then as indicated by the alarming increase in diseases like asthma, cancer, obesity, chronic fatigue syndrome, and more.  But why does stress cause so many diseases?
According to the American Institute of Stress, contemporary stress is much more persistent and widespread than other diseases because it is more of a psychological than physical threat. Â When your body suffers from constant and unmitigated stress it can overload and become more vulnerable to disease.
We respond to stress in a variety of ways. Unfortunately, often enough our relaxation methods can be more harmful than healing to our bodies. For example, after a long day of work it might be easier to unwind in front of the television instead of going out for a brisk walk. If you’re looking for alternative stress relief, try downloading the free NAB Communities enlightened living guide: Whole Body Tension Tamers for an introduction to a variety of relaxation techniques. Relaxation an be as simple as remembering to breathe! Try this conscious breathing exercise from the guide:
Relaxation Technique | Conscious Breathing Relaxation
Use your conscious intention to just start relaxing your body in coordination with your breath. Very deliberately, as your breath comes in, relax. As your breath goes out, let go and relax more. This will help you begin to associate the act of breathing with relaxing your body. Put your attention on your face, neck and shoulders, a place where many hold tension. Is the inhale or exhale making you tenser, or more relaxed? Just notice what is really going on as you breathe and forget why.
Once you discover the level of tension that is working in you right now, every time you inhale and exhale, deliberately relax those places in your body that involuntarily tense without you deliberately telling them to do so. Just bringing some conscious attention to places that are commonly tensed as you breathe will help gently relax them. You will find that if you let your breath be steady and soft, the tension will more easily release. If you tense your muscles, your breath gets choppy—having a start-and-stop, start-and-stop, start-and-stop quality. You will probably notice that when there is a sense of tension in your breathing, your muscles cannot relax. They will either maintain their level of tension or get even tenser. Try to breathe as softly, steadily and calmly as you can. With each breath, see if can let your tension go a little more—if you can. If not, it’s okay. In time, you will.
From The Chi Revolution: Harnessing the Healing Power of Your Life Force by Bruce Frantzis
Image by DolfinDans on Flickr Courtesy of Creative Commons Licensing
