It seems that what we are really built to do is to treat ourselves and others well — not flee from tigers all day long. ~ Jon Spayde.
Stress can be at the root of why many people come to me for treatment. Low back pain, neck and shoulder tension, headaches, digestive disorders, weight gain; the list goes on. Often clients don’t make the link until we start working and talking about what’s going on in their lives.
In The Science of Stress, Jon Spayde explains how stress works in your body and what you can do about it. The introduction discusses how our modern lifestyles cause our natural stress response to be chronically active and how people are increasingly affected. He draws on the works of professionals in different disciplines (neuropsychology and both integrative and naturopathic medicine) with links for more reading.
Spayde outlines the effect of stress on your organs and glands (brain, heart, stomach and intestines, and reproductive) and your physiology. He gets right down to the level of cells and telomeres (fascinating stuff) and the aging process (more disturbing).
He then lays out the basics of building a more stress-resilient body. Rest, nutrition, meditation, exercise and positivity are all included. He doesn’t mention magnesium, but I’m learning more about this essential mineral and will share in an upcoming post.
Be sure to scroll down beyond the ads to the final section for five on-the-spot stress reduction tips. I won’t give them away but am happy to see a few of my favourites.
I like the mix of science and self-help suggestions in this article; hope you do too. And I would love your feedback. Do you use any of the stress reduction techniques he mentions or do you have others you find helpful? Please leave a comment below to let me know.
Let me know what you think!