Real or imaginary?

Hi everyone- forgive me for such a lengthy span in between posts, but the truth is I just have not been inspired to write lately. To be inspired means that we are operating "in - spirit". Rather than post junk just to post something I figured I would wait to be be inspired for this next post. Thank you for you patience and please look forward to my weekly postings every Monday.

This post is about what it means to truly relax. I asked in one of my previous posts what folks do to relax and the answers included activities such as cooking,  biking,  watching t.v., and reading to name a few.  See here's the deal, while most of us think those activities are relaxing the reality is that they are not actually relaxing for the body.  You are still doing something in each of this activities.  And while the mind may feel relaxed because it is not concentrated on the stresses of daily life, the body is still not getting to relax.  In yoga therapy this is called "sensory diversion". To most people allowing the senses to be diverted from what is deemed normal activity (I call it perpetual over-stimulation)  is considered relaxing according to our modern definitions of the word. Believe me, these activities are still very important because they are part of the stress releasing aspect of relaxation.  However, commit this next statement into your being....         
 Total Body Relaxation is the Best Antidote to Stress.

Stress is an accelerated poison to the body.  An antidote is something that can counteract a poison. When we are stressed the body goes into survival mode.  It's called "fight or flight" and it is a function of the sympathetic nervous system.  When this system kicks in adrenaline and other hormones are pumped in to the blood stream and create a chain reaction to prepare us for the ensuing battle or flight from the situation.  Breathing  gets short and rapid to supply the muscles with quick oxygen, the heart rate increases to supply the blood that carries the oxygen to the muscles, our metabolic rate changes and the body gets flooded with adrenaline and cortisol to aid in the reaction. This physiological reaction is critical to our survival in situations of danger or emergency.  However, today reacting like everything is an emergency or dangerous has become the new norm.  Screaming at the car infort of you to "MMMMOOOOOVVVVEEE IT!" so you don't get stuck for another 2 whole minutes at a stop light is considered completely normal behavior.  Even more importantly to realize is that even this type of reaction causes the exact same physical reaction as if you were being chased by a saber-tooth tiger!

Over time of constantly having increased blood pressure, short oxygen intake, and adrenalin and cortisol pumped into the body it begins to take a major toll on the body. Stress is acceleration and the long term effects are linked to all of the major dis-eases and illnesses present today.

For this next week I ask that you pay attention to how many tigers chase you?  Every time you feel your heart rate increase, or have a feeling of urgency, or impatience, or outburst of anger or anxiety, or feel you are all bound up in a ball of stress- ask yourself is the tiger real or imaginary?

Check in next week - I'll start to address how to combat these imaginary tigers!