Modern city stress

Amanda, in her comment to my first post, spoke of her life in a way many can relate to these days. She leads a very busy life, with little time for taking care of her health and well being. Eventually that lifestye catches up with us, and it seems to be catching up with people at younger and younger ages. The stresss of modern city life is a theme I will come back to again and again.

Today I have one simple tip and some background theory. Stated most simply the tip is “Breathe!”, but I will give more details at the end of my post.

There are two aspects of modern life that I would like to address. The first is the “Flight or Fight Response”. Our bodies were designed to save us in times of danger, by pumping us full of chemicals that make it easier to react quickly with a burst of strength and energy. Fortunately, we don’t often need that response any more. Unfortunately modern stressers turn it on frequently. Turning it on so frequently, combined with not using up that energy in a highly physical way is hard on our systems, particularly the adrenal glands. The best way to counter the Flight or Fight Response is with the Relaxation Response. One easy way to induce the Relaxation Response is gentle, slow, deep abdominal breathing.

The second thing about modern life directly involves our breathing. The energetic system that governs free flow of energy in the body is also related to the diaphragm. When I talk about free flow of energy, I am talking about moving the body when that is appropriate, feeling our feelings, expressing ourselves, etc. Often what is appropriate for our health is not socially appropriate or practical. Speaking of moving the body, it should be active most of the day. The amount of sitting around we do has a very stagnating effect on our whole system.

So, back to the diaphragm. Despite how much we do to stop the free flow of energy, relaxing the diaphragm can go a long way toward maintaing that free flow. The consequences of not maintaining free flow of energy are many: hypertension, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, ulcers, acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, and on and on. Something like 80% of doctors visits in North America are for stress related problems.

So keep breathing and keep your diaphragms relaxed. Here’s how:

Several times a day, starting first thing in the morning and ending in bed at night, take a break, for half a minute to ten minutes, to just breathe. Start by just noticing your breath for a few breaths. Then begin to notice and let go of tension in your face, particularly around the eyes, the mouth and the tongue. Then become aware of the movement of the breath in your body. Notice where in the body you can feel it. Can you feel it right down to your feet? Then begin to slow down, soften, and deepen your breath. Focus on filling your belly. Let your belly relax completely as you inhale. Let the rest of you relax completely as you exhale. Do that for as long as you have time for.

Practice breathing at stop lights, in line ups at the store or bank, when you are on hold on the phone, before and after a meeting or project. Look for the little spaces in your life. Breathe when you are watching a beautiful sunset. Enjoy.