Since man’s earliest beginnings, stress has been an essential element of the human condition. Today’s conversation on the topic of stress usually places it in a highly negative light and associates it with all manner of undesirable consequences both in our personal and professional lives.

The human body is designed to experience stress and react to it. Stress can be positive, keeping us alert and ready to avoid danger. Stress becomes negative when a person faces continuous challenges without relief or relaxation between challenges. There is indeed much evidence of how today’s version of stress does result in numerous physical ailments that rob us of happiness and productivity, but that wasn’t always the case.

Nature’s purpose for stress rests in our instinct for survival and is the mechanism that drives our “fight or flight” response to bodily threat. The physiology behind the stress drivers is well documented in our medical science; redirection of blood flow, heart rate and blood pressure increase and accelerated adrenal gland activity all prepare us to hopefully survive the moment.

The redirection of blood flow is especially interesting when you consider that during periods of non-stress, most of your blood flow operates in and around your digestive track and thus, when this blood flow is redirected to your limbs, you get this uncomfortable and sometime sickening feeling in the pit of your belly.

What can you do to hopefully manage the stress that is not the result of a grizzly bear charging at you?

The non-instinctive triggers of today’s stress that arise from both emotional and psychological roots can be summed into one simple explanation; something that you “need” is being blocked by circumstances or other obstacles and you fear some harm will result from this “need” not being met.

The real truth though is that in many circumstances we have confused “needs” with “wants” and trick ourselves into stress for no valid reason. Calming ourselves and practicing what we call “restful awareness” is our best stress antidote. The path to “restful awareness” runs through the journey into meditation, which we have written extensively about in earlier blogs and recommend you revisit if you haven’t read them before, or need a quick refresher.

For each physiological reaction that stress invokes, there is a counterbalance available through the practice of “restful awareness”. Meditation is the means to experience “restful awareness” and to realize the following physiological responses:
Lower heart rate, normalized blood pressure, reduced oxygen needs and thus, lower carbon dioxide expelled, less perspiration and normal production of adrenaline and cortisol.

Bringing this stress management approach to the workplace is becoming an increasingly popular option for companies whose employees are subject to the hundreds of false triggers that sap productivity and effectiveness.

At JothiVita, we are committed to your personal wellbeing and through our services we strive to increase your awareness to the many natural resources that can help balance your lifestyle in pursuit of good health, happiness and bliss.