Bad news is constant. For some, it’s either from the news, our personal lives, or those close to us. Can I have an “all of the above” option please? We know our emotional side takes a beating but how about the physical body?
As we go about our day, we rush to meet deadlines, find ourselves trying to prepare a meal and enjoy it, and are stressed about the “next thing” on our plate. Have you ever been in a situation where you were too nervous to eat? Your body is telling you, “I can’t focus on digesting food when my mind is freaking out!” Take that concept to everyday life when we are constantly bombarded with to do lists, we are worried, and/or stressed as we try to eat.
There are two modes in which the body functions. One is the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) and the other is the sympathetic nervous system(flight or flight). Long term, we were designed to stay in the parasympathetic mode and when stress comes along, our bodies have the ability to jump into the sympathetic mode and adapt to a surrounding issue. However, in our society, we are in a constant state of stress(flight or fight). So when we try to eat, relax, sleep, or detox, our body says, “No, we are just trying to survive!”
Picture yourself in the middle of a forest surrounded by trees and wildlife. Suddenly, a tiger begins to run after you. What’s your first thought? Are you thinking, "Hmm. . . what am I having for dinner?" No! Your mind and body jump into survival mode, focusing all its attention on the basics for survival, knowing later the body will fall back into the parasympathetic mode.
Most of us aren’t being chased by tigers anymore; however, our tigers come in different forms. For some, it’s a boss yelling at us, exhausting traffic, or just too much on our plate. We find ourselves gasping for air when we feel like we should be able to accomplish all. For many of us, it’s not just one thing. This can be deceiving to our emotions. Mike Yankoski wrote in his book, The Sacred Year, "We are woefully incapable of caring well about very much." Individually, each “thing” in life is doable; yet, it’s when we begin stacking those hard things in life that our mind, body, and spirit suffer. We are never able to fully dive into what God has for us if we are constantly juggling. Take time to just breathe and dwell on both the hard and beautiful.
So how do we get our body out of this constant state of the sympathetic mode and into parasympathetic mode? Here are a few ideas to help you:
Just breathe(take time out of your day and focus on deep breathing). Think about joining a yoga class(they even have yoga via YouTube). Have you ever focused on how you breathe? Or, have you checked lately if you’re still breathing? Our mitochondria needs oxygen to proceed with many of the basic functions of our body. If we aren’t breathing deeply and oxygen isn’t going into our cells, then the body’s basic functions will not work properly.
When you eat, focus on your food. Focus on chewing and the steps your body takes to digest your food.
Love what you do! Focus on things that bring you joy.
Become in sync with your circadian rhythm. Shutting of screens before bed can make a huge difference in how fast we go to sleep and how deep the sleep is. Also, sleeping between the hours of 10-11 to 7-8 is where we can find the most healing in our sleep. Amazingly, our body rebuilds and heals broken cells when we sleep, specifically between these hours.
Stress has a lot to do with lifestyle habits. Sometimes it’s a mindset change, a changing of jobs, or finding joy in even in the mundane.
Some herbs help the body better adapt to stress. However, not all herbs are safe or will work for everyone. Talk to an herbalist to help determine which herb is right for your body!
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