The Secret Weapon to Reduce Stress In Your Life

Simple and effective stretching relaxes your mind and connects your body to the parasympathetic nervous system.

The parasympathetic nervous system turns stress off and that is why stretching is one of your best weapons against stress. Stress triggers the sympathetic nervous system and the subsequent Fight or Flight response sets off a negative physical and emotional downward spiral. This bio electrochemical onslaught of hormones, chemicals and energy which is designed to help you run and fight is not helping us but actually hurting us today.

Fight or Flight Stress Response

Let’s start with the fact that your subconscious manages 95% of your brain’s data. Your subconscious is communicating with your body all day long 24 hours a day, 365 days a year keeping your heart beating, lungs breathing and blood flowing. It does everything to keep you alive by processing all of the incoming data from your sensory organs to keep you safe.

The Amygdala is in charge of keeping you safe and is hardwired directly to the Fight or Flight response system. Your biobehavioral DNA receives data and then acts immediately to any threat by triggering a bio electrochemical chain reaction throughout the body to fight or run.

This all happens before we really have time to debate the situation.

Stretching Around The House™

To restate this more clearly because it is so important to know. The prefrontal cortex is what sets us apart in the animal kingdom. It organizes our thoughts and allows us to; think and reason clearly, acquire knowledge, manipulate information and express complex cognitive behaviors. The amygdala receives incoming data all day long. When it perceives danger it does not stop and ask the prefrontal cortex for advice but automatically triggers the sympathetic nervous system. This action releases massive amounts of sugars and more than 30 hormones which optimize the body to fight or flee.

Modern Lifestyle Contributes to Stress

The problem is that in today’s stressors are making us feel like we are constantly under attack. This is triggering our sympathetic nervous system setting the survival domino effect in motion. But in today society, we are not running or fighting today, but sitting and stressing entirely too much.

The process outlined above is triggering the negative impacts to health listed below. Our natural defense mechanism is actually having a negative impact on our health. Two of our biggest health problems are obesity and emotional disorders both of which are triggered by stress and anxiety.

Stretch to reduce stress and avoid Weight Gain:

1. The release of insulin, the fat storage hormone, into the bloodstream
2. Cortisol injects the bloodstream with excessive sugars needed for quick energy
3. The extra insulin restricts adrenalines ability to burn off the extra sugars
4. A lack of running or fighting, the extra sugars don’t get burned off
5. The unused insulin repacks the sugars and stores them as fat
6. As you stress and fear anxiety but remain seated, the cycle repeats and you gain weight

Stretch to reduce stress and diminish panic attacks and emotional disorders:

1. Stress restricts higher levels of thinking, making it hard to focus and think clearly
2. Accelerated heart beat becomes palpable, real and alarming to the conscious mind
3. Fast, shallow breathing, increasing the sensation of fear and anxiety
4. Increased adrenaline injected into unused muscles makes you jittery and nervous
5. Dilated pupils restricts eyesight, making it harder to see which makes you feel less safe
6. Slower digestion can make your stomach ache and generally not feel well

On the Mayo Clinics website, in the Stress Management section they state:

The long-term activation of the stress response system and the overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones that follows can disrupt almost all your body’s processes. This puts you at increased risk of many health problems, including:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Digestive problems
• Headaches
• Muscle tension and pain
• Heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke
• Sleep problems
• Weight gain
• Memory and concentration impairment

Stretching can Reduce Stress and Improve your Life!

Stretching is the way you can take back control of this process by reconnecting with your body and telling it to relax one muscle at a time.  When you inhale slowly and fill your lungs with oxygen, hold it for a second, then breath out more slowly and fully, you activate your parasympathetic nervous system which slowly helps you bring control back into your body and mind. As you stretch and relax, your heartbeat and breathing will, too. Your mind will reach a calmer state and you will be able to think more clearly.

Your situations, stress and biobehavioral DNA may not change but you can change how they make you feel. Stretching is a powerful tool you can use to make a difference. Explore the videos on our site and learn how simple stretches can help you build a foundation of good heath.