This is Why You Need The Relaxation Response

When we encounter a life-threatening situation, a surge of stress hormones prepares us to fight or to flee, an automatic fight-or-flight response of the sympathetic nervous system. It used to happen in caveman times when there was an immediate danger. But now, we activate this fight-or-flight response every day, several times a day, not because of real danger, but in reaction to situations that are not life-threatening. To everyday stressors.

The Relaxation Response

The good news is that you have a relaxation response that you can use to counter, prevent or get rid of the effects of the flight-or-flight response. And if you have chronic daily stress that you cannot change, finding ways to relax is your best way to avoid damaging your health.

When you relax, your mind calms and your emotions stabilize. That makes you better able to think through situations and modulate your emotional responses.

When your mind is calm, it’s easier to feel content.

Your brain exhibits certain predictable responses when it is calm. These responses or signals, which activate the relaxation response, are tied to the vagus nerve.

The vagus nerve connects the brain to most of the body’s major organs. It tells your brain how your body is doing.

Meditation, mindfulness practices, and deep breathing are simple methods that activate the vagus nerve and its calming effects. These practices teach the body what to do to create a relaxed state.

Once you can reliably create the relaxation response, you won't be held hostage by your stress, and you'll know how to release it, so you can get back to feeling calm. You become a peacemaker in your own life.

There are many methods, techniques and tools you can use to create relaxation, and he one that's best for you is the one you'll keep doing. :)

Tomorrow, I'll tell you about how you can use essential oils to create stress relief almost effortlessly. See you then!

Love, Jeanine