The Health Benefits of Meditation
The STRESS of Daily Living
So, Why Meditate? In order to talk in-depth about meditation, we first need to talk about stress. In today’s world, we’re constantly having our attention pulled on by family, work, this commitment, that engagement, the other dance recital or soccer game. And for those of us who’ve added the commitment to live a healthy and fit lifestyle to the mix, the demand only compounds. I mean, it’s not like modern culture is encouraging us to eat right and exercise. We have to Intentionally make wellness a part of our day-to-day lives. All these commitments compound upon us over time, often causing us STRESS. the enemy of our lives. Some consider stress to be hands down the #1 killer of mankind today, and experts believe that many of our diseases have their roots firmly planted in it’s deep toxic soil.
What makes stress so dangerous is how our body naturally responds to it. Under intense emotional, physical or psychological pressure, our bodies release a corticosteroidhormone called cortisol. At high levels this hormone causes, high blood pressure and blood sugar, a lowered immune system, hair loss, weight gain, heart disease… shall I continue? The point is simple: Stress bad, very bad.
The good news is stress can be, if not totally removed from our lives, at least managed to the degree that your day can be defined by the good that you’ve experienced in it and not the things that stressed you out. dealing with stress is a skill that must be learned, we humans don’t do it naturally. Animals like the zebra don’t go around in the Serengeti with high blood pressure and receding hairlines, because… well for one, they don’t actually have hairlines, but more importantly because their brains only have two responses as it relates to stress:...