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Who wants to feel old? Tired? Washed up? No one really wants that. How about early wrinkles, grey hairs, loss of sex drive (and performance), fatigue, joint aches and pains? Excessive or prolonged stress will even increase your risk of heart disease by creating 'stress tears' in the endothelial lining of the arteries, increasing your risk factor tremendously! It can also reduce your ATP production (adenosinetriphosphate) in your mitochondria, reducing the energy output produced in your cells.
Yes, stress is the number one culprit behind ALL ailments, and speeds up the aging of the body!
Sadly, we are now seeing more and more people burning out their adrenals at earlier ages. People in their twenties, thirties, and even teens are starting to have problems earlier than ever before! We have become quite a stressed society for sure. Add energy drinks, caffeine, sugar, and adrenaline pumping, fear inducing events, thrill seeking recreation, and shocking movies, and our adrenals are taking a 'hit' every time.
We've become more competitive, staying up late, doing more, and eating fast food on the run. Lack of enjoyable and rejuvenating actitivities, good restful sleep, nourishing, healthy food, and a supportive community around you, will compound the issues. How are you going to have enough energy to get through your 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and more? Don't burn out your reserves! Find your inner balance.
It's easy to talk about how stressful life can be, but how can we find a lasting way to reduce the damaging effects of stress and live healthier, longer, happier lives? It starts with becoming aware of the problem WE are creating for ourselves. Yes, some stress is unavoidable. Our bodies are designed beautifully to handle things when they come up, and then returns back to normal. This is meant to happen 1-3 times per month at best. But can we be INCREASING the stresses we have to deal with and not even know it?
YES! There are many 'hidden' stresses that we don't pay much attention to. We use too many toxins in our daily lives, in our body care products and foods we ingest. Microwaving food, eating processed, packaged foods, GMO's, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners and flavorings, etc. are some of the worse things we can do. This creates constant stress on the body to have to deal with these items, having a negative impact, not a nourishing one. A poor diet greatly reduces your adrenals ability to respond to stress effectively.
How about EMF stress? Yes, your cell phones, hand-held devices,computers, blue tooth, TV's, satellites, cell phone and microwave towers, radio signals, TV stations, and more are constantly sending aggressive, information carrying waves through the airways, which we don't see. Our biology was not designed to handle this and is trying to adapt to our new technology. The cells clump together and reduce intercellular communication, as well as their ability to detoxify. We can now use little protective devices or shield's, and even make an efort to balance it with time spent outdoors in nature!
Our emotional state and outlook on life can make a world of difference in how you observe and respond to daily stresses. Do you take time to do your 'inner work'? Perhaps meditation skills need to be developed. Yoga,Tai Chi, and Qi Gong are all excecllent ways to creat inner calm and balance. Spiritual community events, inspiritional reading, workshops, and discussions with friends and family can help us process life and how we respond to it, giving us insights and tools for shifting our awareness. When we learn to view things from ALL perspectives, not take things personally, and have an innate 'trust' that everything always works out, we gain more information and insights and can make healthier choices. Learning that WE are the only ones we can change is essential in discovering our own power within!
When I find clients who tend to 'roll' with life, are more relaxed inside, laugh more often and have a sense of 'inner calm', I can see the results on their Vital Scan HRV test. Their body is strong and healthy, and their biological aging is significantly lower. The immune system is stronger, arterial circulation is open, things are balanced. How can we ALL achieve that?
Often it starts with having to stop the stress response already occuring on the inside inside. That is why taking good vitamins and minerals (especially B complex!) is essential, as well as choosing a healthier diet. Going to bed earlier and getting proper sleep is also essential. Using herbs such as Ashwaganda and Rodiola can help calm the stress response. Siberian Ginseng and Licorice root helps to build the adrenal medulla and adrenal cortex. L-theanine is an amino acid that calms the inner stress. GABA and Acetacholine are neuro-transmitters that relax the excitability of the nerves,often helping us sleep better, while seratonin and dopamine can help us be happier, and more relaxed. DHEA production may need to be increased in the body after you calm the constant cortisol output!
When the adrenals are in total 'burn-out' or exhaustion, it helps to have a health coach, like myself, to work with, providing you with information, health recommendations, inspiration, and goals to get yourself back on track and into your 'power' once again.
And learn to BREATHE! Yes, as simple as taking deep, cleansing breaths, several times through out the day will instantly calm everything. How about making a habit of every time you stop at a traffic light, use that time to breathe deeply and relax! Give yourself at least 5 minutes of quiet time every day. Find some time to start a meditation practice, starting with small time increments and slowly increasing. Once you get the hang of it, meditation can feel SO good! Try the 'Zen 12' meditations on our site. Twelve levels of 12 minute meditations of your choice!
Not only will your life improve, your body will also start to improve, feel better and YOUNGER as well! Your hormones can start to come back into balance, your MOJO returns, and your mood lifts. Your body can move easier, when you reduce the stress and inflammation, and improve circulation. Powerful anti-oxidants are needed to do cellular repair work on all the oxidative stress-damage that was created inside. It's AMAZING how well the body responds when given the proper nutrients and support it needs to be in balance. Homeostasis will return! Life can and will become easier. All it takes is becoming AWARE of the stressors in your life and how it effects your body, then DOING something about it!
Jane Smolnik, is a Naturopathic Doctor, Iridologist, Kinesiologist, and Certified Spiritual Healer with over 30 years experience in the Holistic Health field. She specializes in cardiovascular and adrenal heatlh, reversing your health risks naturally! With her main practice in Asheville, NC, she also works with people long distance. Visit her two main websites for more info: www.UltimateHealing.com and www.AdrenalMasters.com.