So now we know that stress, which is actually change, is the cause of all of our health concerns (actually, excessive stress). We can expand our ability to handle more stress by exercising and eating right. We also know now that our bodies have built in "fuses" to protect large muscles and organs and glands from damage caused by excessive stress. Resetting the fuses, aka correcting a subluxation, is the domain of the chiropractor. They are experts at finding the "blown" fuse, and then resetting it through "adjustments". This allows the nervous system to resume better communication between the brain and the rest of the cells of the body, as well as expanding our ability to handle stress.
It's an impossiblity to lead a stress free life- the only time we don't have stress is when we are dead (and I'm not 100% certain about that, since I haven't died). We all need stress to grow and change. We just don't need excessive stress, the kind that can damage the body. It is important to try and lead a life where excessive stresses aren't a common thing. When we talked of good nutrition and of exercise, these were the key components to making that happen. As important, but much more subtle is the attitude needed for those positive changes to take place.
As I mentioned before, stress is any change that happens in your life, so therefore, we are changing all of the time. However, we are creatures of habit- we learn through repetition. Just look at a baby and how it learns to finally walk upright, and you'll begin to understand that the action of walking is lots of small steps taken over time, repeated, and integrated, until finally.... we are walking. We take walking for granted at this point in our lives, because it has been repeated so many times. Most of the actions that we take daily are established patterns, habits, and are the result of learning and integrating movements, reactions, and feelings. We habitualize our life, which is the nature of the beast. Nature craves efficient actions- we use the least amount of energy possible for changes. This conserves energy and resources, and works as a survival tool.
This is why changing old, sometimes unhealthy habits for new, healthier ones becomes a challenge. It takes energy to form new neural (brain and nervous system) pathways, and faced with using less or more energy, most of us stray toward the easier path. To become masters of our bodies, we need to expend energy, and move past the "survival" instinct, to more of "thriving".
To break a pattern, you must first understand why or how you do the old habit. In my life, one example is running. I have learned through my early life to be slightly bowlegged. It was a lazy habit, and at least partly reinforced by knowing how much it irritated my father. The forces of this posture on my knees caused pain as I got older. I have a goal of participating in triathlons, and running is part of the activity. I had to carefully look at my old pattern of walking which lead me to understanding that I had some key muscles which weren't working as I would walk or run. By using specific exercises, as well as consciously making the weak muscles work as I walked and ran, I started the process of establishing a new, more balanced habit. I'm still in process, but I am now running short distance without any knee discomfort at all.
This is the essential second component of making those changes, the attitude of being fully present and aware. It does take energy, but to thrive, which means to live fully, you will have to push yourself out of the old comfort zones. We don't want to push ourselves to the point of excessive stress, but only enough to expand our "adaptive potential". By doing this, we are able to handle more stress, including the changes we are working on. After time, the "new" patterns become our new, healthier habits. This works not only on physical issues, but emotional patterns and nutritional habits as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment