The wisdom of the ancients came from something we often take for granted – Mother Nature. We usually take things for granted. It’s a hallmark of our crazy civilisation to relate simplicity with stupidity and rest with laziness.
We always want more, we want faster, and we want it now. However, as soon as we get it, we’re over it, and we want the next thing. The importance of rest and recovery is required to balance out our lifestyle. We are far more productive when we allow ourselves to “power down” and have time to recharge our batteries again. Rest is great; however, we must also think about stress. We have allowed the distress, and our perceptions of events in our lives to cause stress. Remember that everything in our lives requires balance – there is the yin and the yang of all things. Mental stress, physical stress and spiritual stress, these are the three stresses within our body.
PHYSICAL STRESS
Physical stress is when we are overtaxing our bodies, not giving it time to rest and recover adequately. It is not just about overworking our body at the gym, working an allnighter, it can also be the physical stress from sitting too long and the impact it has on the body. We can all relate to physical stress when we have been tired or injured in some way. However, when there is too little physical stress makes the body flaccid, weak, and unresponsive, the opposite to overworking the body. The body allocates resources where they are needed but needs cues and rest in order to stay in harmony.
The other prominent contributor to physical stress is diet. We are what we eat and, unlike the generations before us, some of us are now eating fast, processed foods that are deprived of nutrients, contain hormones and preservatives. Proper physical rest and recovery revolve around good eating habits. If you undereat, your metabolism slows down (and goes into emergency mode) telling your body to store fat and if you overeat, your body cannot burn the extra calories fast enough and stores them as fat. Our bodies are the most precious things we have. Learning to manage physical stress and find the perfect balance is the key.
MENTAL STRESS
Mental stress is seen as positive stress or negative stress. Positive mental stress is seen as problem-solving. It is to learn how to take a particular circumstance and look at it rationally. It can mean you need to be honest about all factors and variables involved, your factoring in every aspect of the problem into the solution. The negative stress comes in when we attach emotions to the issues. The issue becomes clouded. It is often a good idea to seek outside help, someone who can reason without the emotion. We still have to deal with it; however, support can guide us through the blind spots with the problems that seem to linger in our lives and reduce mental stress.
SPIRITUAL STRESS
You may not think it, but we all suffer from spiritual stress. Life is a beautiful thing when it carries meaning and purpose. We are all here to learn, adapt, grow and love. For many of us, it is only now that we see the need to survive. We have come full circle, where survival teaches the meaning, and it is time for us to wake up and get involved. Some people are struggling to see their purpose in life, and we know that when things become unclear, it is time to calm the mind.
We are being driven to higher states of consciousness; nature is slowing us down and making us sit in our environments. Think about spending more time in nature and see how it affects your state of mind. You may find you wake up, and you harmonise the earth below your feet. The chaotic energy and stress begin to calm down, and the mind starts to settle. With a calmer nervous system, the body reduces all levels of stress, and our general health begins to improve, and we feel a balance.
Bringing balance back into our lifestyle is essential, a simple way to do this is taking the time out to restore your body with an acupuncture session. It can remove all types of stress from your body.
