When we are stressed we send signals to the adrenal glands saying ‘more energy please! More adrenalin!’ Over time, stress and the release of too much adrenalin can cause a number of physiological changes including:
- Increased heart rate
- Increased blood pressure
- Increased breathing
- Increased stress hormone release
- Sweating
- Weakened immunity (sneezing, catching colds, virus etc)
- Clotting of blood platelets (cells that stop blood from clotting)
In our day to day lives we activate this stress and extra adrenalin from simple things such as sitting in slow traffic, arriving at working and having too many emails, receiving an expensive phone bill or having an argument with a loved one etc.
Through meditating to handle this stress, the body shifts into a state of restful awareness, in which we see:
- Decreased heart rate
- Normalisation of blood pressure
- Quiet breathing
- Reduced stress hormones
- Reduced sweating
- Strengthened immunity
