Stress creates the opportunity for growth – physically and mentally. The important point is that periods of stress must be followed by periods of recovery for growth to occur – otherwise, instead, there is damage or burnout. This is the principle that is used in world-class athletic training – and can be applied to all aspects of life.

Burning the candle at one end…

In the 21st century, we find ourselves burning the candle at both ends. We have increasingly-plentiful causes of stress, for example:

• more changes in life – in jobs, homes, locations, friends and colleagues
• more brain stimulation – ads, tv, news, email, computers
• more electromagnetic stimulation – radio waves, microwaves, house appliance electromagnetic forces
• more body challenges – chemicals, poor food choices, stimulants, drugs (even medicines!)
• social challenges – raising families in isolation, immigration, urban living
• economic challenges – “recessions”, corporate restructuring, higher costs of living

Then at the other…

Yet we have less opportunities for recovery, such as “time out” after work, silence, family time and support, etc.

The problem is, when we are stressed we start “coping” – we accept higher and higher levels of stress. Then – too late – we reach a tipping point when we definitely “feel stressed out”, or worse, “burned out.” Even worse still, our bodies can break down with diseases like inflammation (heart attacks, arthritis), autoimmune disorders, or cancer.

This happened to me two years ago: all the signs of stress were there, and I ignored them. Then my left eye became completely inflamed and I lost my sight. Six months later the retina detached, needing emergency surgery. After two years, my eyesight has not yet recovered. How many people are paying the price for ignoring the symptoms and signs of stress?

I see this every day: a little prevention is better than a huge amount of cure.

The signs of stress

Here are some signs of stress:

• feelings of anxiety and reduce ability to cope – often feeling overwhelmed
• pain or tightness in the shoulders, neck or other places; headaches
• digestive problems, increased cravings and need for stimulants
• raised blood pressure, palpitations
• increased frequency and duration of colds and flus
• impaired sexual function
• fatigue, lethargy, poor sleep
• irritability, impatience, not having “enough time” – especially for relaxation

Unmanaged stress is a serious condition. As a health practitioner seeing so many victims of unmanaged stress – including myself – my sincere advice to all of you is: Have a stress management plan – it could save your life, and possibly the lives of others as well.

I often see overhwelmed mothers who feel they can’t take time out because of their children. They become tired, sick, and miserable; and then they snap at the kids. What model of healthy, sensible, organised lifestyle are they teaching their children? I have offered free massages and treatments to these women – and still they didn’t come!

Read this carefully:

A sure sign of stress is when you feel you don’t have the time to do something to manage it!

If you didn’t get it the first time, please read it again.

Stress nutrition

For a start do what the ancients have always done: stop what you are doing, and sit down properly for meals. A meal is an important event – and not an opportunity to fill a hole on the run. Consciously wind down before eating, and you will experience improved digestion, better resistance to stress, and improved mood.

Eat meals made from fresh, wholesome ingredients. Avoid processed foods and high-sugar foods. Increase colourful vegetables and fruits. Cut down on coffee, cola drinks, and alcohol.

Good eating habits, and nutritious foods, not only promote relaxation rituals to counterbalance stress during the day. They also provide the essential ingredients for your body to deal with stress efficiently.

Relaxation is the opposite of…

You got it! Nature’s remedy for stress is proper relaxation! This does not mean beers at the pub, or Martinis in front of the tv; nor gossiping with the girlfriends, or surfing the ‘Net (except for reading a page like this one!).

Proper relaxation involves turning your attention inwards – to yourself. How often do you do this?

There are thousands of relaxation techniques for stress relief. It doesn’t really matter which techniques you use; what matters is increasing self-awareness and consciously relaxing the body, emotions and mind. One of the profoundest, most systematic and most comprehensive methods for doing this is the science of Yoga.

Here is a powerful relaxation tip:

1. Sit comfortably with the spine upright, chest open, eyes and mouth shut.
2. Become aware of the natural flow of breath through the nostrils.
3. Deepen the breath and follow it in and out for several minutes.

Deep relaxation

After many years of “coping” with stress, it may take many people quite a while before they can recover a true sense of relaxation. Deep relaxation is a feeling of complete letting go, and of stillness of mind and body. It is at this point that a natural sense of serenity and joy resurfaces. It is at this point that the body can rebalance itself – and repair and regenerate itself.

Most people nowadays need to be guided towards deep relaxation. They need to be led to a space where they are reminded of what it feels like to be deeply, truly relaxed.

For people with serious illnesses like cancer, hypertension and depression, deep relaxation can offer them the best chance for healing, in whatever way is appropriate for them.

We can guide you

At Science of Life, we have created an amazingly effective programme to manage stress and allow you to lead a more productive, healthy, joyful, fulfilling life – for the whole of your life. We know how frustratingly difficult it can be to manage stress by yourself – and manage it you must.

After an in-depth consultation, we offer a programme of time-tested, synergistic tools to help you achieve deep relaxation, recover from chronic stress, and henceforth skilfully manage your stress as part of a healthy lifestyle.

The programme may include:

• diet and lifestyle recommendations
• traditional herbs for stress-adaptation, mental relaxation, improved sleep, and rejuvenating the tissues
• massage and body therapies to induce deep relaxation and improve health
• training in Yoga exercises, breathing techniques, meditation and guided relaxation
• Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES), an effective and safe microcurrent technology
• counseling and mental tools to reshape your beliefs around “stressful” factors

Stress management is the key to growth

As I said earlier, stress is the key to growth on all levels. It provides the opportunity to stretch your limits, to strengthen your muscles, to discover yourself. In the ancient Sanskrit writings it was described as Tapas, the fire that tempered the steel of your mind, to amazing sharpness and strength.

By managing stress in an organised way, you will come to see obstacles as challenges rather than as “problems” – in fact you will welcome them for the gift they bring. This is an incredibly empowering shift of consciousness. In a flash you will no longer see life as a series of fatalistic stressful events; but as a glorious journey of growth and creativity.

At Science of Life, we consider it a privilege to assist people achieve this shift in consciousness. In the future, I plan to offer more material to guide and inspire you in this process of transforming stress.

In the meantime, to find out more about the Science of Life Stress Management Programme, email us or call on 0800 23 50 23.

Copyright Gerald Lopez 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright AmUnivers

Natural health is all about understanding the influences around you – your foods, local geography and climate, the seasons; and even the clothes and gemstones you wear, and the positions of the planets and stars!

The seasons of Spring and Autumn represent major shifts in energy – Spring being the time of renewed vigour and the rising sap; and Autumn the time of slowing down, of withdrawing for hibernation and rest. In traditional societies, Autumn is the time of the final harvests; processing and storing foods; and preparing for the short days and cold, dark nights of Winter.

Here in the Southern Hemisphere, Autumn is upon us with its qualities of change, of wind and sudden cold. Many people experience cold, cramps, anxiety, insomnia, dry skin, constipation – the symptoms of increased Vata.

To balance these qualities and symptoms, we need to bring in the opposite qualities: of warmth, regularity and rhythm, sweetness, grounding, settling, nourishing.

Cleanse first…

Before balancing, it is a good idea to detoxify the body first; to eliminate the accumulated wastes, toxins and doshas (humours) from Summer. Regular detoxifying is one of the secrets of excellent health and longevity, and Ayurveda does this with Panchakarma. Panchakarma consists of a cleansing diet with detoxifying herbs, ingestion of ghee or oils to penetrate the fatty tissues, massage and heat treatments to mobilise the toxins, and a powerful elimination therapy. This is followed by a special diet to normalise digestion, and a programme of anti-ageing herbs.

Consult an ayurvedic practitioner about a Panchakarma programme; or contact us to discuss a programme we could offer you.

Alternatively, you could do a gentle 3-5 day detox diet at home – having freshly-made veggie soups for lunch and dinner, stewed fruits for breakfast and snacks, and sipping hot water and ginger tea through the day.

Then nourish…

Then think of a warming, nourishing routine. Eat warm, unctuous, slightly heavier foods; reducing the salads, toast and raw fruits. Think of stews, casseroles, thick soups. The ideal tastes are sweetness, and some sourness and saltiness. For sweetness, eat roots such as kumera (sweet potato), vegetables such as pumpkin, and grains such as basmati rice and quinoa.

Use warm or sweet spices such as ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom – in your savoury as well as sweet foods. You can use that combination to make delicious chai teas!

Increase your intake of high-quality fats and oils. Good fats and oils are not as bad for health as many people think – they have just been the victims of bad press. Take olive oil, coconut oil, butter or ghee (clarified butter). This will stimulate digestion, reduce the amounts of food you need to eat, and keep your skin (and the rest of your body) moist and well-lubricated. Good fats also decrease the risk of inflammations causing rheumatism, heart disease etc.

Take a formula of nourishing, anti-ageing herbs; such as Shatavari Gulam or Amla Plex, which can be purchased at our online store.

Massage for health

Use raw, warmed sesame oil for self-massage – daily or at least every few days. Rub it vigorously on your head, face, arms, shoulders, etc., working down to the feet. Keep it on for 15-20 minutes, then take a warm shower. Use a gentle soap, and just soap the “necessary” bits – this leaves a warming layer on your skin. Soon your skin will be glossy and radiant – unlike the dry and dull skin many people have at this time of the year. Try this for at least a month and see! You can obtain a good quality massage oil at our online store.

Every few weeks, have an ayurvedic massage given to you. This is wonderful for the body, emotions, mind and spirit. Increased Vata can create a sense of isolation and emptiness; of depletion and loneliness. Receiving care from another person fills the heart and raises our self-esteem. We feel reconnected, and feel valued. This has very profound effects on our mental and physical health.

At Science of Life, we use rich herbal oils for the massages we offer. Gerald has over 20 years experience in giving massage, and uses ayurvedic principles to tailor the massage to suit each client. Our clients almost invariably say that the ayurvedic massages are beyond anything they have experienced in the past…

Massage is one of the mainstays of ayurvedic medicine – it just offers so many benefits.

Strengthen with Yoga

Autumn is a time for rhythmic, strengthening, grounding ways of practising Yoga. Sun Salutes are great, done slowly and smoothly. Use Warrior Poses to strengthen the legs and feel the ground. Warm up the hips, stretch the legs and strengthen the core.

Do warming breathing exercises such as Bellows Breath (Bhastrika), followed by a calming exercise such a Alternate Nostril Breath (Nadi Shodhana). Finish with a relaxation in which you connect with the ground beneath you.

Honour the seasons

All traditional cultures have honoured the seasons, and celebrated the changes. This keeps us aware of the universal rhythms and what they mean to us on physical, emotional and mental levels. Being connected to natural rhythms gives deep meaning to our lives, reducing the effects of stress and enhancing our health and happiness.

Wear warming colours, eat the right foods, change your Yoga and exercise with the times; be aware of the shifts, and flow with them. And teach your children to do the same.

Healthy skin should be clear and fresh. Give your skin the chance to glow this summer!

Make a healthy skin your priority this Summer, and look your very best!

To get you started…

To give your skin a good start, I am offering – for the first time – the following Skin Rejuvenation Treatment at the Milford Clinic:

• A 60-minute ayurvedic massage to completely relax the body and mind
• Followed by a 20-minute salt scrub with energising essential oils, to stimulate the circulation, exfoliate and renew the skin, and leave you tingling!
• Finish with a 40-minute Vibrosaun sauna treatment that gets you sweating out the wastes and toxins, stimulates the kidneys, and excites every cell of the body
• Take home a Summer diet plan to help keep your skin fresh and alive-looking

This profound 2 hour treatment costs only $150 – less than an equivalent amount of time in a spa!

A great gift idea! To order a gift voucher go to our online shop.

Call on 0800 23 50 23 to make a booking, or send us an email.