What do you think of when you hear ‘epidemic’?

Do think some contagious disease spreading like wild fire?

Possibly a virus, or an unstoppable illness, that’s out of control.

All the above examples sound exotic, remote,  and  conjure images of things that happen in faraway lands. 

But the truth of this post is about an ‘epidemic’ much closer to home.

On the local front, the World health Organization calls Stress “the health epidemic of the 21st Century”, reporting that ‘Stress’ and the resulting illnesses springing from Stress accounts for more than 70% of all visits to medical doctors.

The question at hand is what is this powerful thing we call ‘Stress’? And why is it that it has such a powerful grip & effect on us?

Is Stress good or bad? When is it good, if ever and when is it bad?

What does Stress mean to each of us? How does it affect our bodies?

Is it possible we can welcome some form or version of Stress, and use it to our benefit rather than be overcome by Stress?

Stress is a word that reflects what we individually feel and how our bodies react to given a set of circumstances and demands upon it at any given time.  That was a mouthful…

The level of Stress we have is often filtered through our thoughts, ideas, our personal history and the decisions we have made with regards to what constitutes the range of what we will consider Stress or Stressful.

Often the stress is self created, and certainly some pressure is sometimes a necessary

push we need or give ourselves to get the job done. Guilty as charged…

For those reasons it is hard to say what Stress is, like a thing, you can point to.

Stress is moreover something we create and manage on our own, or with outside help.

We create the level and amount of Stress that is acceptable for us as a useful thing, and how much of it

we want at any given time, how much we can handle, and are willing to put up with or tolerate.

It is a large juggling act, that many of us practice daily.
 
Still, it seems wise to set some limits or parameters of how much Stress we will allow, to have balance and avoid getting too Stressed out, especially if we have Hypertension, or are prone to or get Stressed easily.

Be well, Practice Balance, Get what you Want.

Talia Inanna Kala*

Is exercise a good word you Love, something you Hate, or something you just Do.

Well if you do Exercise, whether you love it or Hate it, it is a credit to you that Do Exercise. Because Exercise is the one pivotal element that can turn around your health with so many ailments,  from Hypertension,  to Diabetes to Obesity & Weight loss.

Exercise can be a challenge for many, from finding the time to do it, the energy, the space, the strength, and the consistency factor, doing an Exercise regimen say at least 3 to 5 times a week is no cup cake.

However, whether you like exercise or not, exercise doesn’t have to be painful or a pain.

It may seem ‘inconvenient’ at first as anything new in one’s life, not only exercise, is a challenge in some way or other.

And in the case of exercise, as with other decisions to alter a condition or situations in one’s life,a definite strong commitment is required.

Before any of us makes a commitment for anything, there usually is a process that gets us there.

Conviction comes before Commitment.

And Conviction is preceded by experience, and evidence that points to the particular Conviction being the right and perfect choice, and that brings us to a Conviction.

The stronger the experience and evidence ( ie.as evidence that exercise is a healthy choice, exercise being a good thing that your body needs etc.), the stronger the Conviction to do exercise, or any other Practice.

Motivation or the Reward play a big role in setting your conviction.

We are all fueled by The Motivation or the Reward to do what we do.

The Motivation can be: If you exercise 3- 5 times a week regularly, you will be in better overall health, have less stress( studies show that people who exercise regularly,  do tend to have less stress, or able to relieve some of their stress via exercising, and are able to manage the Stress they do have easier than people who do no exercise.

I say all this  for my ears especially, for I find that often exercise is far from if not the last thing I want to do.

All the more we must all try to have balance in our lives.

Exercise, captures & brings that balance back to our bodies, minds and spirit.

Chances are that if you already do some exercise, you know the joys of pushing yourself past that possible resistance, to the other side of Exploding your energy vs. Imploding your energy on a regular basis.

It’s good to be alive, and to even have the ability to exercise, so while you can, do what you can and gradually stretch your limits, you’ll be glad you did.

To our best Health & Wellbeing,

Talia Inanna Kala *