One thing the pandemic is teaching us is that we are all more the same than we are different.  Our bodies were not designed to handle chronic stress over long periods.  Instead, the body was made to cope with short bouts of stress through the autonomic nervous system.  You do consciously control this system.

The autonomic system is made up of two sub-systems; the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic system.  The sympathetic nervous system is what happens to the body in response to danger.  The parasympathetic nervous system, sometimes referred to as “rest and digest”, regulates the processes that occur when you are in a more relaxed state.  The sub-systems are commonly known as the fight or flight system.

When stress is high, your sympathetic system turns on.  When your body is in a heightened state of stress and anxiety your adrenal glands release stress hormones of adrenaline and cortisol.  Your liver releases sugar into your blood to increase your energy.  Your heart races.  The blood flow goes away from the systems of digestion and creation into the extremities to prepare to fight or run.  Once the danger is gone, your body restores to balance.

The challenge is that the body cannot perceive whether a danger is physical or psychological.  The pandemic crisis that we are facing has many people going through high levels of stress over a long period.  Assessing the present state of the situation, experts are predicting that it will take many, many months, maybe years before the threat of direct or indirect harm from the virus subsides.

Therefore, we must have strategies to help bring our body back to a state of balance.  One of the most fundamental things we can do is breathe.  Inhale slowly and slowly exhale.  If you are not used to purposeful breathing, you may not be good at it.  It is a learned skill.  Like any other skill, you must practice purposeful breathing to become more proficient at it.

The average person takes 12 to 20 breaths per minute.  To become calmer, make a goal of taking 6 breaths per minute.  Accomplish this by slowly breathing in for a count of 5, breathing out for a count of 5.  Slowly breath in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.  Slowly breath out 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.  Just focusing on breathing can help to restore balance in your body.

Try it for one minute.  When you become good at that, increase it to five minutes, then ten minutes, or longer.  You can combine your breathing practice with music, sitting up, lying down, looking at a vision board, focusing on God, focusing on one word, a specific place, a person, or an amazing future event.  Again, it takes practice.  Your mind may wander from your desired focus.  When you notice that is happening, avoid becoming frustrated or judgemental.  Simply redirect your attention back to your desired focus.

Some of you may be wondering if this is considered meditation.  Others already know that it is.  You see, meditation doesn’t have to be some mystic scary phenomena.   This technique is simply slowing down your mind and body to bring it back into a balanced state.