Your car breaks down on the highway. You have a fight with your spouse. The stock market plummets and your company announces layoffs. Your neighbor mows the lawn at 7 am. When something happens that violates your sense of how things should be, you perceive danger ― whether real or imagined ― and your body triggers its most ancient human impulse: the flight-or-fight response.

In fight-or-flight mode, your heart beats faster, your blood pressure rises, your breath becomes shallow and rapid, your adrenalin and cortisol production surge, your blood sugar rises, you produce lower levels of sex hormones, and your immune system weakens.

You may wonder, if the fight-or-flight response is so damaging, why did nature create it? The original purpose of this response was to help our ancestors survive in threatening situations. They needed this immediate reaction so they’d be able to run for their lives from a saber-toothed tiger or fight off ferocious predators.

The fight-or-flight response was invaluable in the past, but today you probably don’t face eminent threats to your life on a daily basis. Nonetheless, when you feel threatened ― even by something as small as an unreturned phone call or a critical remark ― your body still gears up for a stressful event. If you perceive a lot of stress in your life and are constantly going into flight-or-fight mode, your body pays the price.

Prolonged stress accelerates aging and makes you more vulnerable to serious illness. Numerous studies have shown that chronic stress contributes to high blood pressure, heart disease, stomach ulcers, autoimmune diseases, cancer, insomnia, migraine headaches, panic attacks, and depression.

Choices that Relieve Stress

When you are feeling overwhelmed or anxious, it is easy to forget that you have choices and that there are many tools and techniques that can help you feel better right away. One of the most effective stress-relieving practices is meditation. A regular practice helps you go beyond turbulence, releasing stress, fatigue, and emotional turmoil. Even as your body is resting deeply in meditation, your mind is awake, though quiet.

Meditation gives you the experience of pure, restful awareness. As you meditate, the bodily reactions are exactly the opposite of the stress response: your breathing slows, blood pressure decreases, and stress hormone levels fall. At The Chopra Center, we prescribe Primordial Sound Meditation as a simple, natural way of experiencing this deep state of restful awareness.

Stress and the Doshas

Knowing your mind-body constitution will help you understand your own response to stress. Ayurveda offers specific recommendations for each mind-body type, including the most effective ways to cope with stress. You can take our dosha quiz here to identify your mind-body type.

Vata: Those whose predominant dosha is Vata have the greatest tendency towards anxiety and worry. Normally creative and lively, in the face of stress, Vatas tend to blame themselves for their problems and become extremely nervous and scattered.

Pitta: Pittas are usually warm and loving, but if they’re out of balance, typically react to stress by finding fault with other people and becoming angry.

Kapha: The most even-tempered dosha is Kapha. Kapha types are usually easygoing and gentle, but when faced with overwhelming conflict or stress, they may withdraw and refuse to deal with the situation.

If you want to relieve your stress and restore the balance in your life, our Perfect Health program may be your next step. Perfect Health is a six-day wellness program that takes place each week in the nurturing environment of The Chopra Center for Wellbeing in Carlsbad, California.

Please call 888.736.6895 or request more information about Perfect Health here.