Stress. Your Choice.
Did you know that prolonged stress can increase the risk of premature death by 43%? Constant pressure spikes cortisol and keeps us in a "fight or flight" state—a major contributor to leading causes of death, including heart disease, stroke, and respiratory disorders.
Beyond physical health, stress accounts for over half of all work-related illness and up to 90% of doctor visits. As Chelsea Erieau notes, stress acts as an accelerator: "It will push you either forward or backward, but you choose the direction."
The Yerkes-Dodson Law suggests that performance improves with mental arousal—but only up to a point. This "positive stress" is called eustress; it sharpens memory and builds resilience. However, once we pass that tipping point, burnout takes over, causing performance to drop and anxiety to rise.
Reclaim Your Calm
"Tension is a habit. Relaxing is a habit. Bad habits can be broken, good habits formed." — William James
To break the habit of tension, consider these three steps:
Make a Conscious Choice: "The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another." William James Between every stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our power to choose our response, and therein lies our growth and freedom.- Viktor Frankl
Find Your "Still Point": In Kundalini Yoga, this is the "neutral mind." It isn't about constant bliss; it’s about tapping into a steady state of mind amidst a hectic life. Finding a non-reactive state allows you to observe stressors without being consumed by them.- Jill Botte Taylor
Prioritize Rest: Never underestimate the value of "Doing Nothing." As A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh says, "Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits." When was the last time you just sat?
Gong relaxation offers a profound physical and emotional recalibration. By invoking theta brainwaves associated with deep meditation, the gongs stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system—the body's natural "rest and recover" mechanism—to suppress the stress response and restore stillness. Our research during COVID found that weekly 20-minute gong baths resulted in a 100% improvement in sleep and an 83% decrease in perceived stress. Most of us exercise and brush our teeth daily to maintain our health; what's stopping you from adding a weekly gong bath to your wellness ritual?
