“Learning how to focus on the moment” could help our body combat the negative effects of chronic stress. “but we dont have the luxury to do that.” How ironic is that statement? In a society where we have the luxury of cellphones and laptops, unlimited hot water, oodles of food, thousands of networking and entertainment options, we dont have the luxury to focus on ourselves?

Yesterday, we had a talk on Mind-Body Medicine (i.e. the effects of stress on the body and ways that we can counter it). The lecturer began with the physiological process that leads to the release of “stress” hormones and the effects that those hormones have on our body. These effects included everything from increased blood glucose to help the body deal with the “stressor” (i.e. run away from predators) to decreased wound healing and immune function to save energy for our “flight our fight mechanism”. And so what happens when our body is under chronic stress? Acute stress would be defined as when you release stress hormones in response to an event, and then after a few hours the body returns back to a “normal state” where those hormones aren’t around. But as stressors stick around in our life, our body could eventually lose its resilience and therefore, be unable to return to baseline after a stressful situation, creating a state where we have “stress hormones” floating around in our body all the time…. and that’s where mind-body medicine can come into play. It helps the body return back to baseline, and reverse some of the adverse effects of chronic stress.

The first technique that he mentioned is meditation, by which he’s not talking about a spiritual or religious experience, but merely learning how to focus on the moment. ironically, though, this is where he stated the simple obvious that we’ve learned to accept in our society: “We don’t have the luxury to do that.” We don’t have “the luxury” to take 5 simple breathes, but we have the time (probably even simultaneously) to text, im, facebook message, surf the net, watch tv, access things from all over the world… but we can’t access ourselves?

So I just wanted to remind us to take the time in our “packed” lives to take even a minute to just focus on ourselves. In whatever way is right for you — whether its taking a jog outside, doing jumping jacks in place, praying, or just sitting with no thoughts going through your mind. Just remember in the end there’s nothing to lose, not even a penny.