Oxygen and Stress reduction – How You Can Achieve Balance

By Julie Gengo

With summer over and school back in session, schedules can become more demanding as responsibilities increase. For some it’s an expanded work week and for others, the addition of children’s sports practices and games, homework assistance, lunches to be made and more clothes to wash, make it more challenging to balance it all. Over the years I’ve observed from my practice how important it is to maintain emotional balance to be able to deal with these demands; and how focusing on the mind-body connection is just the link to doing that.

As a certified yoga practitioner and educator, one of the key elements of yoga that we as teachers share is stress reduction through structured breathing techniques. In yoga, we call this action, pranayama, a Sanskrit word that translates into the lengthening of prana. Prana is our life force or vital source of energy. For humans, prana is simply our breath. By learning how to oxygenate our organs naturally by proper breathing, we can in essence have instant access to stress reduction. Did you know that something free, readily available and shared by people everywhere would be so powerful and healing? Surprisingly for the uninitiated, learning pranayama techniques takes time and are generally learned best through study with a certified yoga practitioner or a breath specialist to achieve desired results.

For some people yoga alone is not enough, as stress has built up over time through excessive oxygen deprivation or over-stimulation. Did you know that too much oxygen could have reverse effects thus causing more stress on the body?

From a scientific standpoint, every cell in our body requires oxygen for survival. However too much or inadequate oxygen levels can easily disrupt the body’s functions and systems. When a person experiences stress, the oxygen level in their blood is reduced, depriving the cells, organs, including the brain, of the power they need to function effectively. For instance, if you were in a situation where you found yourself hyperventilating, you would be sending excessive amounts of oxygen to the brain. This would take you out of "thinking" mode (the frontal brain) and transfer your brain function to the back of the brain, which transforms you into "survival" mode. This adrenaline rush would send a huge amount of oxygen throughout the body – a fine plan if a saber tooth tiger were chasing you, since you would most likely be able to kick it up a notch and run like Tarzan. In everyday life this is usually not the appropriate solution; the stressor and the excess adrenaline and other stress hormones caused from hyperventilating would wreak havoc on the body systems as they stay in the system with no outlet or specific function.

In contrast, when your breath is too shallow due to fatigue or other factors associated from stress, negative consequences could also occur. Not enough oxygen to the brain can lead to brain fog, more fatigue and depression, making life even more complicated.

Through HealthWalk’s MindSoul Brain Technologies, we can determine where the "brain noise" is coming from – whether your brain is functioning sub-optimally or in an over active pace through our brain-mapping techniques. Once the imbalance is determined, the brain waves can be balanced through various Neuro Stimulation Sound Therapies. These non-invasive brainwave therapies can either relax or excite the brain frequencies to empower them to function at their potential. Clearing things up and balancing the brain waves can lead to clarity of thought and calmness so that the everyday challenges in life can be dealt with more smoothly.

Another convenient way to provide more oxygen to the cells is through a product that HealthWalk clinically developed called HydroMag™. HydroMag coasters, cup holders, pads or water cooler straps, are effective, affordable and easy ways to restore and normalize water molecules to their natural Ph neutral state. These simple yet technologically advanced proprietary magnetic pads realign water molecules or any fluid to its original state, which makes the nutrients consumed more bio-available. Drinking Hydromag treated water and liquids facilitate the blood and body to return to a more natural alkaline state allowing oxygen to reach the cells. When cells membranes are surrounded by oxygen they are able to absorb nutrients and block out unwanted waste and toxic matter. When the brain is able to absorb the nutrients it needs to thrive, then it can modulate the body’s stress levels.

With these methods you can achieve balance, and be alert to the need to balance your life style to moderate stress. Then you will be able to maintain a healthy work / life rhythm and have the resilience to juggle, juggle, and juggle all your priorities again.