In this episode we go beyond habit change and explore what it takes to disrupt the patterns (samskaras) that we hold to keep us safe. We develop patterns of movement, thought and emotion to keep ourselves safe. It's those patterns that run beneath all our behaviors and habits. If we want to change anything we need to start by disrupting those patterns.

I want to share my Insider's Guide to How the Body Perceives Stress to help you understand how your emotional response and stress response are connected through the body. Because chronic, toxic levels of stress can affect not only our mental and emotional health but our physical health as well.

You’re the special order, life is the delivery truck and resilience is the bubble wrap. It’s there to cushion the blow, not to prevent the blow. The stronger your resilience, the thicker that buffer around you, the easier it is for you to recover from being kicked around the back of a truck or tossed on the front porch.

If this year has taught us one thing it’s that we need to learn to handle stress better. And we could all use a thicker layer of that bubble wrap.

Building resilience, increasing our ability to handle difficult things, should be a priority in preventative healthcare. There are simple ways that we can lessen the burden that physical, chemical & emotional stress places on the body and make significant improvements to our overall health beyond simply feeling less stressed.  

Driven individuals with demanding, high stress lifestyles tend to gravitate toward challenging, high intensity types of exercise. Especially if you don’t have a lot of time to spare. Fitness professionals who offer these kinds of classes or training want to “make it worth your time.” So we do the hardest things. We push ourselves to the absolute limit. After all we can rest when we’re dead.  The problem with this Rocky Horror Fitness Show is that while it may burn calories, it also triggers frightening responses in the nervous system, that without attention can lead to long term physical dysfunctions. 

“There is no cure for PTSD”. I wonder when it comes to something as complex as post traumatic stress if it’s a “cure” that we really need. Perhaps what we really need is an inoculation. Something that could boost our own natural defenses against the toxic levels of stress in our society today.