Table of Contents
Release Stress Techniques: Psychological Stress Vs Biological Stress!
Welcome back to the 23rd episode of Skeletal Leap: A Living Adventure!
Today’s episode titled “Release Stress: Psychological Stress Vs Biological Stress!” will tell you about what stress really means in terms of chakras and skeletal postures.
Stress is a situation perceived by an organism either as a threat or a challenge that needs to be coped with.
In case of Homo sapiens, this type of situation has two layers to it. The first one is biological stress and the second, psychological.
In the case of biological stress, it is the nervous system that perceives it as a threat or challenge. But in the case of psychological stress, it is the mind that comprehends the brain’s perception as either a threat or as a challenge.
SKELETAL LEAP, the mind body connection for mind and body healing, is a giant leap that our skeleton can take through the way it postures its joints.
I had stumbled upon this miracle many years ago, coincidentally
It took me quite a few years to analyze it fully, and then a few more to turn the results of my analysis into a feasible action plan.
I come up with a new weekly episode every Tuesday morning for miraculous healing enthusiasts to effectively start their weekdays with what they like the most!
Release Stress: Psychological Stress Vs Biological Stress! – Show Notes
Welcome back to another enlightening episode of Skeletal Leap: A Living Adventure!
In today’s episode titled “Release Stress: Psychological Stress Vs Biological Stress,” I explain the multifaceted nature of stress, exploring its biological and psychological dimensions.
Join me as I unpack the layers of stress, revealing how both external and internal factors contribute to our experiences of psychological pain.
Discover the two primary forms of stress that affect Homo sapiens: biological stress, managed by our nervous system, and psychological stress, which is interpreted through our minds.
Learn about the intricate workings of the autonomic nervous system and the HPA axis, and how they respond to perceived threats or challenges.
This episode will also cover the various stressors, from acute challenges to chronic pressures, and their profound impacts on our health and well-being.
Additionally, I share insights into the pioneering work of Hans Selye, who laid the groundwork for our understanding of stress and its effects on the body.
Explore the concept of hardiness and how adopting a lightness mindset can transform our approach to stress management.
Through the lens of Skeletal Leap, you’ll discover how skeletal re-posturing and chakra opening can alleviate stress, leading to a healthier mind-body connection.
Tune in to learn how to cultivate resilience and lightness in your life.
Here you will find:
(00:00:00) – Stress is a situation perceived by an organism as a threat or a challenge
(00:05:25) – Stress is a feeling of emotional pain that can be internal or external
(00:15:39) – Skeletal Leap has a well researched and documented system of opening chakras
Release Stress: Psychological Stress Vs Biological Stress! – Chapters
Chapters:
(00:00:01) – What is Stress? (Human Stress)
(00:05:25) – Understanding the causes of stress in life
00:15:39) – How to Open Chakras
Release Stress: Psychological Stress Vs Biological Stress! – Video
Release Stress: Psychological Stress Vs Biological Stress! – Transcript with Timestamps
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The source of psychological stress can
either be external or internal, but in
0:00:06.880,0:00:26.480
both cases one internalizes the resultant pain.
My name is Laadi Ojas. Welcome to “Skeletal Leap:
0:00:26.480,0:00:34.160
A Living Adventure”. Skeletal Leap
transforms one’s life into a personal heaven.
0:00:34.160,0:00:38.400
Today’s episode will tell you
about what stress really means
0:00:38.400,0:00:43.440
in terms of chakras and skeletal postures.
0:00:43.440,0:00:48.160
Stress is a situation perceived by
an organism either as a threat or a
0:00:48.160,0:00:54.320
challenge that needs to be coped with.
In case of Homo sapiens, this type of
0:00:54.320,0:01:02.240
situation has two layers to it. The first one is
biological stress and the second, psychological.
0:01:02.240,0:01:06.960
In the case of biological stress, it
is the nervous system that perceives
0:01:06.960,0:01:12.080
it as a threat or challenge. But in
the case of psychological stress,
0:01:12.080,0:01:19.680
it is the mind that comprehends the brain’s
perception as either a threat or as a challenge.
0:01:19.680,0:01:24.080
Biological Stress
In Homo sapiens, the following
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biological systems respond to stress:
- Autonomic nervous system
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- Hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis
Sympathoadrenal medullary (SAM) axis is capable,
0:01:40.880,0:01:45.680
via the sympathetic nervous system, of
switching a ‘fight or flight’ response
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on. It directs a major portion of the body’s
energy resources to cope with the perceived
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stress before returning to homeostasis
via the parasympathetic nervous system.
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On the other hand, the HPA axis releases cortisol
to take care of metabolic and immunological
0:02:06.480,0:02:14.640
functions in the meantime. The SAM and HPA axes
are regulated by the following brain regions:
0:02:14.640,0:02:24.160
Limbic system | Prefrontal cortex |
Amygdala | Hypothalamus | Stria terminalis
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These coping mechanisms perceive stressors
as one among the five possible categories:
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- Acute time-limited stressors
posing a short term challenge
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- Brief naturalistic stressors
- normal yet challenging
0:02:43.520,0:02:50.880
- Stressful event sequences – sudden
onset continuing in immediate future
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- Chronic stressors continuing
for long terms in future
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- Distant stressors – set
to affect in distant future
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Physiological stress disturbs the organism’s
homeostasis which responds by stimulating the
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nervous, endocrine and immune systems.
This activates physical changes showing
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their short or long term effects on the body.
Homeostasis is an ideal state of biochemical
0:03:23.440,0:03:30.960
equilibrium. It often keeps getting disrupted by
internal and external stimuli, thereby keeping it
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in a state of continual flux. But if and when
this disruption goes beyond a certain range,
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we experience it as stress.
In the presence of acute stress,
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the sympathetic nervous system takes over
with a ‘fight or flight’ response involving:
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Mydriasis | Increased heart beats |
Vasoconstriction | Glycogenolysis |
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Bronchodilation | Gluconeogenesis | Sweating
| Lipolysis | Decreased motility of digestive
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system | Apinephrine and cortisol secretion from
adrenal medulla | Relaxation of bladder wall
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After having coped with stress,
the parasympathetic nervous system
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reestablishes ‘rest and digest’
aka homeostasis response involving:
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Miosis | Bronchoconstriction | Increased motility
of digestive system | Contraction of bladder walls
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The HPA axis is a neuroendocrine system for stress
response which stimulates the steroid hormones.
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Stress also affects the immune system negatively.
In fact, chronic long-term stress affects
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our quality of life by creating:
Immune system dysfunction | Chronic
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diseases | Impaired growth in children
| Fibromyalgia | Chronic fatigue
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syndrome | Depression | Functional somatic
syndromes | Heart disease | Asthma | Diabetes
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| Headaches | Alzheimer’s disease | Accelerated
aging | Premature death | Insomnia | Eating
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disorders | Anxiety and panic attacks | Colds
and viruses | Circulatory problems | Cancer
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It is not only negative stressors that add to the
stress level, even the positive stressors do the
0:05:32.160,0:05:38.720
same. Here is a list of some categories
that some common stressors belong to:
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- Sensory inputs like pain, bright
lights, noise, temperatures, etc.
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- Environmental issues like lack of food,
water, housing, health, freedom, mobility, etc.
0:05:57.120,0:06:06.800
- Social issues like struggles, defeats,
relationship conflicts, deception, break ups,
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births, deaths, marriages, divorces, etc.
- Life experiences like poverty, sudden
0:06:16.560,0:06:24.000
wealth acquisition, unemployment,
depression, OCD, lack of sleep,
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performance pressures, exams, deadlines, etc.
- Accidental experiences like sexual abuse,
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traumas, etc.
Psychological Stress
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Psychological stress is a feeling of
emotional pain. Small amounts of them
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are manageable as well as motivating at
times but their excess is debilitating.
0:06:52.960,0:06:58.720
The source of psychological stress can
either be external or internal, but in
0:06:58.720,0:07:07.120
both cases one internalizes the resultant pain.
Hans Selye came up with quite a few experiments
0:07:07.120,0:07:16.080
on stress and its theories in the 1930s. He
conceived the theory of universal, non-specific
0:07:16.080,0:07:23.680
stress response and initiated extensive
research programs in academic physiology.
0:07:23.680,0:07:31.040
Despite wide acceptance of his theories,
experimental physiologists soon started opposing
0:07:31.040,0:07:39.840
what they considered ‘vague’ approaches in his
research. Hence, in the 1950s, he turned away from
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experimental physiology and started promoting his
theories via popular books and public speeches.
0:07:47.840,0:07:54.320
His book titled ‘Stress of Life’ addressed
to the general public turned out
0:07:54.320,0:08:00.080
to be an international bestseller.
His was a biopsychosocial concept of
0:08:00.080,0:08:07.680
stress and dynamic adaptation to changing global
challenges. It promised health and happiness to
0:08:07.680,0:08:16.080
anyone that successfully employed this approach.
He coined the terms ‘eustress’ for positive stress
0:08:16.080,0:08:23.680
and ‘distress’ for negative stress. He also coined
the term ‘stressor’ to mean the cause of stress
0:08:23.680,0:08:31.520
as separate from the state of stress. On top of
it, he redefined tobacco smoking as a ‘diversion’
0:08:31.520,0:08:38.960
or a ‘deviation’ from environmental stress.
Starting from the latter part of the 1960s,
0:08:38.960,0:08:44.640
psychologists increasingly adopted
Selye’s approach. They undertook
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extensive research to establish connections
between stress and stress-related diseases.
0:08:52.320,0:08:59.200
By the latter part of the 1970s, stress
had entered the common parlance globally.
0:08:59.200,0:09:05.120
New research was conducted into the
neuroendocrine, molecular and immunological
0:09:05.120,0:09:13.280
aspects of stress. This new research is no longer
directly tied to Selye’s hypotheses though it
0:09:13.280,0:09:20.160
doesn’t negate it either. In the wake of the
Vietnam War, a lot of research went into the newly
0:09:20.160,0:09:30.320
coined ‘post-traumatic stress disorder’ (PTSD).
By the onset of the 1990s, stress had become one
0:09:30.320,0:09:37.680
of the biggest buzzwords while referring to
the modern-day health and its complications.
0:09:37.680,0:09:41.680
The discourse on stress spanned
the entire spectrum from mild
0:09:41.680,0:09:49.920
irritation to ultimate nervous breakdown.
As recently as 2015, it was established
0:09:49.920,0:09:58.640
through surveys that people’s greatest stressors
were ‘money’, ‘family responsibility’ and ‘work’.
0:09:58.640,0:10:06.880
A New Personality Style: Hardiness
In the year 1979, Suzanne C. Kobasa
0:10:06.880,0:10:11.680
had discovered a new personality
style, which he named ‘hardiness’.
0:10:11.680,0:10:19.040
It referred to the ability of a person to be
chronically stressed yet healthy at the same time.
0:10:19.040,0:10:25.680
This meant that the harmful effects of stress
were not the same for all. They were as much
0:10:25.680,0:10:32.400
due to stressors as they were due to the fallible
personality styles. And if we were able to train
0:10:32.400,0:10:39.680
people to adopt ‘hardiness’ as their personality
style, the problem of stress would be gone.
0:10:39.680,0:10:46.960
In 1984, Salvadore Maddi with Kobasa and
their graduate students in the University
0:10:46.960,0:10:54.960
of Chicago came up with another book. The book
was titled “The hardy executive: Health under
0:10:54.960,0:11:02.880
stress” and it further elaborated the analysis of
hardiness. It carried along a series of research
0:11:02.880,0:11:09.440
reports done with executives in it.
Since then, a lot of further research
0:11:09.440,0:11:18.960
has been done on military groups, teachers,
firefighters and students along with executives.
0:11:18.960,0:11:23.280
In addition, several efforts have
been made to train people to adopt
0:11:23.280,0:11:30.160
hardy personalities with mixed results.
Research is still going on as newer
0:11:30.160,0:11:34.480
training modules are being tried
to achieve definitive results.
0:11:35.200,0:11:40.720
Hardiness suggests a personality structure
dispositioned along the traits of commitment,
0:11:40.720,0:11:45.040
control and challenge:
- Commitment was defined
0:11:45.040,0:11:52.640
as a trait to get involved in what one was doing.
- Control was defined as a trait that made one
0:11:52.640,0:11:59.600
believe one would be able to effect a change.
- Challenge was defined as a trait that took
0:11:59.600,0:12:04.720
everything including life in
flux rather than stability.
0:12:04.720,0:12:09.920
In my opinion, the best example of a hardy
personality was the co-founder of Apple
0:12:09.920,0:12:17.760
Inc. named Steve Jobs. But the most charismatic
man that he was, he too could not keep himself
0:12:17.760,0:12:24.800
healthy. This exceptionally hardy man died of
pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor resulting in
0:12:24.800,0:12:31.760
respiratory arrest at a young age of 55.
What does that show? Is the entire
0:12:31.760,0:12:39.360
hypothesis of Suzanne C. Kobasa a faulty one?
I don’t think so. I have my own example in
0:12:39.360,0:12:46.400
front of me having similar (though not the same)
traits in my personality. And I cannot write off
0:12:46.400,0:12:53.680
hardiness that easily. I’m quite healthy in
my 70s while I am speaking these lines. As
0:12:53.680,0:13:00.560
you already know, although I was born with myopia
and contracted viral arthritis which then turned
0:13:00.560,0:13:07.520
into rheumatoid arthritis in six months, I
was able to cure both with central fixation.
0:13:07.520,0:13:13.040
I see a huge potential in
Kobasa’s hypothesis of hardiness.
0:13:13.040,0:13:20.480
A Newer Personality Style: Lightness
I would like to change a few things in Kobasa’s
0:13:20.480,0:13:28.320
hypothesis. First of all, I would change its name
from ‘Hardiness’ to ‘Lightness’. Next, I would
0:13:28.320,0:13:37.680
change its traits from ‘commitment, control and
challenge’ to ‘interest, insight and adventure’.
0:13:37.680,0:13:44.320
Hardiness, in general, can be heavy but
we need it to be light rather than heavy.
0:13:44.320,0:13:50.320
Doesn’t matter if it is hard or soft.
If it is light, it’ll be able to fight;
0:13:50.320,0:13:56.800
like traveling light is always way more manageable
than traveling with a lot of heavy stuff.
0:13:56.800,0:14:02.480
Commitment, as a structure of the mind,
requires us to believe in it. And belief
0:14:02.480,0:14:08.880
turns the mind heavy. On the other hand,
interest is an instinct generated out of
0:14:08.880,0:14:17.920
curiosity. We don’t need to believe in it. Thus,
curiosity keeps our mind light. At the same time,
0:14:17.920,0:14:26.560
it is much hardier and lighter than commitment.
Control evokes conflict. It makes our mind even
0:14:26.560,0:14:33.520
heavier. Insight, on the other hand, keeps it
light because it arises directly out of the
0:14:33.520,0:14:41.040
lightness of curiosity and interest. Therefore,
it is more effective in creating change.
0:14:41.840,0:14:49.040
Challenge, again, evokes conflict rather than
passion or joy. It fills us with pride which,
0:14:49.040,0:14:53.440
in turn, makes our mind heavy.
Adventure, as an instinct,
0:14:53.440,0:15:01.920
is the better alternative. It has very deep roots
in our psyche and it keeps us light and agile.
0:15:01.920,0:15:08.240
These three traits – interest, insight
and adventure – do a splendid job of
0:15:08.240,0:15:14.080
keeping us healthy. They are effective even
under the toughest of biological stresses
0:15:14.080,0:15:20.560
born out of an ever-changing environment.
Psychological stress doesn’t even stand a
0:15:20.560,0:15:27.920
chance because it vanishes the moment we become
carefree and ‘light’ by emptying our mind. We
0:15:27.920,0:15:34.720
don’t need to be heavy like dinosaurs. We just
need to be light like birds. That is perhaps why
0:15:34.720,0:15:42.240
the next phase of evolution after dinosaurs gave
rise to birds. This brings us to the question,
0:15:42.240,0:15:48.080
“How can people be trained to adopt
lightness as a personality style?”
0:15:48.080,0:15:54.320
That is easy. Skeletal Leap already has a well
researched and documented system of opening
0:15:54.320,0:16:02.480
chakras through skeletal re-posturing. Once the
re-postured skeleton becomes one’s first nature,
0:16:02.480,0:16:10.560
the opened chakras allow energy to rise through
the body. Then comes guided meditation. It pulls
0:16:10.560,0:16:19.520
the Kundalini upward relieving the body of stress.
This ascension of energy along Sushumna from the
0:16:19.520,0:16:25.360
coccyx to the crown chakra is the same as the
neural communication along the vagus nerve from
0:16:25.360,0:16:33.600
the gut to the brain. The entire process results
in a state of perennial joy and unbound passion,
0:16:33.600,0:16:40.800
turning the mind empty and hence light.
In our following episodes, we will see
0:16:40.800,0:16:48.240
how this process unfolds, step by step.
Thanks for listening to this episode of
0:16:48.240,0:16:55.280
Skeletal Leap: A Living Adventure! In the
next episode, I will tell you about how
0:16:55.280,0:17:03.360
skeletal re-posturing opens chakras through
completing our bipedal skeletal evolution.
0:17:03.360,0:17:07.280
Be a part of Skeletal Leap Community! Subscribe to
0:17:07.280,0:17:12.720
Skeletal Leap Newsletter. Click on the
link in the description to subscribe.
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