Understanding chronic stress: what it does to your brain and body
In this free talk, yoga therapist in training and teacher trainer Holly McFee explains what happens inside the brain and body during the stress response, why modern life can keep us stuck in survival mode, and how you can begin working with your nervous system instead of fighting against it.
you’ll learn
• What happens during the fight or flight response
• Why cortisol is released during ongoing stress
• Why chronic stress affects sleep, digestion, immunity and energy
• Why it seems to be impossible to think clearly under pressure
• The difference between the stress response and the relaxation response
• How to activate your parasympathetic nervous system
understanding stress matters because
Most advice about stress focuses on what to do.
This talk focuses on understanding why stress happens in the first place.
Once you understand why your heart races, why your shoulders tighten, why sleep becomes difficult and why thinking clearly becomes harder under pressure, many of your experiences begin to make sense.
That understanding often becomes the first step towards proper change.