Ever wonder why you get goose bumps on your skin when you face danger? Well, that would be cortisol at work! Although, it is possible for a variety of emotions to trigger goose bumps, the ones that are most disruptive to health are when they are frequently generated by fear and distress.

When we experience imminent threats our bodies produce elevated levels of the steroid hormone cortisol from the adrenal glands. This occurs to release glucose energy into the bloodstream to be used as an extra fuel source to escape or to deal with immediate danger. Once the action is taken, the released cortisol in the blood is then consumed. If cortisol is not utilized by the body immediately and accumulates over time then it becomes a toxin. Living with unhealthy levels of cortisol mixed in the blood is a common condition in the US culture.

In our fast paced, inpatient, short tempered culture, reacting to minor disagreements with anxiety, stress and anger is normalized. Many allow their sympathetic nervous system to run wild, so to speak.  In addition to poor diet, their blood pressures are often high because they react to circumstances regularly for situations that wouldn’t be considered emergencies. From the inside, the body doesn't know the difference between real and false emergencies. So, if individuals are upset because their sports team lost a ball game or getting angry at store clerks over missed out sales, the body senses these emotional outbursts as serious threats. It only knows to react to stress with hormones particularly cortisol. Again, long-term elevated cortisol in the bloodstream can be toxic and eventually produce major health problems, including the sleeping disorder insomnia.

So how do you reduce the threat of frequently elevated cortisol? With meditation off course!

Meditation is a great way to calm the body from duress. The goal is to master calming the body through meditation, breathing exercises and improving heartbeat rhythm which helps reduce the frequent release of cortisol into the bloodstream.

Follow these steps to prepare a meditating session:

• Schedule and designate 10 minutes out of the day for meditation.

• Find a quiet place with a chair to sit on for tuning out external activities and to reduce distractions.

• Perform deep breathing exercises only through the nostrils with eyes closed. (remember the nose is for breathing, mouth is for speaking)

• During breathing exercises, first concentrate on listening to your breath and after a few minutes listen to your heartbeat.

• Get to a state of relaxation and try not to fall asleep. The goal is to be aware of internal body activities.

• Monitor thoughts that randomly pop up into the mind but don't act, just observe them. Remember some of these thoughts come from the subconscious mind that you may not be aware they exist. During this phase, hidden thoughts will be revealed to you and may uncover traumas from the past that you are currently unaware are holding back your psychological development.

• Perform this task for at least 10 minutes every day until you learn to fully master calming your body. Just like anything else that requires mastering, meditating demands daily practice.

Meditating and performing deep breathing exercises helps individual to relax and improves heartbeat rate to a healthy rhythm. Knowing how to calm your body is a great skill for improving health.

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