Ever wondered why life is just so darn loud? Why refrigerators have to hum, why car alarms last for hours, or why people walk into a yoga studio talking on their phone?
An article in today's Salon.com caught my eye: it says that noise, white or otherwise, is polluting our world and slowly stealing our lives away from us. Not just distracting us--slowly killing us.
It's worth a read. My favorite part: "Not only can too much loud noise damage your hearing, or disrupt your sleep, it can literally suck the life out of you thanks to the human body's fight-or-flight response. "The human auditory system is designed to serve as a means of warning against dangers in the environment," explains Louis Hagler, a retired internal medicine specialist in Oakland, Calif. "Noise above a certain level is perceived by the nervous system as a threat."
The body responds to that threat with an outpouring of epinephrine and cortisol, the so-called stress hormones. "Your blood pressure goes up, your pulse rate goes up, there is a sudden outpouring of sugar into the bloodstream so the body is prepared to meet whatever threat there is in the environment."
All the more reason to make the yoga studio a sanctuary. When you consider the fact that your practice starts as you enter the room, turning off your cell phone and iPod outside the room and talking quietly (if at all) will become acts of compassion and peace toward your fellow classmates and teacher.
enjoy: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/06/25/noise_pollution/index.html
An article in today's Salon.com caught my eye: it says that noise, white or otherwise, is polluting our world and slowly stealing our lives away from us. Not just distracting us--slowly killing us.
It's worth a read. My favorite part: "Not only can too much loud noise damage your hearing, or disrupt your sleep, it can literally suck the life out of you thanks to the human body's fight-or-flight response. "The human auditory system is designed to serve as a means of warning against dangers in the environment," explains Louis Hagler, a retired internal medicine specialist in Oakland, Calif. "Noise above a certain level is perceived by the nervous system as a threat."
The body responds to that threat with an outpouring of epinephrine and cortisol, the so-called stress hormones. "Your blood pressure goes up, your pulse rate goes up, there is a sudden outpouring of sugar into the bloodstream so the body is prepared to meet whatever threat there is in the environment."
All the more reason to make the yoga studio a sanctuary. When you consider the fact that your practice starts as you enter the room, turning off your cell phone and iPod outside the room and talking quietly (if at all) will become acts of compassion and peace toward your fellow classmates and teacher.
enjoy: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/06/25/noise_pollution/index.html
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