Virtual stress
Virtual stress is a sneaky cause of various illnesses. Through the development of technology, it has crept into every verterbrae and muscle. It has been accepted as a part of life. Only a few people can live so genuinely in the moment that they do not experience virtual stress. By this I mean both the time spent on virtual devices such as computer, telephone and television in a position that statically opposes the earth’s gravity as well as the stress we experience when we fear or worry about things that are happening or might happen in the future. For whatever reason, people might not be able to escape that fear. They undergo that virtual moment for hours with tense muscles. The body still meets fear and stress with a primitive fight or flight reaction.
Primitive stress is based on a real dangerous situation and is released into muscle work, as a result of which the lymphatic circulation becomes invigorated. Muscles tensed up by virtual moments cause the lymphatic circulation to slow down, which again causes swelling and pain. Virtual stress carries through life and it has become accepted as if it were a natural part of it.
A guided SUOMAA sauna experience, peat, pump breathing and stretching are possibly the most effective and fastest ways to release virtual stress and also to normalize emotional well-being; lymphatic circulation increases, swelling reduces, muscles relax and thinking get clearer.
I have seen the group effect of virtual stress when observing a soccer team after a match. A lost game makes the players hunch, brings a frown on their faces or pulls their lips into a tight line, speaking turns into whispering or stops entirely. After going to peat sauna together and having dinner, speaking livens up, facial expressions have changed and the fighting spirit is back, lymphatic circulation is restored. A match that has been won causes euphoria, the stress of well-being. People laugh and smile easily, speaking is loud. After the sauna, speaking is normalised and the attitudes towards the next game is realistic.
Sauna creates a good feeling through the skin. When it is coupled with a suitable environment, imagery and soundscape, cleanliness – also the soul is balanced. Understanding differentiates virtuality from reality in a way that we start to sense moments as whole and real. The effects reach as far as alleviating pain and balancing sleep.
Leena Larva
SUOMAA, Aino Klinikka