You are a spiritual being living a human experience, and that experience comes with a vehicle: your body. In a world that often separates the mind and the body, we are now recognizing what ancient wisdom and modern healing have always known—that your entire being is an interconnected system.
In our previous discussion, Stress and the Spirit, we focused on the spirit as the “why”—the intrinsic source of purpose and life force, and the impact stress has on it. If the mind is the “what” (your thoughts and intellect), then the body is the “how.” Your physical self is the vehicle through which you process emotions, act on your beliefs, and interact with the world. It provides the sensation, movement, and tangible connection necessary for your human journey. However, when the inevitable pressures of life overload the system, your body bears the most immediate and painful physical burden.
The Stress Trigger: Understanding Cortisol
Stress is a universal truth of life. The problem isn’t the presence of stress itself, but the body’s prolonged reaction to it. This reaction is managed by the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, often referred to as the body’s central stress response system.
When you perceive a threat—whether it’s a physical danger or just a looming work deadline—your adrenal glands receive the signal to release a cascade of hormones, chief among them, cortisol.
Cortisol is essential for survival. It’s the body’s natural alarm system, famously known for fueling the “fight-or-flight” response. Its immediate function is to:
Boost Energy: It rapidly increases glucose in the bloodstream, providing quick energy to large muscles.
Halt “Non-Essential” Functions: It temporarily suppresses systems deemed unnecessary for immediate survival, such as the digestive, reproductive, and immune systems.
Increase Alertness: It raises blood pressure and heightens senses.
In a healthy system, once the threat is gone, cortisol levels drop, and the body returns to baseline. However, in modern life, stress is often chronic—it doesn’t disappear when the lion runs away; it continues to build with financial worry, relationship conflict, or job pressure. This results in chronically elevated cortisol, which is highly toxic to the body.
The Physical Cost of Chronic Cortisol
When cortisol remains high, the functions that were temporarily suppressed become long-term problems. The body starts to break down, moving from an alert survival state to a state of systemic depletion and malfunction.
1. Immune System Dysfunction and Inflammation
While acute stress can temporarily boost immunity, chronic elevation has the opposite effect. Sustained cortisol levels suppress immune function by inhibiting T-cell activity and reducing the white blood cells (lymphocytes) needed to fight off infection. This dysregulation increases your susceptibility to infections [Immunology of Stress: A Review Article]. Furthermore, prolonged stress can lead to cortisol resistance, where cells become desensitized to cortisol’s anti-inflammatory signals, resulting in persistent and widespread inflammation throughout the body [The Link Between Cortisol, Inflammation, and Disease]. This inflammatory state contributes to various chronic diseases.
2. Cardiovascular Strain and Damage
Chronic stress keeps the heart working overtime. Cortisol increases heart rate and causes blood pressure to rise, which, over time, can damage blood vessel linings. High cortisol levels are linked to an increase in blood cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar—all key risk factors for heart disease [Stress Can Increase Your Risk for Heart Disease]. This promotes the buildup of plaque deposits in the arteries (atherosclerosis) and increases the long-term risk of heart attack and stroke [Chronic stress puts your health at risk].
3. Digestive Chaos and Weight Gain
The gut is highly sensitive to stress. Chronically high cortisol diverts blood flow away from the digestive tract, leading to issues like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcers, and acid reflux. Furthermore, cortisol is strongly linked to visceral fat storage (fat around the organs). Cortisol signals the body to store energy in preparation for the perceived emergency, specifically targeting the abdomen, which significantly increases the risk of metabolic issues like type 2 diabetes [The Role of Insulin and HPA Axis in Metabolic Syndrome].
4. Musculoskeletal Tension and Chronic Pain
The persistent “ready state” of fight-or-flight keeps muscles perpetually tensed—a reflex known as muscle guarding [Stress effects on the body - APA]. This constant clenching, especially in the “tension triangle” of the neck, shoulders, and jaw, leads to chronic muscle knots, tension headaches, and amplified pain perception. The body is literally bracing for impact that never comes, resulting in myofascial pain and restricted movement, and can exacerbate conditions like fibromyalgia [10 Strange Things Stress Can Do to Your Body].
Holistic Solutions to Reset the Body
The key to healing is not to fight stress, but to signal safety to the body and down-regulate the HPA axis. Since mind, body, and spirit are one, the solutions must address the system holistically.
As a provider of integrative wellness at Soul Trine, we rely on these five modalities to help the body truly reset:
1. Massage Therapy: The Physical Release
Massage is a powerful intervention because it directly counteracts the muscle tension caused by cortisol. Studies have shown that massage therapy can reduce cortisol levels by an average of 31% while simultaneously increasing serotonin and dopamine (the body’s natural antidepressants) [Clinical Review on Massage and Cortisol Reduction]. By manipulating soft tissues, massage physically forces the nervous system out of sympathetic (fight-or-flight) mode and into parasympathetic (rest and digest) mode. Services like the Emotional Reset Massage are specifically designed to release the stagnant energy and tension patterns held deep within the muscle fibers.
There are key points in the body I look for when people say they are stressed. What I’m looking for are abnormal pain sensitivities and/or abnormal muscle fibers or connective tissue within certain parts of the body, and then throughout the body. I’ve worked on someone who was so stressed out that she could barely move her joints or relax her joints for her massage. This woman was the initial reason why I created the Emotional Reset Massage. Her session stuck with me because I was unable to support her with just a Swedish Massage; she needed more support. This is also another reason why we don’t offer Swedish Massage. Krysten and I look forward to supporting people who need deep emotional, physical, and spiritual support, as well as the people who just need maintenance to knock the edges off that they picked up from the weeks prior.
2. Inositol (Myo-Inositol): The Hormonal Helper
Inositol, often referred to as Vitamin B8, is a naturally occurring sugar that acts as a secondary messenger in the body, crucial for cell signaling and hormonal regulation. While not a direct cortisol blocker, myo-inositol is strongly linked to improving mental health and metabolic function, which in turn helps down-regulate the HPA axis. Specifically:
Neurotransmitter Modulation: Inositol enhances the signaling of neurotransmitters, particularly serotonin, which plays a key role in regulating mood and anxiety. By improving mood stability and reducing anxiety—often the root cause of chronic stress—it lessens the constant activation signal being sent to the HPA axis [Inositol: Benefits, Side Effects and Dosage].
Insulin Sensitivity: High cortisol is often associated with insulin resistance and erratic blood sugar. Myo-inositol has demonstrated efficacy in improving insulin sensitivity, which helps manage blood sugar and circulating insulin. Since insulin and cortisol have a bidirectional relationship, improving one system naturally eases the burden on the other, helping to stabilize the stress response [The Role of Insulin and HPA Axis in Metabolic Syndrome].
Sleep Quality: Inositol supports the serotonin pathway, which is essential for melatonin production, thereby enhancing overall sleep quality. Better, more consistent sleep is one of the most effective ways to lower daily cortisol peaks [Inositol: Benefits, Side Effects and Dosage].
3. Reiki and Energy Work: Restoring Flow
From a holistic perspective, unresolved stress chokes the body’s natural energy flow. Reiki focuses on balancing the body’s energy fields to promote relaxation and healing. The practice has been linked to positive changes in the autonomic nervous system, showing a measurable reduction in anxiety and pain in clinical settings [Reiki and Polyvagal Theory]. Specific studies have even demonstrated that Reiki reduces blood cortisol levels in patients with cardiac disease, highlighting its capacity as a major HPA axis down-regulator [Reiki in Cardiology Trial].
4. Meditation: The Mental Pause
Meditation is one of the most studied and effective tools for stress reduction. By training the mind to observe thoughts without judgment, it breaks the feedback loop between the mind (the ‘what’) and the body (the ‘how’). Meta-analyses confirm that meditation efficiently reduces cortisol levels, especially for individuals in stressful life situations or those with existing somatic illnesses [Meta-analysis on Meditation and Cortisol]. Regular practice has been scientifically linked to structural changes in the brain that improve emotional regulation and reduce stress reactivity over time. If reducing stress is your goal, try the Emotional Reset Massage. If you feel the stress in your muscles, try the Custom or Deep Tissue Massage.
5. Somatic Regulation: Releasing Trauma Held in the Body
Somatic regulation works directly with the nervous system, validating the body as a source of wisdom. This modality helps clients access “ventral vagal safety” by activating the vagus nerve through gentle awareness and mindful movement [The Science of Somatic Massage]. The body often stores stress responses as physical “holding patterns” of bracing or freezing; somatic practices help to safely complete the stress cycle by deliberately encouraging the release of these tensions. This process allows the body to finally signal genuine safety, interrupting the chronic cycle of cortisol release and building long-term resilience.
Your body is not just a container; it is the physical narrator of your spiritual and mental life. When stress becomes chronic, it leaves physical evidence—in the tight knots in your shoulders, the discomfort in your gut, and the feeling of constantly running on fumes.
Recognizing the symptoms of a body saturated with cortisol is the first step toward healing. By actively integrating services like massage, Reiki, meditation, and somatic regulation, alongside nutritional support, into your life, you are not just treating symptoms; you are fundamentally reprogramming your nervous system, turning the volume down on the stress response, and inviting your mind, body, and spirit back into harmonious alignment.
Sources (Hyperlinked)
The Link Between Cortisol, Inflammation, and Disease (News-Medical)
Stress Can Increase Your Risk for Heart Disease (University of Rochester Medical Center)
The Role of Insulin and HPA Axis in Metabolic Syndrome (MDPI)
Stress effects on the body (American Psychological Association)
10 Strange Things Stress Can Do to Your Body (Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials)
Clinical Review on Massage and Cortisol Reduction (International Journal of Neuroscience Abstract)
Reiki in Cardiology Trial (European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing Abstract)
Meta-analysis on Meditation and Cortisol (Health Psychol Rev Abstract)