Under optimal conditions, our bodies welcome stress. In fact, they were built for it! Part of the joy of being alive is to use your body, mind, and spirit to the fullest – hiking up a mountain, solving a challenging problem, or engaging fully in a loving relationship with a partner, child, family member, or friend. But under suboptimal conditions – when we’re hit with more stress than our resources can handle or when we don’t give our bodies the support they need – our bodies suffer and become less able to recover.