When we face depressive situations our minds and thoughts are usually clouded with worry, fear, anxiety and sadness. Needless to say, diverting our minds from these emotional states-at least temporarily- may help with dealing with them. Friends, one sure-fire way to accomplish this is through exercise. Aw, boy? Is he saying I have to go to the gym or jump down and do a bunch of push-ups, I dont feel like it and besides Im not in shape... If that was your initial response, dont worry, its not about muscle building or body punishment. Simple to moderate exercises can and will do just fine. However, I must stress friends that exercising-even 10-15 minutes or less-is quite helpful for handling stress as this engages the motor centers of the brain, making the blood flow away from the emotional activity center; consequently one becomes more receptive to positive thoughts. Now, based on my personal experiences with dealing with my problems and admittedly, on some bad days- in spite of how much I believe in positive thinking and all, Ive found the following exercises to be very, very effective as pick-me-uppers for the day. You will observe that they are Yogic in nature, however, as true as that is, I tend to think they are versatile enough for anybody to do. (As long as you keep in mind that the goal here isnt building muscle, just something to get our minds off stressful situations) Here are the exercises: 1. The Sun Salutations: The sun exercises stimulates and balances all systems of the body including the endocrine and nervous systems that have marked effects on our emotions, furthermore they induce deep breathing, which has been known over the ages to help alleviate many a stressful situation. Performed in rounds of 3, they actually are a combination of very simple movements executed in a flowing motion. 2. Hindu Push-Ups: These actually are best described as Downward-and-Upward Facing-dog-meets-Calisthenics. Nonetheless, these are quite simply great. As a matter of fact, I almost swore off Yoga for these babies till it dawned on me that its still Yoga, basically poses in motion. However as pick-me-uppers, these work. Hardly has there ever been a time when I did them and didnt almost immediately have lethargy and sadness thrown off and have enthusiasm, joy and happiness miraculously restored as positive replacements. Now, although these are my personal favorites, hey, feel free to explore whatever can get your heart-rate up such as simple jumping jacks, hikes in the park, jogging, dancing or even sex with the one you love. Combining these simple exercises with such drug-free factors as intentional positive thinking and proper diet (which ironically demands for abstinence from even the best of foods at time), I can confidently say one will be well on ones way to overcoming the problems and challenges we all face in our daily lives. Moreover, these principles form the basis of improved health naturally. So, when next stress starts to creep in and you need a relief, get in motion with your favorite activities. With exercise, even a little bit, does help. In Friendship, |
