The primary reason that stress management activities work are that they break the normal chain of events that lead to stress. If you do not take time away from your work and life responsibilities to exercise your body and mind, stress will result. If you keep a weight training log, it will help you get more benefit from your activities.
Yoga is an excellent example of a beneficial stress management activity. As little as 15 minutes per day of Yoga exercises expels the tension that is stored in neck, shoulders and back muscles, not to mention all of the stress that is stored in our mind!
You don't have to climb a mountain to meet a Yoga guru. In fact there are many outstanding Yoga books and web sites that can teach you all that you need to know. Practiced correctly, Yoga is both a body and mental exercise.
There are some basic Yoga exercises that are excellent for stress management. The most basic is called Savasana although some people spell it Shavasana. Either way, it has the slightly scary nickname of the "corpse pose". Don't let the name scare you though because the only thing it will kill is stress. As you recognize reduction in stress, keep your weight training log up to date.
This exercise teaches you to become very still and to systematically let every inch of your body relax until the stress just melts away. Amazingly, you'll discover that while you are concentrating on relaxing your body, your mind is relaxing at the same time.
Once you have melted away the stress, the next classical Yoga exercise, or meditation, concentrates on what is called your "chakras". Your chakras are energy concentrations, or centers, that are between your tail bone and the top of your head. Chakras are positioned right above your tail bone, immediately behind your navel, immediately below and behind your ribcage, in the center of your chest, in your throat, your forehead center, and immediately above your head.
These areas are thought to control your entire being. By using Yoga as part of your stress management activities you clear the stress form these areas and free your body and mind from the damaging effects of stress. Your weight training log will help you stay on track with your Yoga activities.
There are many stress management books that focus on Yoga as a stress management exercise. Yoga is easy to learn and can be mastered over a lifetime. If you make a serious effort to use Yoga some of the benefits are near instantaneous. Try Yoga as a stress management exercise, together with the maintenance of a weight training log and success is surely yours.
