But exercise also has some direct stress-busting benefits. It's meditation in motion. After a fast-paced game of racquetball, a long walk or run, or several laps in the pool, you may often find that you've forgotten the day's irritations and concentrated only on your body's movements.

As you begin to regularly shed your daily tensions through movement and physical activity, you may find that this focus on a single task, and the resulting energy and optimism, can help you stay calm, clear and focused in everything you do.

Walk before you run. Build up your fitness level gradually. Excitement about a new program can lead to overdoing it and possibly even injury. For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends getting at least minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity.

Examples of moderate aerobic activity include brisk walking or swimming, and vigorous aerobic activity can include running or biking. Greater amounts of exercise will provide even greater health benefits.

Also, aim to do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. Do what you love. Almost any form of exercise or movement can increase your fitness level while decreasing your stress.

The most important thing is to pick an activity that you enjoy. Examples include walking, stair climbing, jogging, dancing, bicycling, yoga, tai chi, gardening, weightlifting and swimming.

And remember, you don't need to join a gym to get moving. Take a walk with the dog, try body-weight exercises or do a yoga video at home.

Starting an exercise program is just the first step. Here are some tips for sticking with a new routine or refreshing a tired workout:. Set SMART goals. Write down SMART goals — specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-limited goals. If your primary goal is to reduce stress in your life, your specific goals might include committing to walking during your lunch hour three times a week.

Or try online fitness videos at home. Or, if needed, find a babysitter to watch your children so that you can slip away to attend a cycling class. Exercise in short bursts. Even brief bouts of physical activity offer benefits.

For instance, if you can't fit in one minute walk, try a few minute walks instead. Being active throughout the day can add up to provide health benefits. Take a mid-morning or afternoon break to move and stretch, go for a walk, or do some squats or pushups. Interval training, which entails brief 60 to 90 seconds bursts of intense activity at almost full effort, can be a safe, effective and efficient way of gaining many of the benefits of longer duration exercise.

What's most important is making regular physical activity part of your lifestyle. Whatever you do, don't think of exercise as just one more thing on your to-do list. Find an activity you enjoy — whether it's an active tennis match or a meditative meander down to a local park and back — and make it part of your regular routine.

Any form of physical activity can help you unwind and become an important part of your approach to easing stress. There is a problem with information submitted for this request.

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If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. by Heather Moulder, J. But who has time for it? Yet doing nothing means succumbing to a burgeoning headache and painful tension in your neck and shoulders which inevitably leads to snapping at colleagues and loved ones.

And to help you go even deeper, get your copy of 5-Minute Stress Solutions for a step-by-step guide of proven stress relief and prevention strategies and a healthy, happier mindset.

If you want to keep your stress levels low, no matter the circumstances, then you need to understand what causes your stress so that you can prevent a large portion of it from ever happening. Most people think of stress as being caused primarily by external events and circumstances out of their control.

Think about what tends to trigger stress for you. Your brain is predisposed to think negatively and assume the worst.

Fight-or-flight is the automatic stress response triggered within your body when subjected to higher levels of stress. And so you end up. Worse is what happens to your body if subjected to long periods of stress called chronic stress. Chronic stress causes physical and psychological problems such as high blood pressure, depression, insomnia, and poor cardiovascular health.

For years, scientists believed that the brain was like a machine: great, but unable to change. Your brain is plastic, able to change based on new experiences called neural plasticity. It turns out that new thoughts create new neural pathways and repetition strengthens these pathways. What this means is that, through persistent practice, you can rewire your brain to:.

The best stress relief exercises should include in-the-moment stress relief, along with strategies to help you change how you think and process your thoughts.

Before moving on, I want to make clear that your lifestyle and the choices you make every day also play a big role when it comes to your stress levels.

Things such as:. And they directly affect your stress levels. I know that one of your biggest worries is time. Will you have time to implement the stress relief exercises below?

The short answer is yes. All of these exercises can be done in just a couple of minutes yet are incredibly effective. The key is to use them consistently because they work best if used regularly so that they become a go-to habit.

This exercise utilizes several mindful exercises that are known stress relievers: deep breathing, body scanning, and journaling.

Did you know that slow, deep breathing through your nose actually reduces stress levels? If you answered yes, ask yourself how often you use this information to your benefit. Picture it as vividly as you can: everything you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel. Visualization works best if you incorporate as many sensory details as possible.

For example, if you are thinking about a dock on a quiet lake:. Enjoy the feeling of your worries drifting away as you slowly explore your restful place. When you are ready, gently open your eyes and come back to the present. Don't worry if you sometimes zone out or lose track of where you are during a visualization session.

This is normal. You may also experience feelings of heaviness in your limbs, muscle twitches, or yawning. Again, these are normal responses. Listen to HelpGuide's guided imagery meditation. What you may not be aware of is that you can experience some of the same benefits at home or work by practicing self-massage, trading massages with a loved one, or using an adjustable bed with a built-in massage feature.

Try taking a few minutes to massage yourself at your desk between tasks, on the couch at the end of a hectic day, or in bed to help you unwind before sleep. To enhance relaxation, you can use aromatic oil, scented lotion, or combine self-message with mindfulness or deep breathing techniques.

A combination of strokes works well to relieve muscle tension. Try gentle chops with the edge of your hands or tapping with fingers or cupped palms. Put fingertip pressure on muscle knots. Knead across muscles, and try long, light, gliding strokes. You can apply these strokes to any part of the body that falls easily within your reach.

For a short session like this, try focusing on your neck and head:. Mindfulness has become extremely popular in recent years, garnering headlines and endorsements from celebrities, business leaders, and psychologists alike.

So, what is mindfulness? Meditations that cultivate mindfulness have long been used to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and other negative emotions. Some of these practices bring you into the present by focusing your attention on a single repetitive action, such as your breathing or a few repeated words.

Other forms of mindfulness meditation encourage you to follow and then release internal thoughts or sensations. Mindfulness can also be applied to activities such as walking, exercising, or eating. Using mindfulness to stay focused on the present might seem straightforward, but it takes practice to reap all the benefits.

But don't get disheartened. Using an app or audio download can also help focus your attention, especially when you're starting out. Listen to HelpGuide's mindful breathing meditation. The idea of exercising may not sound particularly soothing, but rhythmic exercise that gets you into a flow of repetitive movement can produce the relaxation response.

Examples include:. While simply engaging in rhythmic exercise will help you relieve stress , adding a mindfulness component can benefit you even more. As with meditation, mindful exercise requires being fully engaged in the present moment, paying attention to how your body feels right now, rather than your daily worries or concerns.

Instead of zoning out or staring at a TV as you exercise, focus on the sensations in your limbs and how your breathing complements your movement.

And when your mind wanders to other thoughts, gently return your focus to your breathing and movement. Yoga involves a series of both moving and stationary poses, combined with deep breathing. As well as reducing anxiety and stress, yoga can also improve flexibility, strength, balance, and stamina.

Since injuries can happen when yoga is practiced incorrectly, it's best to learn by attending group classes, hiring a private teacher, or at least following video instructions. Once you've learned the basics, you can practice alone or with others, tailoring your practice as you see fit.

Although almost all yoga classes end in a relaxation pose, classes that emphasize slow, steady movement, deep breathing, and gentle stretching are best for stress relief. Satyananda is a traditional form of yoga. It features gentle poses, deep relaxation, and meditation, making it suitable for beginners as well as anyone aiming primarily for stress reduction.

Hatha yoga is also a reasonably gentle way to relieve stress and is suitable for beginners. Alternately, look for labels like gentle , for stress relief , or for beginners when selecting a yoga class. Power yoga , with its intense poses and focus on fitness, is better suited to those looking for stimulation as well as relaxation.

If you're unsure whether a specific yoga class is appropriate for stress relief, call the studio or ask the teacher. Tai chi is a self-paced series of slow, flowing body movements. By focusing your mind on the movements and your breathing, you keep your attention on the present, which clears the mind and leads to a relaxed state.

Tai chi is a safe, low-impact option for people of all ages and fitness levels, including older adults and those recovering from injuries.