Lon's Article Directory » Fitness

Fun Ways to Keep Stress at Bay

arobinson2010 — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:25:39 +0000

Managing stress doesn’t have to include a trip to a therapist. In fact, many people who are able to conquer their stress have found other more enjoyable ways to do so. Sometimes, overcoming stress just takes a little more creativity and some time off for your brain. When you are able to change the way you are looking at your life and relaxing your body at the same time, stress doesn’t have to cause any worry. In fact, you might find that stress is more under your control than you may have realized. Stopping stress can even be fun.

Keep Your Mind Off Stress

A good way to keep your mind off stress is to create a practice of arts and crafts. When you take some time to create, your mind will be occupied with that moment and not with the things happening around you. You can then begin to change the way you feel about your stressful situation. Often, in creating something new, you activate the part of the brain which is designed to problem solve. Though you may not be actively thinking about your stress, your brain is working on it. By the time you’re done with your craft, you may understand what steps you need to take.

Finding Comedy in Your Life

Laughter encourages your body to release feel good hormones. When you do this, you will be able to resist the stress hormones which your body creates when it is tense. Instead of focusing on the bad things in your life, try to give your body a break with comedy. Watch funny movies or head to a comedy show. In doing so, you will remind yourself there is more to life than just being dour or scared of the future. You can begin to change your attitude and you can reverse the stressful feelings altogether.

Bringing a Pet Can Help Manage Stress

A pet is not only something that children can enjoy, but having a creature to take care of (one who loves you unconditionally) can help you manage stress. Going to play with a cat or a dog will allow you to forget about your own worries for a while and enjoy this special time. You might also find that having an animal to talk to or to help reassure you after a stressful moment, allows you to come down from your feelings of anxiety and relax. Of course, you will want to choose a pet who is not going to cause you more stress, so finding one which is low maintenance and which fits into your life is best.

There are many fun ways in which you can prevent your stress from taking over your life. Try using one of these this week to see how you feel as a result.

The trick with stress management is that you might not know how to begin. You may be so accustomed to being stressed that you know no other way. Instead of simply giving up, you can use a program like Stress Sweeper to find out whether you’re reacting to stress in a positive or a negative way. This training tool will help you understand how to change your reaction to stressful situations. The Stress Sweeper program works by measuring your body’s response when an ear clip is attached to your ear lobe and then connected to your computer, simply and conveniently helping you control your stress even if you don’t feel stressed out. You can train yourself to be relaxed – even during the most stressful times. By taking control and becoming aware of your stress, you can change your life. Visit http://www.healthreviser.com/content/stress-sweeper

Are You Running Away from Stress?

arobinson2010 — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:21:16 +0000

No matter what you do or where you are, you are going to run into stress. How you handle this stress determines whether the stress is helpful for you or if the stress is harmful for you. Choosing to run away from stress is one of the more common reactions, though it does not necessarily solve the problem. When you choose to run away from the things which stress you, you are simply choosing to avoid the stress, causing it to be all the more impactful when you finally face it down.

Signs You’re Avoiding Stress

Many people simply want to avoid the stress they encounter. To do so, they will find ways to explain away the stress they feel or they might take to blaming a situation on someone else in order to create positive feelings in themselves. When you’re running away from stress, you might find:

• You get angry often
• You have muscle tension and headaches
• You tell people often that you’re never stressed

The truth is that everyone encounters and manages stress on a daily basis. While some might manage it better than others, not acknowledging the stress in the first place can also lead to more problems. In order to solve any problem, you need to admit that it’s taking place.

A Positive Way to Run Away From Stress

Many people don’t want to talk about their stress for fear of sounding depressing during conversations. But that isn’t necessarily true. Though you may feel you are complaining all of the time, instead of looking at stress in this way, you should try recognizing that these constant complaints are merely a sign that you need to change your life. Ask your friends for help, for guidance as you manage your life – and you may be surprised at how they can truly help you. Write in a journal about the stress you’re feeling if you don’t want to talk to others. Just getting the stress out and away from you may be all that you need to change.

Recognizing Stress for What It Is

Stress is not necessarily something that happens to us. Stress is actually our reaction to the things outside of us. And stress is often something we can control. By looking at stress from this objective point of view, you can see how you are the one who can change the way your body and mind respond. Simply by realizing that stress is not impossible to control, you can begin to see that stress is something which can be overcome.

Your stress will always find you, no matter how far you might run. Instead of simply running away, face your stress, acknowledge it for what it is, and then find ways to feel better about yourself and the situation.

Stress and the Hormone Connection

arobinson2010 — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:21:13 +0000

Many people don’t realize that stress is not just something which happens to us. Stress is a complex system of reactions which begin in the body in response to the outside stressor. While the argument with your spouse might have triggered the stress, your body begins a system of chain reactions in which chemicals are released to ready you for a fight. In early times, this reaction made sense as stress came from being chased by a bear. But in today’s world, when our bodies may not be threatened in the same way, the hormones being released are causing more harm than good.

The Adrenaline Response To Stress

If your body feels that it’s going to be attacked, it prepares itself. Your body will begin to tense up and it will produce adrenaline. This chemical will give your body a shot of energy which will allow it to fight the stressor or to run away from the stressor. This is a natural process and one which has been taking place since the beginning of time. But to a certain extent, this process is outdated. While it will still work in times of physical stress and the threat of bodily harm, when you’re stressed about work, this response isn’t necessary. Instead, your body begins to produce more and more adrenaline, causing your adrenal system to work in overdrive. This frays your nerves and causes your body to always feel stressed.

Stressed Body Produces Cortisol

In addition, the body begins to produce another chemical called cortisol. This chemical has a number of negative effects on the health of your body. Studies have shown that cortisol can cause the body to be at a higher risk of diabetes, cancer, and other chronic disorders. In addition, the body will also be more likely to gain weight in the midsection, where health risks rise even more. A stressed body will continue to produce cortisol over and over, flooding the body with this chemical. To reduce the cortisol in the body, the only solution is to stop the stress.

Stress Relaxation – Stopping the Hormones and Chemicals

While adrenaline and cortisol do have their place, in modern society, you need to remove these chemicals from your body as quickly as possible. The best advice is to avoid the stress completely, helping to make sure that you aren’t releasing the chemicals in massive amounts. Using stress relaxation techniques and eating a health diet will begin to help you support your body’s stress response. But you can also begin to notice when your stress is likely to arise, and then you can take action before it even has a chance to begin. In time, you will be able to keep your body at a low stress level, and thus keep those chemicals in short supply.

The Best Supplements for Managing Stress

arobinson2010 — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:21:11 +0000

Your stress is something which should not control you; you should control it. When you are willing and able to take steps toward stress relief, you are not only helping yourself to feel better, but you are also protecting your body from harm. Long term stress can begin to impact your body and your health, leading to illness and chronic disease. To help you in your quest to protect yourself from stress, you might want to look into supplements to help you with your feelings of stress, before, during, and after these situations. But just like any drug, you should always discuss adding supplements to your health plan with your doctor first.

Begins Stress Management With a Good Nutritional Base

Stress protection begins with a sound nutritional base. When you’re eating regular meals which are filled with vegetables and fruits, you will be able to change the way your body responds to stress. Instead of becoming depleted after a stressful time, your body will be able to rebound easily, allowing you to feel more like yourself. When you are less stressed, you will be able to manage the stressful situation and move through it without any troubles. Each subsequent stressful situation will also be easier, helping you to become a calm and more relaxed person.

Adding Vitamin C to Recover From Stress Damage

When your body is under stress, it produces a number of hormones to help you deal with these feelings. Though your body is doing the right thing, it is also producing something called cortisol. This chemical can cause you to gain weight and to be at a higher risk of disease. To protect your body from this chemical’s release, add Vitamin C to your daily diet. This might be in the form of an actual supplement or you might want to add some citrus fruits or juice to your diet plan. This way, you can keep your nervous system happy and protect yourself from long term damage.

The B Vitamins Protect the Nervous System

The family of B vitamins works well to help you protect your nervous system as well. Try to find a B complex supplement which includes all of the major B vitamins and take this regularly. This will help your body manage the stress before it begins, while also helping to level your moods. You can also find high levels of B vitamins in red meat and liver, though you should eat these foods sparingly.

With supplements and solid nutrition, you can make sure your body isn’t harmed by the stress you may not be able to avoid. Though you can not protect your body from all stress, reducing the stress which can ‘get through’ will allow you to feel better as you begin to find techniques which help you keep the stress away.

How to Handle Family Stress

arobinson2010 — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:21:05 +0000

While you might love your family completely, that doesn’t mean they can’t make you feel stressed much of the time. With such close family ties, you not only know about the other’s good qualities, but you are also going to see many of their not so good qualities on occasion. Since many people can have troubles when seeing their families and navigating the minefields of expectations and differences, it’s no wonder people can feel stressed even before they walk into a family member’s door.

Find the Source of the Stress

The key to handling family stress is to find the source of your feelings. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re looking for someone to blame, but it does mean that you might look for when you feel the most stressed. Is it during the holidays? Is it when someone talks about a particular topic? Try to write down any and all feelings about stress after you experience. This way, you can begin to see what is happening to you and how you might be able to manage it.

Talk It Out

Of course, the family stress is generally linked with one person or a few people. To manage your stress, you will need to talk to these people about how you feel, how you need them to change, and how you might change in order to help the situation. True, this might not be a comfortable conversation, but it is one which needs to be had. After all, disagreements can not be resolved if no one talks about what they are feeling. Spend some time with this family member away from everyone else, so that you can speak freely of your feelings and figure things out without the whole family getting involved.

Agreeing to Disagree to Mitigate Stress

At times, however, you may find you can not resolve a situation with a family member. They may simply not share the same ideas and values as you might, causing a rift which is difficult to close. Instead of worrying about how they should change or how you should change, it might be a situation in which you simply agree to disagree. Come to some sort of true which allows you both the chance to not only enjoy each other’s company, but also to avoid the problems which may have set off the stress in the beginning.

Stress may always be a part of the family experience, as the desire to be one’s self and to please the family are often at odds. By taking the time to acknowledge your stress, to talk about it, and to find ways to resolve it, you can not only begin to look forward to times with your family, but you can leave these gatherings feeling peaceful.

Stress and Addictions

arobinson2010 — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:21:03 +0000

Stress is a very personal experience. Though many people might experience stress in reaction to particular situations, the way in which we respond to stress is unique. For some, stress means they workout more. For others, stress, means they eat more. And for other still, stress means it’s time to indulge in addictions. Managing your stress without succumbing to addictions can be difficult, though it is not impossible.

Defining Stress Addiction

Many people believe that in order to be addicted to something, it needs to be an illegal drug or some other related activity. But many more people have addictions to seemingly innocuous things – food, over-exercising, shopping, etc. You can define an addiction as something which you do in order to handle feeling, but you do this activity without thinking about the consequences and you can not stop once you’ve started. Many addictions will interfere with your life as well, causing you even more stress than they seek to help.

The Common Food Addiction Caused by Stress

Eating to cope with stress is a common practice. For those who can not handle their lives, they turn to food as a way to comfort them and to make them feel special. Since food is typically used as a reward when you’re growing up, it’s very easy to take the feeling of reward and transfer it to a stressful day. When you’re feeling down, food can lift you up. However, if used too often, food can also cause weight gain, which can lead to more stress, and the cycle continues.

Chiropractic Care

danielaiden — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:26:13 +0000

At Beverly Hills Posture & Rehabilitation Institute, we offer an array of tools to improve your overall well-being. the experts Institute design a program individualized to your specific needs to eliminate pain and provide you with a healthier, more fulfilling life.

Through a combination of chiropractic care, physical therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, pre- and post-natal classes, personal training, yoga, Pilates or GYROTONIC®, the experts at Beverly Hills Posture Rehabilitation Institute design a program individualized to your specific needs to eliminate pain and provide you with a healthier, more fulfilling life.

Philosophy

Our philosophy of involving the patient extends to all forms of treatment. Although Dr. Ozar believes that spinal manipulation, as an alternative medical practice, is both restorative and less invasive than many medical procedures, it is not a tool that is necessary for every patient. If manipulation is necessary, Dr. Ozar consults the patient before treatment so that there are never any surprises. Further, Dr. Ozar believes in manipulating the spine only when the muscles and joints are limber, so all chiropractic treatments are preceded by at least 45 minutes of massage therapy and/or acupuncture to loosen the muscles.

Women’s Health Center

Pregnancy is one of the most exciting and beautiful events in a woman’s life, but it can also take a physical toll on her body. The added weight of the baby coupled with the hormone induced increase in flexibility of the joints and muscles can cause pain in the low back, hips and pelvis, an inability to sit for long periods of time, reduced range of motion, and painful sex. By teaching the mother how to strengthen her core muscles and improve her breathing patterns, Pilates and Gyrotoic help prepare her both physically and mentally for the challenges of childbirth.

Why Pilates?

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends daily, low impact exercise for all healthy pregnant women. It’s been shown that expectant mothers who exercise have shorter labors, easier deliveries and greater self esteem. Pilates is a fantastic, non impact way of improving overall strength and stability, something that pregnant women lose as their homones surge and their muscles and joints become hyper mobile.

An expectant mother’s abs will stretch over 50% of their original length during pregnancy. It’s therefore imperative that they stay strong. Abdominal training in pre-natal Pilates focuses on the transversus or deepest layer of the abdominals. A strong transversus supports the growing uterus, decreases pressure on the lower back and pelvic floor, helps control the size of diastasis recti that usually occurs around 20 weeks, and assists the mother in regaining her pre-baby body postpartum.

Why Beverly Hills Posture & Rehabilitation Institute?

We at BHP believe in the importance of training expectant mothers for the nine month marathon of pregnancy and childbirth. Our teachers are certified in pre-natal Pilates and Gyrtonic and our facility features a full gym as well as three private Pilates rooms. On staff, we also have two physical therapists, an occupational therapist, an acupuncturist, a massage therapist and Dr. Walker Ozar — a highly trained, respected chiropractor who also happens to be the father of three and has seen first hand, how important pelvic floor training is to a successful, pain free pregnancy.

What to expect ?

First, a patient will need to fill out a set of Patient Forms providing us with your medical history and the reason for your visit. These forms can either be filled out and sent online or else in the office before your first visit.

Dr. Ozar often prescribes Pilates and Gyrotonic to his patients to help them build the necessary muscle strength to maintain their pain free state

Resourse box:

Learn More about chiropractic care at Beverly Hills Posture & Rehabilitation Institute, we offer an array of tools to improve your overall well-being.

About Author:

Walker founded the Beverly Hills Posture & Rehabilitation Institute. Call today (310-659-9911) to schedule your appointment at Posture Correction beverly hills, to your specific needs.

Boost Your Health and Immune System – Natural Ways

arobinson2010 — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:18:01 +0000

While there might be a number of medical innovations available to help you when you are sick, the truth is that nature already has a variety of things to offer you in order to help you stay healthy. Instead of taking expensive supplements or going to numerous doctor visits, you can harness the power of the Earth to help you stay healthy, even when everyone else is coming down with the latest bug that’s going around.

Heading Out in the Sun Safely

One of the problems with the modern lifestyle is that people aren’t going outdoors as much anymore. Since we all have indoor jobs and we tend to stay inside at night, we’re not getting the health benefits of being in the sun. While it is true that excessive sunlight exposure can increase your risk of skin cancer, small doses are essential for your health. When you go out in the sun and expose your skin, the sun activates the skin’s ability to make Vitamin D. This vitamin has been shown to help boost your immune system, and it’s current being studied for its ability to treat and prevent cancer. Just fifteen minutes of unprotected sunlight a week will help you get your vitamin boost.

Choose the Healthy Vegetarian Lifestyle Sometimes

While meats are a normal part of our diets today, turning to a vegetarian meal plan more days of the week will help you to boost your immune system. The natural vitamins and minerals in the class will help your body prepare itself for germs in the area. Try to make at least three of your meals each week meat free and you will see a difference in how you feel. These meals will be gentler on your digestive system, helping to keep the intestinal flora at a beneficial level which boosts the immune system.

Do Outdoor Activities To Clear Your Head

Heading outside is something that allows us to disconnect from the hectic pace of the world. Leaving the cell phone and the computer at home, try to head outdoors at least once a week to connect with nature. This will help to reduce your stress levels, which is going to help you boost the functioning of your immune system. You need to have some downtime during the week. And getting some exercise will also help your body be stronger and better able to resist disease.

With the help of nature and natural techniques, you can begin to feel healthier at any time of the year. Nature has a lot to teach us about taking care of our health. It seems to have all the answers which we may not be able to find from other information sources.

The Health Snapshot program helps you look into the state of your health every day. As you check in with your health levels each day, you will begin to see that your health is changing daily. This will allow you to make health decisions based on the findings. And in many cases, you can do things to make yourself feel better, based on the seven levels of readings you see on the computer screen. Painless and quick, the Health Snapshot program makes sense for those who don’t want to spend all of their time or money at the doctor’s office. Be careful though, like any other program it’s not a doctor replacement and not a treatment for any medical need. Visit http://www.healthreviser.com/content/health-snapshot

How Often Do You Need a Health Checkup?

arobinson2010 — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:17:58 +0000

For many people, going to the doctor is something they avoid unless they feel something is terribly wrong. But is this the best attitude to have? Going to the doctor can be a helpful way of track where your health is at in order to make changes before small problems become bigger issues. There is much debate as to how often you should go to your doctor for your checkup, and your health insurance plan might also have something to say. Only you can make the decision for your health whether to head to the doctor regularly or only as needed.

Different Ages, Different Guidelines to Keep Health

What you need to keep in mind is that there are ages when it is more appropriate to go to the doctor regularly. Patients without existing conditions who are younger don’t have to go to the doctor more than once every other year, even every two years. Women should try to go to their gynecologist every year for a checkup, but even then if they’ve had pap tests without problems, they might be able to skip an annual visit. Those patients who are 50 and up might want to go to their doctors more frequently in order to get visits which can help to watch any medical issues.

Health Check When You’re Sick or When You’re Well?

Many people only go to the doctor when they are having a significant problem. This is often the case when someone doesn’t have insurance or they are afraid of doctors. For many people, waiting until they are sick is a good plan. They may not have regular health concerns which need to be checked. But as a person becomes older or they want to make sure their body is healthy for certain events – pregnancy, a big athletic event, etc. – it can help to schedule more doctor’s visits.

Good to Have Your Own Health Checkups Too

You can also check up on your own health with health monitoring equipment. More readily available than ever, these tests can help spot any troubles you might be having before they are out of control. In order to make sure you are in tip top shape, you can use these health monitoring systems on a regular, even daily basis, and then visit your doctor if the results don’t add up.

When you head to the doctor, you will be able to get a clear picture of your health and where it might be headed. In the end, it’s your choice as to whether more or fewer appointments work for you. But when it comes to your health, having a doctor support you is a good idea, even if it is only when you are sick.

Is Your Health History Set in Stone?

arobinson2010 — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:17:56 +0000

You may know that your family has a lengthy history of problems in terms of health. And while this might seem like a sort of ‘death’ sentence when it comes to having good health, your genes aren’t the only things which matter when it comes to your health future. You have more control over your body and how it will act in the future than you might think. While genes certainly play their role, they are not the only thing to affect your future days.

What Genes Can Do

When someone has a disease, it can be caused by a variety of conditions. For example, perhaps your mother and your mother’s mother had troubles with heart disease. As a result, you might believe you have no way of avoiding this condition. While there might be a genetic component of this condition, with the hearts of the women in the family having troubles, but there is usually more than just genes to consider. Perhaps the women in the family also ate a lot of meat or were not generally active in terms of exercise. You need to consider all of these factors when you look at genetics – and most of the time you will see that you have more control than you think.

How to Fight Your Genes

How you treat your body often helps you more than your genetics hurt your body. If you start having good health habits right now, you will begin to see the benefits. By switching to a more active lifestyle and eating healthy foods, you will support your body and help it to avoid the risks which might be increased by your genetics. You can also make sure that you are getting health checkups earlier so that you’re able to take medications if needed to slow down damage in your body.

Balancing Genes and Lifestyle

While genes can impact your health, they should serve more to help you see what you can do about your health. Instead of looking at a history of heart disease as something you can’t avoid, you can look at this as an opportunity to start heart healthy habits right now. In doing so, you will begin to change the way your heart works, protecting it as much as you can. Knowing that you might be at risk can be the motivation you need to maintain a lifestyle that is healthy.

When you take care of your health, you will be able to change the way your health history turns out. And perhaps this will help you to pass on healthier genes to others in your family. Maybe the next generation won’t have to worry about the health woes of the past.