EXERCISE AS STRESS MANAGEMENT

Many relaxation techniques popular today incorporate breath counting in their routine for its relaxing and therapeutic effect on the participant. Yoga, massage and meditation all use breath counting or deep breathing to achieve a relaxed and more inward perspective for the practitioner. Breath counting is the process where one begins to breathe deeply and slowly while counting each exhale as one. Each
time you reach 10, you start over. If you let your mind wander and stop counting or lose focus on the count, you should then start over. This is an excellent way to slow your day down and focus your attention on something other than the daily stresses that you face.

Weight training, by definition, is a series of exercises done for a specific number of repetitions, done while breathing deeply and slowly. This is very similar to the breath counting used in meditation. By focusing your attention on the form and breathing required in weight training, you slowly release the tensions of the day that you came in with. The inward reflection necessary to achieve the mental connection with the working muscle will be greatly enhanced if you focus more of your attention on proper breathing and form and less on the outside stresses that you bring with you to the gym.

Since you have made the commitment to take the time and come to the gym, you should strive to focus only on what you are doing in the gym. The outside world will still be there when you are done, but maybe stepping away from
your concerns for a short time will offer you a new perspective when you return to them.

----Bob Dempsey