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Top 10 Stress Reduction Exercises

Does exercise reduce stress? Yes. Exercises involving bodily activity are highly helpful in overcoming stress and generating a feeling of well being. Stress leaves a lot of pent up energy inside your body, it is just like winding up a watch, exercising unwinds this energy and leaves you feeling relaxed. Rigorous exercises cause endorphins, pain relief chemicals, to be released in the body which creates a sense of relief and pleasure.

Exercise and stress control go hand in hand, a lack of physical activity causes incremental build of stress in the body and mind. Here in this article we will discuss several stress reduction exercises that can be practiced with convenience.

Stress Relief Exercises

Cycling – An excellent stress relief exercise. There is nothing better than a long haul up a silent road on your bike to feel completely stress free. Cycling is an excellent aerobic exercise and it provides a good workout for your heart and lungs also. Cycling is ranked as the best stress relief exercise by many people.

Swimming – A low impact stress reduction workout. This is a no impact exercise and is very beneficial for relaxing the wound up muscles in your body. People suffering from joint pains, who cannot indulge in rigorous exercises, can enjoy a long swim to get all the benefits of impact oriented aerobic exercises.

Jogging – Best aerobic exercise for stress control. When you return from a hectic work day, just change into your tracks and get your running shoes on. No matter how tired you feel, a jog can lift your spirits especially because of the endorphins that get released during this exercise. Aerobic exercise and stress control are inseparable; the rich oxygen flow to the various muscle groups, during aerobics, creates a generous sense of well being.

Walking – If you are suffering from a high blood pressure problem or some other ailment that prevents you from running or cycling, then walking is your best bet. Make sure you take long strides and walk briskly at good pace so as to give a good workout to your heart and lungs. Walking along scenic roads and walkways will relax your mind while the exercise relaxes your body. Hiking by far is known to be one of the best stress reduction exercises around.

Weight training – Hitting the gym for a bout of weight training workout is one of the best ways to beat stress. If you are feeling restless, angry or agitated at the end of a work day, a half hour rigorous weight training will have your pumped and refreshed.

Cardio workouts – You can hit the treadmill or the static cycle if you live in an area not suited for open air jogging. Interval training is easier to perform in a gym because you can time yourself easily and keep pace with your heart beat and pulse rate. A 5-10 minute bout of rigorous cardio workout followed by a period of relaxed running or walking is highly beneficial as it causes the body to release endorphins at a steady rate.

Yoga – For stress relief a combination of yogic breathing exercises and various yoga stretching exercises, called “asanas”, is found to be very helpful. The breathing techniques know as “Pranayama” involve rhythmic and controlled inhalation and exhalation which provides a rich oxygen supply to the brain helping it relax. You can learn pranayama at a nearby yoga class to understand various breathing exercises for stress relief. Asanas such as Balasana, Makarasana and Shavanasana can help stretch your muscles and progressively relax them.

Tai chi – You can achieve stress relief and improve your overall mind and body balance by incorporating the gentle movements of Tai Chi. These slow movements cause you to stay in the present moment and bring forth a sense of calm. These exercises are especially helpful for people suffering from lack of concentration or restlessness due to stress.

Outdoor Sports – Join up a club that has a tennis court or a racquetball facility and spend your evenings playing these sports. Not only is it relaxing to play but the interaction with fellow players allows for a greater sense of connection. Any type of sport which involves physical activity is good for this purpose.

Laughter – A natural stress reduction method. There are several laughter therapy practitioners around nowadays and you can enroll into one such facility or just practice it on your own. Laughter is known to be God’s own medicine, true that you may not feel like laughing at the end of a stressful workday, but this exercise is about inducing artificial laughter to gain the benefits of natural laughter. You will be surprised that a few bouts of artificial laughter can suddenly have you feeling really great.

Also Read: Stress Relief Exercises You Can Do Anywhere