Yoga Exercise Styles

With yoga being as popular as it is there should be no surprise that there are many different yoga exercise styles. Some of today's yoga exercise styles have been around for hundreds of years while other yoga exercise styles have been created and based off some of the most common yoga postures and poses. Yoga exercise styles vary in level of difficulty; almost all of the styles are broken down into beginner and advanced levels. The yoga postures used, will depend on the level of the yoga exercise style you are practicing. Each yoga exercise style has a specific purpose and uses different methods and yoga postures.

Hatha yoga is one of the more laid back yoga exercise styles. Most often Hatha yoga is a slow paced yoga class. It is most commonly designated as the best yoga exercise style to take part in when just beginning to practice yoga. These are because of it slow pace and ease into each of the yoga postures use d during a session. This yoga exercise style uses many different areas of each style of yoga. It does this by introducing the beginner level yoga postures of each different yoga exercise style.

Vinyasa is another yoga exercise style that encompasses many different styles of yoga. The word vinyasa translates to mean a series of breath synchronized movements. This yoga exercise style is more energetic than Hatha yoga. Vinyasa uses a group of yoga postures called sun salutations. Vinyasa is a yoga exercise that will start off slow with a series of sun salutation yoga postures as a method of warm up and then move into more intense yoga postures and stretches.

One of the more popular forms of yoga exercise used today is Ashtanga yoga. This type of yoga is also commonly referred to as Power yoga. Power yoga is one of the most intense forms of yoga exercise practiced. It involves a series of yoga postures; each of the yoga postures is always perform ed in the same sequence. This yoga exercise style is very physically demanding because of the pace needed to keep up in the class when switching yoga postures. It is not recommended for beginners. Bikram yoga is another of today's most popular forms of yoga exercise. Bikram yoga is also known as hot yoga. During a hot yoga session you will complete a series of 26 yoga postures in a room that is 95 to 100 degrees. The idea behind practicing these yoga postures in a room that hot is that is acts as a way of body cleansing because of the profuse sweating one will experience. Also do yoga postures at that temperature will allow for your muscles to loosen fully, meaning you will be better able to do the yoga postures given to you.

It is best to consult with your doctor before deciding which yoga exercise style would be best for you. Some styles may be too strenuous to begin with.

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An Introduction to the Benefits of Meditation

What Is Meditation?

The word meditation' conjures a variety of images in people's minds, depending on their experiences, beliefs and prejudices. For some people the word stirs deeply spiritual ideas, whilst for others, images of calm tranquillity and deeper self understanding. For those new to the idea of meditation, it may be associated in their minds with purely religious practice, although this is certainly no longer the case. There are many benefits of meditation which have well established backing in the medical world, and there are many types of meditation to suit all individuals, regardless of religious beliefs, or even if they have no religious belief at all.

Much of the practice of meditation can be traced through the traditions of yoga, which were brought to the West from India, and so there are deep roots within Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and other Eastern traditions, but in fact the practice of meditation predates this introduction from India, and the concept flourished in the world of martial arts, where focus, concentration and the health benefits were long recognised an essential part of the training.

The idea of using meditation to relax the muscles and calm the mind has long been used in counselling procedures, and with an increase in the amount of stress and chaos of our modern daily lives, these techniques have been shown to have a dramatic effect. Those who work in psychotherapy see people every day who are suffering from the stress of work, family, finance or other concerns, and consider meditation in one form or another to be an integral and essential part of not only the healing process, but in providing a way of dealing with the continuing life after the counselling is over.

Meditation has many forms, and the purposes of meditation and the benefits depend upon the type of meditation performed. The medical world, in particular those who work in both psychology and physiology agree that the practice of meditation actually has a measureable effect on the brainwaves, and that we enter a state of consciousness which is distinct from our normal everyday awareness. It is believed that this changed state of awareness not only has health benefits that are physical, such as cardiovascular health, but can lead to a deeper understanding of oneself.

Within this context of both physical and mental well-being, there are two main types of meditation, although each may take on different forms, and the benefits of meditation may vary depending upon the type practiced. One type, usually referred to as mindfulness' has the person focussing on keeping an open mind, and not focussing on any one particular thing. Instead, they try to shift focus so that no particular concentration on a problem, question, object or concern occurs, but instead the mind is repeatedly brought back, and encouraged to skim along the surface. The other type is quite the opposite, and encourages the person to focus very deeply on one object or thought, to the absolute exclusion of anything else.

Both of these types of meditation share the same general benefits, of taking the mind, or at least the conscious mind, away from the everyday troubles and concerns, and into a place that is calm. In so doing, the body responds by relaxing the muscles, and if performed for a reasonable length of time, and regularly, the long term health benefits for the body are very established and meditation should be considered as beneficial physically as it is for the mind.

People often assume that in order to meditate it is necessary to sit on the ground, in a form of yoga position, but this is not the case. Certainly there are forms of meditation based in the yoga tradition that do encourage this method, but it is by no means the only form, and not always the most practical either. It is perfectly possible to practice meditation whilst walking, or doing some other repetitive task even knitting!

The Benefits Of Meditation

The benefits of meditation are twofold there are those for the mind, and there are also those benefits for the physical body. The two elements of a person are not, of course, separate and distinct. The healthier a person's mind, then often the healthier they are physically. Often it is clear that those people who are healthy and live a good long life have a positive attitude, and a healthy mind, whereas it is also very obvious that people can think themselves ill, and become physically poor in health merely by dwelling on the idea, or on stressful or negative things.

Our world, and our mind, are busy places, and sometimes it seems as though we have no time to stop and think. If we don't have time to stop and think, then clearly we cannot be doing much thinking! Think of it a little like running your bath the tap is on, and the water is rising, and we manage very well. But eventually, unless we learn to turn the tap off or pull the plug occasionally, the bath w ill become full, and the water will simply begin flowing over. Meditation has been likened to the idea of turning off the tap, reducing the level of the water, and allowing room for fresh ideas or thoughts. In this way, one of the many benefits of meditation is considered to be the way in which it helps to open our minds to new ideas, to new levels of creativity. Not surprisingly, those who are highly creative people in one field or another, whether it be science or art, are often those who practice meditation. Because there are so many types of meditation, it is not always obvious that this is what is being done, but Both Einstein and Edison were firm practitioners of mediation, and no one can argue that their minds weren't open to new ideas and positive creative thoughts!

Aside from the clear psychological benefits, there are many physical ones too, and through developing an ability to quieten the mind and calm the body, the breathing slows down, the pulse slows , blood pressure reduces and the whole body relaxes. It has been shown to improve blood flow, and for those with high blood pressure or recovering from heart problems or surgery, this has shown to be of huge benefit.

Meditation has also been proven to reduce the risk of anxiety attacks, muscle tension and even improve conditions such as arthritis and certain allergies. During meditation the level of serotonin, a chemical produces naturally by the body, is increased. Serotonin is directly responsible for the way we feel, and so meditation can trigger a physical process that results in us feeling happier, less depressed or anxious, and in turn this can help those who suffer from headaches, insomnia, low esteem or low self confidence and negative behaviour such as anger. Many phobias have been decreased in severity or even cured through repeated meditation.

Additionally, meditation has been demonstrated to have a positive impact on the immune system, by in creasing the rate at which the cells in our body that combat infections are produced, including bacteria and even cancer. Ultimately it is quite clear that almost anyone can benefit from the health advantages that meditation can bring, and improved health and welfare is in turn likely to lead to a better quality of life, and a longer one.

Types Of Meditation

There are so many different forms of meditation that there is almost certainly one for everyone, regardless of spiritual, physical or environmental conditions or limits. Generally, after looking at the various types of meditation there will be one that seems to stand out more than the rest, and usually this is the best one to try, at least to begin with.

The three main forms are known as insight, visualization and mantra, although each of these has many different forms too. The first type, insight meditation, encourages you to clear your mind of all thoughts, and to focus on something such as your breathing. By concentrating entirely on your breathing, you try to clear your mind of all thoughts, and this can help to create a sense of oneness, and of peace and clarity.

The second method of meditation is visualization, and in this the person has a clear goal in mind for example, to have a more peaceful life. During the meditation they would focus enti rely on this goal, and visualize in their minds the goal coming true, creating a clear picture of what their life would be like if they achieved that goal, how they would see themselves. Often the best way of achieving something is to regularly visualize it being the case, and meditation of this type not only has all the benefits of other forms, but helps to create a greater chance of the goal being realized.

The third type is the mantra, often the one most commonly imagined when the word meditation is used. Most often this involves the person making a repeated sound the most well known being either om' or ah, alah'. By making these chanting sounds, the mind is cleared of thoughts, and the sound or mantra becomes the only thing that is being focussed on or thought about. Not only this, but some sounds, such as om' create a deep resonance in the body, and help to stimulate it, generating a number of health benefits. Some mantras, such as the ah, alah' have deep sp iritual meanings in some religious faiths too.

Certainly it is quite clear that meditation helps us to achieve peace, a more open mind and consequently a mind more open to new ideas, and greater welfare physically, resulting in better health and a better quality of life. Clearly these benefits don't occur overnight, and meditation is a practice that should be followed on a regular basis. Indeed, it is the regular use of meditation, and its anticipation, that generates a good deal of the benefits.

Whether practicing alone, in your own home, whilst out walking , or as part of a group, you will be able to find one of the types of meditation which best suits you and how you feel about it, and you may even feel that some of the benefits of meditation suit your particular needs and that therefore one particular form is of greater benefit to you. No matter what your beliefs or circumstances, there will certainly be a form of meditation to suit you, and to prov ide greater peace, creativity and well being in your own life.

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The Health Benefits Of Meditation

The STRESS of Daily Living

So, Why Meditate? In order to talk in-depth about meditation, we first need to talk about stress. In today's world, we're constantly having our attention pulled on by family, work, this commitment, that engagement, the other dance recital or soccer game. And for those of us who've added the commitment to live a healthy and fit lifestyle to the mix, the demand only compounds. I mean, it's not like modern culture is encouraging us to eat right and exercise. We have to Intentionally make wellness a part of our day-to-day lives. All these commitments compound upon us over time, often causing us STRESS. the enemy of our lives. Some consider stress to be hands down the #1 killer of mankind today, and experts believe that many of our diseases have their roots firmly planted in it's deep toxic soil.

What makes stress so dangerous is how our body naturally responds to it. Under intense emotional, physical or psychological pressure, our bodies release a corticosteroidhormone called cortisol. At high levels this hormone causes, high blood pressure and blood sugar, a lowered immune system, hair loss, weight gain, heart disease shall I continue? The point is simple: Stress bad, very bad.

The good news is stress can be, if not totally removed from our lives, at least managed to the degree that your day can be defined by the good that you've experienced in it and not the things that stressed you out. dealing with stress is a skill that must be learned, we humans don't do it naturally. Animals like the zebra don't go around in the Serengeti with high blood pressure and receding hairlines, because well for one, they don't actuallyhave hairlines, but more importantly because their brains only have two responses as it relates to stress: on and off. So, right after a pride of lions has finished running roughshod all over a zebra heard, the zebra can be seen placidly grazing and even playing and mating with each other. We, on the other hand, thanks to the neocortex, ornew brain, (that outer layer that sits atop our reptilian brain), have gradations of stress depending on the situation. We can be a little stressed, moderately stressed, very stressed or "SOMEBODY GI VE ME A GUN!!" stressed. As a result, we can go through an entire twenty-four hour period or more in complete nail-biting mode, not because of a lion attack, but because Sarah told us to get lost, or Jimmy took credit for our work on the job.

Enter Meditation

So, what is meditation and how can it help to reduce stress? Simply put, meditation is the act of returning the attention again and again to a point of focus. This may seem overly simplistic, particularly when I suggest that it can virtually eliminate the negative stress response, but I assure you, both as a six year practitioner and based on the empirical evidence, meditation is the real deal!

There have been literally thousands of scientific studies on the various forms of meditation over the past 40 years that have yielded some interesting findings. Meditation is not the same as deep rest or sleep or daydreaming. It has its own physiological marker and is characterized by high levels of mental alertness, coupled with very low levels of physiological arousal which means your body is at complete rest, while simultaneously your mind is completely alert. It's important to get out of your mind the idea that you have to "space out", or go into a trance in order to meditate properly. However, the mindwill naturally descend into alpha, theta and sometimes even delta brain states. Alpha is the mental state we're in when, say reading a book or studying. Theta is the state our brains are in when we're asleep and Delta is when we're in the deepest sleep state.

We also use less oxygen when meditating, in fact, in a whole night's sleep our oxygen levels never go down as much as they do within 2 minutes of meditation. This causes more blood to flow to our extremities. The point is that Meditation is a physiologically unique state.

Traits Associated With Meditation

Let's talk a little about meditation and the biomarkers of aging. Studies have found that the contrasting physiological markers of aging between meditators and non meditators are stark. For example, it's been found that the "real age" (or the actual physiological age of the body) of a meditator is 5 to 12 years younger than that of a non meditator. Other studies have shown improved vision and hearing and lower levels of cancer and heart disease. Also Lowered blood pressure and elevated levels of melatonin characterize the regular practitioner. Essentially, with meditation, you just have less stress and a younger physiology, and really that alone is enough of a reason to begin a daily meditation practice.

How to Meditate

There are two types of meditation practice for you to choose from:
1. Meditation with form
2. Formless meditation

Meditating with form simply means that you choose an object to focus on during your session. You can use an object, such as a candle or maybe an appealing vase. But the "form" isn't limited to a physical object. The form can be your breath, an emotion like love or compassion. you can focus your attention on your heart. Even thinking on a loved one is okay. The idea here is to find a point of focus.
Formless meditation is actually the opposite of meditation with form. It's the dissolution of attention, the cessation of thought. This is the more difficult type of meditation and should be practiced after you've gotten comfortable with focusing, because that open mental space that characterizes Formless meditation is in itself a form to focus upon and if you can't focus onsomething, you'll be unable to focus onnothing.

A Basic Practice

It's important to wear comfortable clothing so that blood can freely flow and to avoid being distracted by discomfort. choose a quiet place in your home. Ideally you should designate this place as your place to practice. If you do, with time, you will automatically begin to enter into a meditative sate as soon as you go to that place. You may want to purchase a meditation mat and cushion (I got mine fromdharmacrafts.comand after six years, it's still in great condition). If not, a comfortable chair is just fine.
Sit erect in your chair so that your back isn't touching the chair. Resting back on the chair will cause you to go to sleep because your back muscles will not be engaged. rest your hands, palms up or down, on your lap. Sit up straight. Your spine should be erect and head tilted slightly downward. Ensure that the tip of your tongue is on the roof of your mouth, just behind your buckteeth. You may either close your eyes, or leave them open, holding a "soft" gaze upon the floor a couple of feet in front of you. Now make yourself yawn at least three times. Yawning triggers a relax and focusing response in your brain, getting you in the state of meditation. It's actually one of the best thing you can do for your brain(For more on this, I recommend the book, "How God Changes Your Brain" by Andrew Newberg, M.D. and Mark Waldman).
Next, inhale slowly through the nose. As you do, notice how the air cools your nostrils as it passes through your nose and travels down the windpipe. Follow the journey your breath takes down to your stomach. Avoid allowing your chest to expand too much. Instead, you want your belly to rise as you breath in. Imagine that the air is filling your stomach and not your lungs. Mentally count this breath as "one".
Next, gently release your breath into a full exhale, expelling all of the air. exhale until your diaphragm tightens a bit. count this as "two". Continue the cycle up to ten breaths and then count back to one.
When you get distracted, and you will, start over at one. This is meant to develop your concentration muscles. Once you're able to count from one ten then back one for two cycles without having to stop, your ready to inquire into more advance forms of meditation.
There are numerous meditation courses that are available today, but if you want to teach yourself to go beyond the basics then I highly recommend purchasing a program called the Integral Life Practice Starter Kit, available at amazon.com.

A Few Tips About Meditating

As a six year practitioner, I've been meditating for about as long as I've been working out with Beachbody programs, so I learned a long time ago to incorporate them both into a single practice, both for efficiency and for efficacy. As soon as I complete my P90X+ or One on One routine, I immediately down my recovery drink and head for my meditation mat. Studies have found that working out and meditating together has a cross-developmental effect, which simply means that each practice is enhanced by the other (go to integrallife.comfor more info on the cross-developmental effects of meditation and weight training).

Don't feel as though you have to sit for an hour like some enlightened master. Studies show that the health benefits of a daily meditation practice can be realized in as little as 5 to ten minutes. I sit for anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour. The sitting time isn'tas important as committing to sitting daily. Sitting everyday for five minutes is much better than sitting once a week for 35 minutes. However, if you get off track, don't feel guilty, just begin again. It's not a contest, it's a life long journey.

It's important not to beat yourself up over losing focus during meditation. In meditation circles these mental distractions are called "the monkey mind" because your thoughts are constantly popping in and out and back into your head, distracting you from your point of focus. When you allow yourself to become frustrated during your sitting practice, you're actually sabotaging your efforts. What I do as soon as I become aware that I'm ruminating on unwanted, distracting thoughts (and after six years it still happens all the time) is imagine those thoughts as leaves floating on the surface of a stream. I watch them come and then allow them to gently go, then I return my attention back to my heart, or my breath or an emotion, whatever my point of focus is that day.

When outer distractions occur, like your kid coming in your room looking for something, or your spouse starting the vacuum cleaner just outside your door, or the yard guy whacking weeds outside your window (can you tell that I've been there?), you don't have to let it shut down your session. Remember that you can notice a distraction withoutbeing distracted. just patiently wait for the distraction to end and even get excited when they occur because they are wonderful opportunities for you to exercise patience and focus.

The immediate effects of meditation, (e.g. feelings of peace and relaxation) are all well and good, but the "golden" effects of a daily sitting practice are realized over the span of time. The most important benefit that I've acquired over time was an elevated level of tolerance to things that , five years ago would have sent me reeling. My threshold for BS has dramatically increased. I liken it to a wall of protection. A levee even. Years ago, my wall was pretty low, so that when stress came along like a raging river it would breach my levees, causing me to flip out. Now, my levees are much higher so that I'm emotionally protected against even a Katrina-sized stressor.

I was pretty excited, when encouraged by a couple of coaches to write this article, because my meditation practice is very important to me. It is, like P90X, a practice that I can point to and be able to say without controversy that it changed my life for the better. And I'm confident that it can do the same for you!

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Stress Management Tips. Great ideas to manage stress

Getting stressed is a normal reaction if you have too many things you next at the same time. But more and more tattered isn crack under pressure? to handle the T way. You need to tighten some stress management tips in the face of the pressure and keep themselves from degradation.

One of the biggest causes of stress at work. take care of themselves about the security of jobs, which leads to the significant workload and will commute daily by your work with it much pressure.

Studies have shown that stress can cause serious negative effects on your health and well-being. Heart problems are just one of the physical manifestations of stress you feel. If you bring your stress at home as well, it can also seriously impact on your personal relationships.

Before your life reaches this point by stress, you need to take action to give them from happening. Instead of always resorting to dealing with negative stress, there are other ways for you to ap proach stress in a healthier way. Here are a few tips to stress management will help to overcome stress.
Stress Management Tip # 1: Give yourself a break. Yes, that? Law. To be able to better cope with stress, you need to step away from what you do? Re doing and you will get all energy. Work under pressure and end, while your duties? Repeatedly emphasized, only down and wear you could have an impact on your performance. Move away from a stressful situation, even for a brief moment to breathe easier and will help give you a new perspective.

Stress Management Tip 2: Have the whole day. It doesn? T have to do something complicated and lengthy. You can enjoy it, reassuring from a hot cup of herbal tea, especially with regard to ease with soothing properties, or buy yourself a little massage your pain.

Stress Management Tip # 3: Are there. If you? Re juggling too many things at once, you tend to forget how to plan your work properly. Create a list of everything you need to do, and arrange them in order of urgency, and when they are required. This will he lp you stay focused on the things that should be done immediately instead turn your attention to those who aren t as urgent.

Stress Management Tip # 4: Say? No? to take on more responsibility. You already have too much on your plate and not much time to work on them, that is the reason why you? Torn and stressed again and again. You don? T need to take more responsibility. But don? T worry that won? T make you look irresponsible and not in the position. If you tell a hard time? No? Additional work, just think of all the work, you need to do, and the time you don? T have to get more work.

Stress Management Tip # 5: Get help. You may want to help talk to a friend or a loved one vent your frustrations, or perhaps even from what you distracted? With your causes stress. Confirm that you? Again, not in a position to do anything don, and? T hesitate to get help around the office.

These stress management tips don? T sound too hard, right? When you first stress under control? Ll be able to work more efficiently and then go to enjoy a happy and fulfilling life.

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Stress Management Techniques Made Easy

Managing stress effectively can be within anyone's grasp. To learn how to de-stress and make your living easier, simple lifestyle changes are required. Awareness couple with balance and moderation can be the key to Stress Management. If you are serious about managing stress effectively, be mindful about the daily choices you make and take the following crucial steps which are easy to follow:

The first step to stress management is to identify the causes of stress in our lives. Whether it's your house, job, career, family, money, just figure out what is causing you to be stressed. If you have bad habits that you turn to, change your attitude. Once this is done, and identified, the next step is to change the way you view it at the first time. Adopt a new mind set. Learn how to change your perception of life. Perception that agrees with your inner mind that no matter what happens, you'll never be stressed. Some people only work a few hours a day and are hardly ever confronted with deadlines, but they are stressed than those working long hours to tight deadlines. This shows how we perceive the situations of our daily life that generate stress. Believing in yourself. If we belief that our happiness is based on what we do and that people get fired for missing a deadlines, then stress will your companion. S to control our emotion, we must belief in ourselves and we must believe that no one can hurt us without our permission, deadline or not. You have to train your mind in other to achieve this level of belief, because it does not come easily. But with practice, there is nothing that cannot be achieved. Accept the things you can't change and thank God for the things you can change. The best way to manage stress is to accept the situations it is. Don't try to control the situation which is not under your control especially the behavior of other people. To change your situation for effective stress management, you have to avoid stressors. For many people this can be as easy as learning to say NO. For others it's learning to control your environment, avoid hot topics, and avoiding people who stress you out. Setting limitations on what you are able to do and the time to get them done. If you can't avoid a stressor, learn to alter it instead. Be assertive in expressing your feelings after a compromise. Manage your TIME to avoid conflicts. To change your reactions to life issues, you'll need to adapt or accept the stressor. Adapting to stress requires changing one's perception and thoughts about stress itself. Instead of thinking about the situation in a negative light or getting mad, think positively and try to find a positive perspective. Accepting stress means not trying to control things that are uncontrollable. Look for a silver lining or an upside to the situation. Learn to share your feelings and forgive when things don't go as planned. These strategies can reduce the level of stress that occurs in our daily life. Start the day with a smile. Repeat some affirmations about having a good day in the morning. Have some affirmations like "like I'm Having A Great Day or I'm Having A Wonderful Day" posted somewhere you can see them in the morning. Also try to smile and laugh more than before. Feigning laughter or saying ha ha ha ha ha will help you to relax. Remember the saying that says "Laughter is the best medicine." Many muscles are at work when you laugh and it goes beyond your face to your body, mind, and then your spirit. Laughter ultimately reduces stress and makes you to relax.

All of these techniques combined works together as a management system to eliminate stress and keep a healthy body, mind and spirit.

"For more info on stress and how to live a stress free life visit http://www.no-more-stress.In"

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Stress Management - Professionals Teaching the Exact Stress Management

Certified professionals of Stress Management handle how to educate people about this condition. Certified organizations accredit these professionals and should have complete diploma, certification or training that deals in handling stress. They design the system used for these professionals to improve our health and control the negative impact of the stress. The method of training system is relying on the usage of positive effects through paced breathing to improve the respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). The certification programs and seminars alter from one country to another, and these organizations have certain variations.


Teaching the exact method to handle stress is a science and an art at the same time, based on the scientific developments conducted in recent years. Managing stress is all about taking charge, which involves your thoughts, emotions, daily schedule, environment, and how you deal with problems. Today, new studies about stress control a re becoming frequent, and it is important for many professionals to update themselves with these developments.

Moreover, stress management is a kind of art, the effectiveness often relies on how well teachers apply it. Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics, engineering, and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in decades that are more recent become commonly used in popular parlance. Typically, it is a personal problem for many individuals, and one solution they consider is get their exact needs to handle stress on a personal level. To discuss the valuable knowledge effectively, the speakers must know how to handle the problem and gravitate to the extent of their audiences, regardless of their line of works.

Moreover, educating how to manage stress require precise communication. Teachers involving on this issue need to count on the mastery of the certain subject. Patients or the audience need to know th e ins and outs of stress, as well as the structure of effective management. Stress control starts with identifying the sources of stress affecting our lives. Remember, true sources of stress are not always obvious, and it is all too easy to overlook them. Sure, you may know that you're constantly worried about work deadlines. However, maybe it's your procrastination, rather than the actual job demands, that leads to deadline stress, thus every individuals react to stress differently. For such instance, doctors experience different types and level of stress from patients.

To conclude, many stress management experts become stand-up comedian, hence we agree that laughter is the best medicine - proven by the experts! Many experts give more flavors to their lectures with positive sense of humor capturing the audience participation and making it easier to get important points, though others may not think the idea as favorable.

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Train Yourself on Stress Management to Handle Your Life Better

Life can be very stressful these days due to a variety of reasons. Humanity is progressing faster and faster and the increasing pace of technological progress can put a lot of demand on our lives. Our ever increasing connectedness and always-on always-available status can also become an annoyance as well as a blessing. Hence, awareness of stress, its causes and how to handle it is critical for anyone willing to improve and become better at what they do. This article explores various types of stress and what symptoms to look for to know if you are getting stressed.

Types of Stress

Stress can be categorised to the following two types:

Internal Stress. These are mainly psychological problems such as worrying about something, inability to do something promised, lack of confidence and so on.

External Stress. These stresses are mainly produced by physical conditions and the environment a person lives in such as a noisy environment, cold weather, abusive relationships, bullying, being intimidated and so on.

Amount of Stress

Another way to categorise stress is based on the dimension of time. There are generally two types:

Acute Stress. These are basically short term behaviour in response to an immediate threat that needs to be addressed. As long as the threat is active, you will feel stressed. Your heart rate goes up, there is adrenaline rush, you feel much more aware of your soundings and are sensitive to additional stress. When the threat is reduced, you will return to normal behaviour and your body's function gets restored as well. You heart rate gradually drops to normal and you will breath normally too. Effectively this is a fight-or-flight reaction. Examples that can lead to such stress are overcrowding, loud noise, violent threat, aggressive bullying and so on.

Chronic Stress. These stresses are continuous and usually persist unless addressed. For example, stress due to work pressure and meeting deadlines, isolation, academic worries, giving presentations and public performances, financial worries and so on.

Symptoms

It is useful to be aware of the signs of stress. A lot of times people who are stressed, especially the chronic stress, don't really know how damaging the stress can be over time and knowing that they are indeed stressed can be a first step in moving forward to handle them.

There are basically 4 types of symptoms to look for:

Physical symptoms. The easiest and most familiar symptoms of stress are physical. Examples are increased heart rate, sweating, dry mouth, nausea. Prolonged physical stress can lead to long term physical problems such as backache, migraine, high blood pressure, ulcers, loss of hair, weakened immune system and so on.

Behavioural symptoms. Another class of symptoms that are easy to spot are behavioural in nature. Examples are: increased alcohol consumptions, pacing around a limited area, nail biting, lip chewing, increased smoking, severe daydreaming, eating too much, eating too little and so on.

Emotional symptoms. It may not always be obvious that these emotional symptoms are due to stress so it is important to keep an eye on them. Examples are: depression, crying, hopelessness, shouting, anger, high sensitivity, irritability, impatience, anxiety and so on.

Cognitive symptoms. These are the by-products of being stressed. Examples are inability to concentrate well, overreacting to small events, difficulty in making decisions, forgetting, rushing into decisions, paranoia and so on.

Handling Stress

Stress can be handled in many ways though most solutions go through the following three main stages.

1. Recognise and accept that you are under stress. The first step to accept the problem. If you think you have a problem, you are unlikely to do anything about it. Recognise the signs of stress. Look for symptoms and ask yourself why you should suffer from these symptoms. Are you always tired? Are you feeling that life is becoming repetitive? Are you suffering from lack of sleep?

2. Search for causes. Once you know you are getting stressed, search for the causes of stress. Look at your daily life. When are you most stressed? Look for what you do just immediately beforehand. As you saw earlier, chronic stress may be the result of prolonged stress. So you may have to study yourself more to see what leads to your stress. When you are generally stressed, even small things can prove to be a chore. It is easy to point at them as the cause of stress, though this can be a mistake. Maybe you have been simply sensitive about it and the root cause of your stress is something else, something more fundamental than the little event. Search and examine your life to find out.

3. Deal with the issue. The last step is to accept the problem and devise a strategy to deal with it. Draw up actions and commit yourself to them. Set reminders to check yourself periodically to make sure you are following up with your actions.

As you can see, dealing with stress can be systematic and methodical and all it takes to reduce your stress is to commit yourself to deal with it.

One way to get trained on stress management is to attend stress management training courses. Alternatively, if you have overstressed staff and want to reduce their stress levels, you can use stress management training materials and setup a course on stress management to teach them how to handle their stress more effectively. For details on training resources see below.

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