Stress Busters
Stress Relieving Practices
Group Project Spring 2004
Stress Busters
• Definition: A stressor is anything that
throws your body out of allostatic balance.
– Most holistic traditions speak of balance or
harmony
– Can be an actual event
– Can be the anticipation of an actual event
Stress Busters
• Three Types of Stress
– Acute Physical
– Chronic Physical
– Psychological / Social
Stress Busters
• The Focus of our Project
– Addressing psychological and social stressors.
– Applying techniques and remedies to bring us
back into balance.
– Seeing which techniques and remedies worked
for the group.
Stress Busters
• Negative Effects of Stress
- Immune System
- Sex / Reproduction System
- Gastrointestinal Problems
- Memory
- Cardiovascular System
- Digestive System
Stress Busters
• Stress Relief Practices
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Cooking
Exercise
Miscellaneous
Bubble Bath
Meditation
Stress Busters
Exercise
“A stress free mind and disease-free body are the
birthright of every human being.
Only true spiritual knowledge can help us handle our
mind and bring us back to the present moment.
Breathing techniques, as well as meditation and
yoga, can be used as powerful tools to release
tension and negative emotions, helping one to live
more fully in the present moment.”
-Sri Sri Ravi Shankar addressing the United
Nations 50th Anniversary Celebration
Stress Busters
Exercise
Walking fast-
Women: 45
Men: 60
Painting-
45
60
Washing a car-
45
60
Playing tag-
50
67
Moving furniture- 60
80
Walking upstairs- 70
93
Exercise
Stress Busters
• Ways helping to reduce stress exercise
affects the body and mind; in turn Helping to
Reduce Stress.
– It increases the body’s output of epinephrine, producing
feelings of euphoria
– It changes the pattern of the brain’s neurotransmitter
secretion, particularly norepinephrine, producing mood
changes
– It increases endorphin secretions, and enkephalins,
which are hormone-like substances that facilitate
feelings of inner peace.
Exercise
Stress Busters
• Walking in Balance:
– While you dress and or warm up before any type of
workout, remind yourself that you are taking time away
from the problems and worries facing you. The main
goal during this exercise period is to see increase the
awareness of the environment you are in, imagining
you are experiencing it for the first time. If outsidenotice every tree, every cloud, and every bird. Try to
feel that you are a part of that environment, by noticing
as much of it as you can.
Stress Busters
Bubble Baths
While ‘Prevention is Better than A Cure” a
leisurely and relaxing soak in a bubble bath is
guaranteed way to reduce stress. The following are
some of the experiences recorded by members of
the group.
Stress Busters
Miscellaneous
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Personal definition of stress
Dealing with stress
The project
The process of tackling the miscellaneous
The conclusion: How I felt after
Accessories
Plan Ahead
Useful sites
– www.stressbusting.co.uk/
– www.lifepositive.com
– http://www.inspiredliving.com
Stress Busters
Meditation
• How effective is meditation on stress
• Different ways of meditation
– Zen
– Western
– Ayurveda
Cooking
Stress Busters
“We cannot eat Raw potatoes, but we don’t throw
them away just because they are raw. We know
we can cook them. So, we put them in a pot of
water, put the lid on, and put the pot on the fire.
The fire is mindfulness, the practice of breathing
consciously and focusing on our anger. The lid
symbolizes our concentration, because it prevents
the heat from going out of the pot.”
Tich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step