Defeat Stress With Exercise

Adapt these exercises according to your possibilities and perform them every day to gain flexibility and get the maximum benefits.

In our space we have often proposed exercises that serve to tone the abdomen, buttocks or arm muscles. Having a strong and flexible body is the goal of many people. Today, however, we want to talk about emotions and how some targeted exercises can be able to defeat stress and alleviate worries.

We do not always find time to go for a run, walk or swim in the pool, all activities that are very good for the health of muscles, joints and bones and allow us to relax the mind.

This is why it can be useful to know these exercises that can be practiced at home and that promote a good mood. They’re simple, don’t require gym membership, but they can bring great benefits. You will need to get: a mat, pillows, comfortable clothing and good will.

Simple exercises to defeat stress

It will only take 20 minutes to feel better already. The exercises that we propose require, first of all, a union between body, breathing and emotions. You will work on flexibility through targeted stretching exercises that relieve tension built up throughout the day.

By concentrating on breathing, on the body and on every movement, you will achieve the inner balance that will allow you to melt away the stress. It is not about getting tired at the limit of your fat burning forces. Instead, the goal is to achieve a good harmony between body and emotions. Worth trying.

1. Relax your back, relax your mind

You will see for yourself that it is a sequence of relaxing exercises that are simple to perform. The first exercise requires two pillows (or a pillow and a blanket). Run it like this:

• Lie down on the mat.
• Place a pillow under your back in correspondence with the lumbar area. (The torso must be raised above the legs).
• Place another pillow under your head.
• Spread your arms.
• Cross your legs, as in the picture, with your knees wide apart .
• You will feel a slight tension in the area between the pelvis and the back.
• Let air enter your lungs for 10 seconds, hold it for another 5 seconds and exhale vigorously.
• Maintain this position for 5 minutes.

2. Face up to defeat stress

Here is another very relaxing exercise. You will need a small cube, footstool, or pair of firm pillows that allow you to elevate your glutes and abdomen.

• Once you are lying down and have placed the thickness under your buttocks, bring your knees together.
• Spread your arms.
• Close your eyes and breathe deeply.
• This position, in which the position of the head is lower than the body, facilitates the blood supply to the brain.
• Maintain this position for 5 minutes with the same breathing sequence as in the previous exercise: inhale for 10 seconds, hold your breath for 5 and exhale vigorously.

3. A little balance: legs up to defeat stress

To perform the following anti-stress exercise, you will need a pillow and a cloth (or scarf) to cover your eyes and thereby facilitate relaxation.

• Lie down in front of a wall so that you can stretch your legs by leaning them against it.
• Place a pillow under your back.
• The torso, once again, is higher than the head.
• Cover your eyes with a cloth and stretch out your arms.
• Relax for 5 minutes, doing the breathing exercises already mentioned (inhale-hold-exhale).

4. Shoulder stretch

We finish our sequence of exercises with a particular and very useful stretch, for the benefit of the back, neck and shoulders. Run it according to your possibilities, without forcing.

• Kneel on the mat.
• Very gently bend your torso back, so that you can touch your ankles with your hands.

• Maintain this position for a minute: you will feel the muscles of the shoulders stretch.
• Relax, return to the starting position and perform the exercise again.

This sequence of exercises has a total duration of 20 minutes. You will not get tired: the aim is to relax the body with stretching exercises and, by means of controlled breathing, “lower the noise” of the mind. Try it too!