's motd Sunday Sept 5, 2010

[Guest guest]

THE

STRESS FACTOR

Sunday, 05 September 2010

When I was growing up,

you rarely heard the word stress. But

as I got older, I heard that word...a lot.

So many of the E-mails I receive start out with

words like...", I am so stressed out."

Then they go on to tell me why they're

so stressed.

Some of them are

stressed because they don't have good

relationships with their spouses. Others are

stressed by the challenges of raising of their

children. There's financial stress, there's

emotional stress. Oh, I know, there're endless

reasons for why we get stressed.

In their E-mails, many of the people who write

also tell me what they do to help relieve their

stress. Some of them go home, pour a glass of

Jack 's and Coke over some ice and try to

let the alcohol chase their stress away. And you

know what happens when someone's had too many

drinks. They end up getting even more

stressed once the liquor is gone and they come out

of their drunken state.

There're other people

who turn to drugs to handle their stress. And we

know what kind of major problems that can lead

to. And oh yes, there is one more imagined

stress-reliever a lot of people turn to and that

is...food!

Yeah, what gets rid of that stress better than a

warm donut, huh? Or how's about a foot-long hot

dog from the 7-Eleven? Surefire stress-busters

there, right? Wrong!

Some of us think that by overeating, we'll be

better able to handle the stress in our lives.

But, come on! You know it's not true.

Whatever stress you may be experiencing in your

life, I'm truly very sorry about it. Hey, I get

stressed about things every now and then myself.

But you wanna know how I handle it? No, not with

a piece of fried chicken. I handle my stress

with...exercise!

I've told you before how I adore working out. I

see the difference it makes on my outside and I

can feel the difference it makes on the inside of

my body. Exercise makes me feel jubilant!

A couple of days ago, a lady came into Slimmons

for the first time. And I can often tell when

someone is stressed by the look in their eyes.

Well, this lady had that look. I went up and gave

her a hug as I welcomed her to class for the first

time. She had a few words for me before we got

started, though.

", I had a very stressful day at work

and a friend of mine suggested I visit your

club. She told me that working out with you

would help me deal with the stress and I'd feel

so much better."

And you know what? As I watched her taking class,

I could see the stress melting right off her

face. She was smiling and singing along to the

music as she worked out and I could see what a

good time she was having. After class, she came

up to tell me that her friend was right. My class

had helped her chase away the blues! (I

was so glad to hear that.)

I have a lot of students

who come to Slimmons and sometimes I can see the

stress in their faces, too. It's my job to make

sure they leave my studio singing a happier tune

than when they walked through the door.

Now, I want you to pay close attention to what I'm

about to tell you. Exercise is not going to make

your problems go away. You'll still have to face

those problems after you stop sweating. But

you'll handle stressful situations better

when you feel more confident. And without a

doubt, you will feel more confident about

yourself with every workout you do.

I want you to make time

to workout today and relieve some of the stress

you may be facing. And which exercise will it

be? A nice walk, a jog or how about a swim? And

if you prefer to do a workout DVD in the privacy

of your own home, do one today!

Okay, that's my little bit of Sunday advice for

you. And when I exercise today, I'll be thinking

of you...doing the same. That is, working

out and busting that stress!

Love,