can exercise help reduce stress?
The easy answer is, yes. However, not all exercises are effective in giving you long-term relief and can do so quickly and easily. Stress is triggered by how you react to something, by your thoughts. When you experience stress, your body automatically tenses up in preparation for fight or flight. Usually your body quickly returns to its natural relaxed state once the stressful event is done. But, unfortunately, if you are like most people, you have been carrying a heavy stress load for a long time. As a result, your muscles and tissues do not have the chance to recuperate. Layer upon layer of tension builds up and the tissues stay chronically tight. The degree to which exercise can release deep tension and calm the mind determines how effectively exercise can reduce stress. Recreational exercise such as golf, tennis and fishing help you feel good while you are doing the activity, but they do not release deep tension. In some cases, the repetitive nature of the activities can actually a
