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Dr Oz's 6-Month Health Plan

Month 4: Manage Your Stress

Stress is good. Stress is bad. So which one is it?

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Oz Tip: Among the major stresors in our lives are Nagging Unfinished Tasks (NUTs, I call them). Try to identify the NUTs in your life and then resolve to fix them, so they don’t become a constant source of anxiety.

Stress is good. Stress is bad. So which one is it? It’s both.

Stressful events raise our adrenaline, focus our thinking, and help us make instantaneous decisions (like swerving out of the way of an oncoming car). But chronic stress—a micromanaging boss, a troubled teenager—can put our bodies into a kind of long-term, hyperalert status, lowering our immunity and making us susceptible to illness.

You can train your body to respond more positively to stress, though. Start with these exercises.

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Deep Breathing

Deep Breathing
Lie flat on the floor, with one hand on your belly and one on your chest. Take a deep breath in while pushing your belly out to a count of 5. Then slowly exhale, to a count of 7, pulling in your belly button to get all the air out. Breathe this way for 5 minutes every day.

 

 

Meditation exercise

Meditation
If you’ve followed the Daily Checklist, you’ve already been meditating each day, perhaps in the form of prayer. For this exercise, the goal is to clear your mind of all distractions. Sit quietly and repeat one word (such as ohm) over and over. Breathe evenly.

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