HealthyLife Articles

Tag: stretches

Quick Facts About Relaxation Exercises

SUCCESS OVER STRESS

When you’re under stress, your body releases stress hormones. These hormones cause your heart to race or your palms to sweat.

This is your body’s normal response to stress. In some cases, a little stress is helpful. But for many people, stress happens too much. This can lead to ongoing high levels of stress.

Relaxation exercises can help you stop this physical response to stress. They can slow down your heart rate and help you feel calm.

You may have heard about relaxation exercises and wondered if they would work for you. The good news is, they will probably help you at least a little – and they won’t hurt. Here’s what to know:

* Relaxation exercises usually put two things together: breathing and attention. You may have to pay close attention to your breaths in and out while relaxing your mind. This can help push away stressful thoughts.

* Apps, books, articles, and classes can help you learn how to relax and reduce stress.

* You can learn relaxation exercises without special equipment or spending money.

* Don’t use relaxation exercises as medical treatment. If you think you have depression, anxiety, or another mental health condition, see your doctor. Often relaxation can be combined with medical treatment to give you even better results.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Fitness In Flight

Healthy Travel

Sitting in a narrow, crowded airplane seat for hours causes cramped and achy muscles, swollen feet, and fatigue. And anyone who has a problem with circulation in his or her legs runs a risk of thrombophlebitis when sitting for long periods of time. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent the typical aches and pains travelers frequently experience during long flights. One is to charter your own plane and stretch out in comfort. If you’re like most people, however, a private plane is probably beyond your means. Instead, you can try to reduce stiffness with the following exercises.

* Tense your feet for 5 seconds, then relax them. Repeat with each muscle group, including your calves, thighs, buttocks, shoulders, neck, forearms, and hands.

* Drop your head forward. Then slowly move it to your right, and continue rotating your head, to the back, to the left, and to the front again. Repeat four times. Then reverse direction, and repeat five times.

* Raise both shoulders, then move them back, down, and forward in a circular motion.

* Reaching toward the ceiling, stretch your right arm. Then repeat with your left arm.

To promote circulation in your legs:

* Flex and extend your feet, pointing your toes up and down.

* Try to get up and walk at least once every 2 hours, if possible. You should also make an effort to breathe slowly and deeply. Aircraft air is lower in oxygen than outdoor air, and deep breathing helps you to get enough oxygen into your blood and avoid fatigue or sluggishness.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Working In Exercise While At Work

Fitness

Move more, even when you sit.

Chances are you don’t have one of those newfangled treadmill desks in your office. That shouldn’t stop you from adding exercise into your work schedule. If you get breaks, use them to march up and down the stairs or walk around the building a few times. Or, go into an empty conference room and pound out some pushups. While you probably won’t get enough of a workout for one day’s needs, short stints of exercise add up.

Don’t just stand there.

Waiting for the coffee to brew? Burst into a 60-second aerobic routine that includes side stepping or marching in place. Or, squat and stand as the copy machine spits out your papers. And, perhaps just to freak out co-workers, strike a warrior pose in the break room. See if you can hold it for a minute without talking (or laughing).

Do sitting-down-on-the-job exercises.

From a seated position, you can:

* Tighten your abs and buttocks with periodic squeezes.

* Push shoulder blades toward each other and hold to stretch your back.

* Stretch both arms over your head. Reach, reach, reach.

* Extend your legs in front of you and hold.

* Extend your legs, than draw your knees to your chest. Repeat and feel the burn in your abs.

* Turn your head to the left, torso to the right, hold. Repeat on the other side.

* Extend your arms straight out and move them slowly around in smaller to larger circles, forward then backward.

* Place both hands on your chair arms and slowly lift your bottom.

Action Step

Put a sticky note in your workspace that reminds you to stretch, bend, and move throughout your workday. Use exercise options offered to you at work.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Workstation Exercises

Work Life

Shoulder Stretch

Push your shoulders backwards, then up towards your ears, then forward to make circles. Repeat 3 to 5 times. Do it again in the other direction.

Neck Rolls

Touch your chin to chest. Slide your chin from shoulder to shoulder until you feel looser.

Finger Fan

Spread the fingers of both hands wide. Hold for 5 seconds, then relax. Repeat 3 times.

Tall Stretch

Reach up as high as you can 3 times, first with one hand and then with the other or do both hands at the same time.

Squeeze a Ball

Squeeze a foam ball 5 to 10 times. Put the ball down and stretch your fingers.

Arm Circles

Extend your arms straight out and move them slowly around in smaller to larger circles, forward then backward. Do this several times.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026