For 4 years I sat in the waiting room at my daughter’s dojo while she was being taught how to defend and protect herself.  For some reason I just never made the connection between her defending herself and growing as a skilled female Martial Artist and me defending myself and growing as a skilled female Martial Artist.   

I always attended the belt testing sessions and I watched many adults and children progressing through the ranks of the belt system.  I was always happy for them but I still didn’t see any relation to their skills and my life.  It happened to me after one particular belt testing session.  I watched a woman who had been in the dojo for perhaps 2 years as she earned another belt plus she had lost a significant amount of weight since she started training in Shotokan karate.  I caught a glimpse of the deep satisfaction she was experiencing and I suddenly realized this was not simply for my daughter but it was for me too. 

I signed up immediately and began an incredible journey.   I knew little about dojos or karate etiquette but I found myself enjoying and appreciating the required rules of respect.  So seldom in our society do we experience the kind of respect we are all entitled to receive and we are seldom held to a standard where we must exhibit rules of respect. 

I have been training for 5 years and I can proudly say that I, a woman of 47 years of age, am a 3^rd degree brown belt.  I have shed some tears and experienced more physical injuries than I care to remember, however, the physical and mental benefits that I have experienced cannot be replaced.  The sense of satisfaction I feel is beyond measure.

I feel physically and mentally capable of defending myself should I ever have too.  I have learned from my Martial Arts training to be aware of my surroundings and I carry this into my life every day.   I did experience a level of fear in my life prior to my training.  This fear has been replaced by confidence.  I know that if ever I am attacked I have an extremely good chance of prevailing.  

I really enjoy the physical benefits that have come along as a bonus.  With the physical demands of training comes the ability to eat and enjoy food without much worry of weight gain. To look at me you wouldn’t know that my body has become extremely muscular providing me with a great deal of strength. 

If you are feeling stuck in a rut and you are bored with the gym and pilates and yoga classes and you think you are too old to learn a new skill like Shotokan karate then please  think again and give it a try.  I have friends at the dojo that are in their 50s and have never felt better.  Watch for my next blog titled “Women and Empowerment with Martial Arts”.   

There are so many suggestions on how to relieve stress out there and with good reason. Just about everyone knows what stress is. Generally people are so busy they have little time for anything.

We are fatalities in a bizarre world. Think about it. We chase around hour after hour every day and we end up without any time. Chasing after money and successful careers while dealing with family concerns is the reason for our stressful lifestyles.

Disease, chronic illness, hypertension and even heart attacks are just some of the symptoms of stress. Most of us don’t even realize the kind of stress we put ourselves under. Our bodies were made to help us in stressful, fight or flight, situations when we need adrenaline quickly to protect ourselves. We were not however supposed deal with stress all the time.

So how does one go about relieving the effects of stress on your body? Before we get to the 5 tips for effective stress relief there are two things you should be doing, if you are not already, on a daily basis to free yourself from stress.

The first thing is to get off adrenaline. One of the best tips on how to relieve stress is to plan better. Life happens and there are always going to be surprises you can’t avoid but it doesn’t have to be like this all of the time. A little planning can be the best thing you can do to keep your stress levels down. Remember it is your health and sanity on the line.

The second thing is to drink less caffeine and if you are a smoker to cut back, or better yet, quit smoking. Nicotine and caffeine can cause harmful stress to the body. Do your best to cut back on these.

Ok so let’s take a look at 5 things you can do to help your body and mind better deal with stress.

1. Get some exercise
No matter what your definition of exercise is. You could go out for a jog or a brisk walk in the park or go to the gym and exercise there. Relaxing while you exercise is what is important as well as exercising on a regular basis. There really no point to an exercise if you are not enjoying it.

2. Relaxation and meditation
I know it sounds easy to say just relax or chill out but most people don’t know how to. It is not necessary to meditate like a Zen master, although this can be very relaxing, but you should take a time out where you are free from disruptions and noise and you can have a little alone time.

3. Go out and spoil yourself
Treating yourself doesn’t mean going out and buying a whole lot of stuff. It does mean doing something for yourself. You could just take the time to be by yourself without any interruptions or you could go treat yourself to a massage or a good book.

4. Video and board games
Games can be a perfect way to relieve stress. Just be sure to avoid playing with competitive people as your game could end up being very tense and not enjoyable at all. There are some great free software games you can download off the internet that are great to help relieve stress

5. Sleep it off
Make sure you get enough rest. Disruptions to your sleeping patterns can cause tremendous stress on your body. If you are constantly thinking you are not resting. It may not sound possible but you can turn off thoughts about worry simply by not reacting to them.

Don’t feel pressure to start on all of these ideas just try one to start off with and make sure it works for you. Relaxing is what is important not what you do. There is no reason to wait any longer.