I know that working out is a HUGE help to overcoming stress and anxiety, but how do you overcome those periods of intensity when you can't workout? I'm talking about when you are in public and for most of us, this public place is work. You can't just get up from your desk and start to run. I mean, maybe you are lucky enough to have a company that has a gym available, but for a lot of us, we don't have that benefit.
I go on frequent walks to breathe and clear my head, but I find that I must return and resubmit myself back into that moment, especially if it isn't resolved, completed, etc. So please, share with me what you do to overcome stress and anxiety when working out isn't an option. Natural remedies, tips, suggestions, etc! :)
After a stressful day, I came home feeling weak and exhausted. I was on the fence about skipping my run. In fact, I was nearly pulling the other leg over to the "Skip the run" side. I was trying to find every excuse in the book. But I reminded myself to remain an example. As an accountability leader, I need to push through that voice in my head that tells me to give up. So once I got home, I shut off the thoughts, I changed into my running clothes. Within minutes, I took to the road. I still gave myself the option of giving up if things didn't work out.
Yet, once I began running, the strong fire that was built from my stress began to pour out in strength. What once made me feel weak was now seeping out through my powerful legs. Though I worried that I would tire quickly, I continued to pedal hard against the asphalt.
I waited for myself to burn out early, but it never came. Instead, I powered up hills that once felt steep and upon reaching the top, felt stronger and more powerful than what I had at the bottom. I felt unstoppable.
When my watch signaled I had reached 5 miles, I took my very first glance at it's face and was surprised with the time. I had a feeling it was going to be faster than my last few runs, but I underestimated how fast.
To my delight, this was the quickest 5 mile time in about a year. At least since I started JFK training. I could say it was the stress which powered me through, but I have to also give credit to my cross training with P90X3. Anyway, my once tense muscles were now relaxed and my mood was bright. I felt like I went on a mini vacation in that brief moment. The panic, dread, and dispair that polluted my day before this evaporated. I could breathe easy.
Following dinner, I wanted to put the cherry topping on my therapy session with yoga (which this marked my 32nd day streak!). I chose Adriene's "Yoga for Stress & Anxiety" and after, I was so zen. Yoga has proved way more beneficial than I could have ever imagined!
So it's obvious to me exercise & yoga have a great benefit to reducing my stress levels, but the point here is that one cannot just workout at any given moment. So what do you do?
How do you handle stress and anxiety in the moments it occurs?
Does stress make you want to skip your workouts? Do you?
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