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Show Stress can be changed Although it is impossible to eliminate eli-minate stress from our lives we can change our reaction to it, said Sat-Mandir Sat-Mandir Khalsa, guest speaker at Benchmark Regional Hospital's seminar on July 27. Khalsa received his bachelor's degree from Cornell University and began practicing yoga and meditation in 1972. He has taught both yoga and meditation for the past 15 years. In his presentation titled "Relaxation Through Integration: Integ-ration: Using One's Inner Resources Re-sources to Reduce Stress," Khalsa told visitors at the seminar that with yoga and meditation, stress can be dealt with more effectively. "Stress has been around as long as humans have," he said. The body has an inborn ' 'fight or flight" mechanism which produces extra energy in stressful situations. This results in an increased heart rate, shallow breathing and tense muscles. mus-cles. Khalsa recommends physical exercise to release the extra energy and tension produced by stress. He advocates yoga in particular because be-cause it is a focused exercise. In a stressful situation "it allows you to become an observer instead of a participant," he said. "There is an incredible barrage of sources of stress," said Khalsa, citing relationships, economic necessities, and world problems as examples. He compared dealing with stress to putting out a forest fire: "You solve one problem and another begins," he said. The body often doesn't get a chance to recover recov-er or relax, he added. Health problems can result from this long-term stress if the body isn't train to relax. Yoga provides increased flexibility, greater relaxation re-laxation and, most importantly, relieves re-lieves tension without alcohol or drugs. Through breathing techniques techni-ques and exercise, yoga allows you to become comfortable with yourself. your-self. "This is the ultimate goal of yoga," says Khalsa. It allows you to "see beyond your limitations and realize you don't have to deal with stress in a destructive way," he said. "Life becomes an experience experi-ence instead of a whole series of problems." "Soup and Salad Seminars" are held at Benchmark Regional Hospital Hos-pital in Woods Cross every other Wednesday and are open to the public. The next seminar will be given on Aug. 10 by Dr. Maryanne Jerome and is titled, "Learning From Your Dreams: Tapping the Wisdom of the Unconscious." Luncheon seminars begin at 12:30 and the cost is $1. Please RSVP. For more information contact Benchmark Ben-chmark Regional Hospital at 298-2844. |