Stress Management

• Relieve Stress With These Best Outdoor Activities for Women

• Take Away

You might have heard that meditation and exercise are some effective ways to relieve stress, but activities that adults reserve for their children are also wonderful ways to lift spirits, live in the moment and decrease anxiety.

Play is not only essential for kids—but it’s also a vital source of relaxation and stimulation for adults. As you get older, you become set in your ways and find it hard to get out of your comfort zones and engage in new, fun activities. But expanding your leisure interests is very calming, and it also helps you to manage stress and build happiness.

Enhancing brain function, expanding creativity, preventing memory loss, reducing depression, and strengthening your relations with others—are all wonderful effects of engaging in play. 

“There’s a theory about human motivation called Maslow's Hierarchy which says “After our most basic survival needs are met like food, water, shelter our needs then revolve around personal growth. Fun activities help to build self-confidence and feelings of accomplishment. It triggers the release of endorphins and causes an overall positive sense of well-being, which might help to relieve stress.”  

Relieve Stress With These Best Outdoor Activities for Women

High-Energy Activities

The benefits of aerobic exercise — like running, dancing and in-line roller-skating — cause an increased heart rate. When your heart rate is increased, your body releases endorphins, natural opiates that can make you feel good with no side effects. High-energy activities might help you feel better physically and mentally. Just be sure to consult with your doctor before starting any high-intensity workouts.

Yoga

Yoga, an excellent stress-reliever, involves a series of moving and stationary poses or poses combined with deep breathing. Yoga is a mind-body exercise, which can strengthen your body’s natural relaxation response and bring you into a healthy balance. For stress relief, do gentle yoga — popular “power yoga” may be too intense for you if your main goal is to ease stress.

Tai Chi

Like yoga, tai chi is a series of flowing body movements and breathing techniques. Although the movements have their roots in martial arts, they are done to calm your mind and condition the body — making tai chi a wonderful choice for stress relief. According to recent studies, this mind-body practice has several health benefits: Tai chi can help build bone density, reduce blood pressure, boost the immune system, and even ease symptoms of conditions like heart failure, arthritis, and fibromyalgia. Another benefit is that once you learn the moves, you can practice them anywhere at any time — making it a simple activity for people of all age groups to incorporate into everyday life.

Pilates

Pilates is a series of controlled movements and mat exercises named after their creator, Joseph Pilates, is designed to build your strength, endurance and flexibility — all of which make practising Pilates, an anaerobic exercise, a good stress reliever. Pilates can also help to tone your body, which in turn helps you look good and feel better.

Other Martial Arts

Another effective method to release energy, tension and frustration is to learn and practice martial art. There are many forms to choose from: Krav Maga, karate, judo, tae kwon do, and more. In addition to keeping you active, martial arts have several other benefits; they teach you self-discipline, and the self-defence techniques you learn can make you feel safer in the outside world.

Kickboxing

Kickboxing is a powerful way of decreasing stress. It involves controlled punching and kicking movements done with proper discipline. You can get quite a rigorous workout in a kickboxing class, and that’s the only one of its amazing benefits. Kickboxing regularly will help enhance your balance, flexibility, and coordination. It’s also a great method to get rid of frustration — having an outlet to release energy and anger can help relieve stress.

Team Sports

One of the best methods to fit exercise into your schedule is to get together with your friends and family and organize a game of basketball, football or soccer — just three among many choices. You will get a double dose of stress relief from participating in team sports: you not only will have fun with loved ones, but you’re also working up to release a lot of sweat and endorphins. Exercising with friends can also motivate you to push yourself a little harder in order to stay competitive.

Take It on the Road

Long-distance running, biking, walking, cross-country skiing, and other outdoor activities give a change of scenery and a dose of fresh air, both of which can help freshen your mind. Also, outdoor environments like mountains, a biking trail, or a neighbourhood park are wonderful places to spend time in. Beautiful settings, especially in the season of spring and fall, can boost your mood and shake up your workout routine.

Take Away

Always motivate yourself to engage in various outdoor activities once in a while to relieve stress and maintain your mental and physical health. Such activities can help to reduce stress and anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders, and can also assure you good sleep after a fun-filled day. All the mentioned activities are some of the best outdoor activities that are great for your mood and health and they definitely help to relieve stress.