Stress management made simple A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree.

A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the tree top, ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow...He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went by... The little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree everyday. One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad. "Come and play with me," the tree asked the boy. "I am no longer a kid I don!t play around trees anymore." The boy replied, "I want toys. I need money to buy them." ""orry, but I don!t have money... but you can pick all my apples and sell them. "o, you will have money." The boy was so e#cited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and le$t happily. The boy never came back a$ter he picked the apples. The tree was sad. One day, the boy returned and the tree was so e#cited. "Come and play with me" the tree said. "I don!t have time to play. I have to work $or my $amily. %e need a house $or shelter. Can you help me&" ""orry, but I don!t have a house. However, you can chop o$$ my branches to build your house. The boy cut all the branches o$ the tree and le$t happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad. One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was delighted. Come and play with me'" the tree said. "I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to rela# mysel$. Can you give me a boat&" "(se my trunk to build your boat. )ou can sail $ar away and be happy." "o, the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up $or a long time. *inally, the boy returned a$ter he le$t $or so many years. ""orry, my boy. +ut I don!t have anything $or you anymore. ,o more apples $or you... " The tree said. "I don!t have teeth to bite" the boy replied. ",o more trunk $or you to climb on". "I am too old $or that now" the boy said. "I really can!t give you anything ... the only thing le$t is my dying roots" the tree said with tears. "I don!t need much now, -ust a place to rest. I am tired a$ter all these years." The boy replied. ".ood' Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest. Come, sit down with me and rest." The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears... You may think the boy is cruel to the tree but that's exactly how most of us are treating our body, mind and soul. The result? We are exposing our body and mind to tremendous amounts of stress. There is a great lesson behind this simple story. A large ma ority of us are under stress. We are not e!en aware that we are under stress. "#$ of mild hypertensi!es continue to li!e their li!es thinking they are normal, until they go for a routine screening at the neighbourhood %lood &ressure '%&( camp and disco!er that their blood pressure le!els were )#*)+$ abo!e normal. ,t is the same with stress. A large ma ority of us don-t take anti*stress measures seriously because .stress is what happens to others, not to me/0 The first step in stress management begins with awareness. You ha!e to become aware that your body and mind are under unprecedented amount of stress. 1nce you are aware that you are under stress, you can begin to take anti*stress measures. 2rom the 341 to the call centre executi!e to the ournalist, e!eryone in industry is now*a*days complaining of stress which has become more common than the common cold. 5tress refers to a person-s general disturbed state of both body and mind affected by the immediate en!ironment like occupational ha6ards or alienation and re7uires a conscious effort to cope with it. 3onsidering the fact that stress is 7uite a common phenomenon among managers, there is a boom in de!elopment of stress management techni7ues and programmes. 1f late, meditation is in !ogue as a techni7ue of stress management. 8e9:& meditation uses personal energy to gi!e

relief to a person and it allows him to transmit positi!e energy which results in freshness of body and mind. Why are managers under stress? The answer is as simple as it is ob!ious/ :ong working hours of endlessly staring into a computer screen which emits radiation. :onger con!ersations on the cellular phone whose radiation damages brain cells and increases mental stress. :ack of sleep. ,rregular or wrong eating habits. :ittle or no outdoor exercise. &ressure of deadlines to meet and targets to achie!e. 5taying away from family. 3ouple this with stays in apartments shared with colleagues and work ne!er stops. 5uch an en!ironment is the ideal breeding ground for stress and results in anxiety and panic attacks. ;ere are some simple but effecti!e stress management techni7ues< =egular exercise is a powerful anti*stress acti!ity. ,t is regarded as one of the safest and a cheap way to reduce stress. Aerobics, stretching or massaging reduce stress as they release endorphins. 8e9:& trance meditation can be used as an anti*stress techni7ue as it leads to relaxation of mind and body. =esearchers ha!e shown that trance meditation is able to produce alpha wa!es which are associated with a feeling of tran7uility and lack of tension. 8e9:& meditation in!ol!es concentrating on a bindu point on a picture. 5uch pictures can be downloaded as peg files from tips/ceos.com and used as a screen sa!er. Whene!er the screen sa!er is acti!ated you can concentrate on the bindu point and meditate for a few minutes without disturbing your work. >usic can also go a long way in reducing stress. :istening to soothing music can help one in coping with stress. You can download therapeutic music as mp? files from tips/ceos.com and listen to it as you work on your computer. Thus software professionals can learn to relax as they continue to work. @e!eloping a hobby can be of great help to people under stress. ;obbies like gardening, photography or philately can gi!e a sense of satisfaction and pro!ide relaxation to mind. &ets can also help one in unwinding after a hectic day.

>ost psychologists maintain that ,ndian companies should conduct stress management workshops for employees to impro!e their efficiency and effecti!eness to cope with work related stress. 5tress management techni7ues are basically about e!ol!ing a coping mechanism. The coping mechanism should gi!e emphasis on relaxation, leisure and tran7uilness. ,n fact, managers should be encouraged to practice 8e9:& meditation early in their career, which would enable them to cope with stress in their obs. Yogic exercises can also help to a great extent in regaining both physical and mental health. =egular practice of yoga controls the senses of the human being and helps in relaxation.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAA >urli >enon is the author of .8e9:&*the power to succeed0 'a!ailable at ama6on.com(. 2or further 7ueries about stress management workshops based on 8e9:& tribal meditation contact 6enlpBrediffmail.com