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Dealing With Stress

"Women are more in tune with their emotions," Bulgarelli says, "and are better able to handle daily stressors. Men often ignore signs of stress and as a result, their heart rate goes up, their blood pressure rises, their platelets get stickier. ..."
Along with the physical changes brought by stress itself, says Bulgarelli, are the more subtle behavioral changes that accompany stress -- eating less healthfully, exercising less, and engaging in more high-risk behaviors such as drinking and smoking.
"To take 60 to 90 minutes out of your day to sit and be quiet, to gently stretch, and to breathe deeply," says Bulgarelli, "is a tremendous way to reduce stress." Studies have shown, he says, that the various forms of yoga can help reduce blood pressure, body temperature, and heart rate, improve respiratory function, and even change brain waves.
"Yoga has tremendous implications for everyone," says Bulgarelli, "but especially for men, by allowing them to decompress and de-stress."
Bulgarelli says that in addition to its potential to prevent and even manage heart disease, yoga is a good antidote to depression as well, which is epidemic among men in the United States.
"Yoga gives you the opportunity to strip yourself down, to quiet yourself, to just really 'be,'" says Bulgarelli, "and for any men, that may be the first time they've ever done that. The meditative aspect of yoga is the perfect avenue to help you figure out what's going on in your life."

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