
Despite what most sources are saying, and even going against medical advice, not everyone should be working out.

Making the assumption that exercise will be good for everyone is to make the assumption that everyone is healthy enough to be doing it. This goes beyond the obvious assertion that the ill and injured should avoid physical strain. Many, if not most people are unfortunately not in good enough health to benefit from exercise.

The reason for this is stress. Especially in America, people are eating empty, toxic foods, have inflammation and digestive issues as a result, work unfulfilling, stressful jobs in an attempt to keep afloat in a consumer culture that threatens their financial security, often leading to poor and little sleep, and to top it all off are consumed by a materialistic, superficial, ego driven pop culture that surrounds them constantly, leaving people utterly unable to come out of this frenzy to connect with the world and those around them, causing dissatisfied relationships with others and ultimately a poor relationship with self, leading straight back into this negative feedback loop.

In an attempt to avoid the “standard American” cliché, I concede there there is a healthy population of athletes, weekend warriors, and fitness fanatics who exercise regularly, eat well, and reap their due benefits. That is not to say that these people are exempt from the effects of stress, but hopefully some of them intuitively understand that they need to balance work and rest.

However, even among those that exercise regularly there is still a propensity to overtrain, use synthetic or sugary supplements, and to perform exercises with improper form or use attenuating machines in an effort to create the illusion that they are stronger. Even more unfortunate is that many a new gym goer quickly gets indoctrinated in this mindset of machismo and they begin to drain instead of train.

For clarity, in this context stress is any force that stresses the system. Any physical, chemical, radioactive, mental/emotional, nutritional, or thermal source threatens the body’s homeostasis and necessitates a response. At appropriate levels stress keeps the body performing functions essential for life and growth. In our manmade environment however, it is very easy to accumulate too much stress. We are surrounded by exorbitant levels of stress of all kinds.

The effects of all this stress looks a shocking lot like the landscape of illness that we see in the developed world. An overactive sympathetic nervous system (think fight or flight) and the overproduction of glucocorticoids (stress hormones) leads to:

- Constipation
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Exhaustion
- Decreased libido
- Poor sleep quality
- Hypertension
- Weakened immune system leading to chronic infection
- Insulin resistance and eventually type 2 diabetes
- Global inflammation
- Loss of bone density
- Loss of brain cells leading to reduced memory and focus

An obvious connection can be made between stress and many modern illnesses. And yet we’re told that stressful exercise will help to improve the very complications that too much stress is causing.

## How to Know if you Are Too Stressed

Knowing if you are too stressed is a simple process if you know what to look for.

First pay attention to the signs. If you are constipated, feel anxious, jittery, nervous, aren’t sleeping well, have night sweats, wake up tired, or have lowered sex drive, then you are likely stressed.

Then begin to ask where the stress is coming from.

Are you worried about finances, relationships, self-image, your future?

How is your diet? Are you eating processed, sugar packed, pre-made food with additives?

How are you sleeping? Are you having trouble falling asleep? Are you having to use supplements or medication to sleep? Are you waking up in the middle of the night?

How is your digestion? Are you chewing well? Are you eating something that is causing inflammation, bloating, or heartburn?

Are you surrounded by toxic fumes either at work in a factory, or in a newly built home or office, or in a car that off-gasses a lot of fumes?

Most of the questions to self assess stress are can be answered alone. Awareness of one’s body and environment will provide the answer, and it is an important habit to cultivate. Even those who aren’t suffering from chronic levels of stress should be aware of their body and know when they have worked themselves too hard either in the gym or in life. Taking a day off from anything strenuous after a bad nights sleep will give the body adequate time to recover.

Or you can do something even more effective, as I describe in this next section.

## Working Out vs Working In

Now, to get to what I have been hinting at. That is that specifically working out is not good for someone with high stress. But the inverse of working out, which is woking in, is incredibly helpful.

Working out is what most are all familiar with. It is to exert energy through movement faster than the body can replenish it. Heart rate and breathing rate rise, sweating occurs, digestion is stopped, and at the end of a session energy has been spent, often to the point where the exercise can no longer be performed. In short, the sympathetic nervous system was activated. This is what most people picture when they think about exercising, and this is unhealthy for someone with high stress.

In no way is working out a bad thing. Athletes would be at a severe disadvantage if they never performed high intensity training, and the average person can benefit greatly from taxing and improving their cardiovascular system, functional movement patterns, and overall stability and power. It is also an effective way to sculpt the body and improve self image and personal power.

It is only “bad” when people who are on the breaking point are told they need to run for 30 minutes a day, or some similarly inept advice. Someone in such a state needs to find a way to relax, flush, and nurture their body.

Working in is very low intensity exercise, such a low intensity that your heart rate does not rise. It is focused on moving in synchronization with the breath, with the intent of pumping out old energy and bringing in the new. It can include walking, slow swimming, low intensity yoga, qigong, tai chi, pranayama, or zone exercises as developed by Paul Chek.

This sort of exercise is incredibly therapeutic. The sympathetic nervous system is never activated, allowing the parasympathetic nervous system to do its job of eliminating toxins and repairing damage. Gentle, undulating movements pump fluids through the body flushing out toxins, moving nutrients to where they are needed, hydrating joints, and encouraging elimination. It also encourages people to slow down, breathe, reflect, and connect with their bodies and stillness. Basically, the effects of being flooded with stress are reversed by working in.

For someone that has very high stress, this is all they should be doing until they are healthy enough to work out. As I said, it will help to lower the stress they have and give them the energy they need to get through the day. Also, incredibly against mainstream logic, these simple movements can help people become healthier. They will have better hormonal regulation, less inflammation, better digestion, better sleep, and loose weight.

This type of exercises is also excellent for people in good health, but experienced some extra stress. Someone who is recovering from an injury, had a bad nights sleep, is momentarily stressed out because of life situation, is taking a recovery day after strenuous training, or any other situation that can cause more stress, can benefit from working in. It is all about striking a balance.

## What to Do If You Are Stressed, How to Work In

The easiest way to work in is to walk. It is something most people can do easily, and can be done almost anywhere.

To see added benefits, one can take this activity and make it a time of introspection. Have the intention that this is something that is going to be done with very little effort, focusing on the breath and building energy. It is a time to let go of anything pent up physically, emotionally, or spiritually. It especially helps to walk outside in a natural area (such as a park) and helps even more to do it barefoot. This way one is more grounded and connected with the activity.

If walking is an activity that makes you work, makes you breathe, and makes you ache try taking it slow. There only requirement is that your heart rate does not go up, even if that means you take one step for every breath. If you are self-conscious about walking so slowly, try doing this in your backyard to avoid stares.

If even slow walking is still inaccessible then I would recommend finding very easy tai-chi movements that you can do without effort. Or consider buying “How to Eat, Move, and Be Healthy” to learn a series of zone exercises.

Other options are gentle swimming, yoga, pranayama, qigong, or other gentle exercises. Whatever is chosen, it is important to respect self limitations and do the exercises as gently as needed. Also, in any of these exercises, the intention to accumulate energy and flush out tension and waste can still be brought to it.

If you decide to go to a class to learn and of these methods, take care to find a qualified professional who understands how to balance stress, focuses on form, and has a method you agree with personally.

CHEK Practitioners are also greatly qualified to do this type of work. That is where I got my knowledge of stress in the first place. Contact us if you want to work with me to build an exercise program that suits your level.

## Wrapping Up

The takeaway from this is to remember to respect the body and listen to stress. Too much of anything is a bad thing, so it is important to balance the stress of life by taking some time for ourselves to slow down, breathe, and move. Through this we can find better health and happiness.


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