by Susan Rose

Clean your room!  

Do your homework!

Don’t do that!

Sometimes it makes you want to scream!

It’s called stress, and everybody has it. Moms, Dads, teachers, and especially kids all have stress.

What is stress? It’s different for each person, but usually it means too many things to do and not enough time or energy to get them done.

What does stress feel like? It might feel like a pain in your belly, or a headache. It might feel like you are going to explode, or like you just want to go back to bed and hide under the covers. It might feel like you are really mad and want to hit something. But getting mad or hiding aren’t really going to make the stress go away. In fact, it might make it worse.

So what CAN you do when you are feeling stressed? The number one best idea is to breathe!  Do Take 5, or Peace Breath to help your body calm down. Breathing can be done anywhere you are: at home, school, on the car, or on the playground. You can even ask your mom or teacher to do it with you. Doing yoga poses can also help you get rid of stress. Poses like Volcano can help get rid of some of the yucky feelings in your belly. Tree Pose can help you feel strong, centered, and focused.  And when you really feel like going back to bed and hiding under the covers, try doing Child’s Pose for a few minutes. Of course, all these poses are great for adults, too.

After your body and mind are calm, it will be easier to handle whatever tasks were giving you stress. So the next time you feel stress taking over, take a break and do some yoga!