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The simple act of breathing in and out provides the perfectopportunity for relaxation.

Creating mindful awareness is the greatest benefit of meditative breathing exercises.

Although the evidence of it’s efficacy is anecdotal, doctors agree that the results are real and effective when targeted at reducing stress.

Here is a sample, follow the link for more exercises to calm your nerves.

Progressive Relaxation

How it’s done: To nix tension from head to toe, close the eyes and focus on tensing and relaxing each muscle group for two to three seconds each. Start with the feet and toes, then move up to the knees, thighs, rear, chest, arms, hands, neck, jaw and eyes — all while maintaining deep, slow breaths. Having trouble staying on track? Anxiety and panic specialist Dr. Patricia Farrell suggests we breathe in through the nose, hold for a count of five while the muscles tense, then breathe out through the mouth on release.

When it works best: At home, at a desk or even on the road. One word of caution: Dizziness is never the goal. If holding the breath ever feels uncomfortable, tone it down to just a few seconds at most.

Level of difficulty: Beginner

You can harness the power of Yoga to ease the symptoms of menopause.

Menopause brings with it fluctuating hormones that mess with your sleep, pack on pounds of belly fat, and make you irritable and less interested in sex.

But yoga can help.

Yoga practice cut hot flashes by 31% in one study, and other research has found that regularly doing yoga improved libido, mood, and craving control.

The quick answer is, yes.

Any activity that keeps you focused on your goals will help you achieve results. And yoga is a great way to become mindful of your choices and aware of your body.

The science of weight loss is simple: you must burn more calories than you consume to lose weight. How many times have you heard that one liner? Like ANY other exercise program, to succeed at losing weight, you need to pair yoga with a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Please bear in mind there are many different types of yoga, some being much more vigorous (like power or vinyasa) than, say, yin or restorative. So obviously, if your intention is weight loss, and you need to burn maximum calories from your yoga practice, try a power yoga class. If it is heated you will drop water weight pretty instantly from all the sweat you will release.