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A lot of us spend many hours a day staring at a computer screen, hunched over a desk, bum glued to a chair.  It affects our spine, stiffens our joints and messes with our minds.  Are we more civilized then our chimpanzee cousins?  Our cousins often walk on all fours, have you ever noticed how close your hands are to your feet when you sit hunched behind a desk?

Our civil ways cause stress, and lots of it.  It is not natural to sit still all day, or work in a dark factory without natural light.  Our bodies were simply not designed to cope with that type of civilization.  As a result stress seminars are booked out, depression is on the increase and modern man has stopped to function as a whole.

Stress.  Just reading the word is likely to increase your heart rate and get you sweating.  It conjures up images of tense moments, embarrassing situations and conflict.

Loads of research is done on the causes of stress, and how it affects the human body. The source is really quite simple:  our civilized world is all about fast and furious, everything has to be done now, and “me” time is getting less and less.  People don’t even have time to exercise anymore.  In a recent informal survey done through my business on Facebook the number one reason for not exercising was “I don’t have time”.  Number two reason was “I could not be bothered”.

Listen up people, civilized or not, the biggest stress buster IS exercise.  Exercise releases all kinds of chemical messages in your body, and your body loves it.  Your heart rate is lowered, blood pressure drops, your mood lifted.  Don’t have time for exercise?  No exercise just adds to your stress.  If you’re anything like me you are less productive and more inclined to stare into space when you’re stressed.  If you had spent that same time exercising you would have felt a whole lot better.

You don’t need to exercise for hours at a time to reduce your stress.  If you are the busy stressed out type a good half hour will do.  Get away from your desk, go for a walk, use the stairs rather than the lift, do a few pushups in the boardroom.  Every little bit helps, and while it’s helping your body it is also helping your mind.

Editors note: In order to write this article I sat hunched behind my desk, hands close to my feet.  Civilized, me?  Not at all….