Spring Break
Doctor gives tips on living stress free
Enrica Richardson
Issue date: 9/21/06 Section: LIFE
More than 150 students gathered at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in Wooten Hall 122 to hear how they could reduce stress in their daily lives. Dong Rae Park, doctor of oriental medicine and acupuncturist, offered tips on how to deal with stress in a natural way.
Park has been a practicing acupuncturist for 20 years now and has a practice in Dallas with two other doctors. The lecture was specifically for Dance 1100, Stress Reduction through Movement students but was open to everybody.
There have already been a multitude of "solutions" to stress suggested, he said, but all seem to be a quick fix, inevitably circumventing the real issue at hand.
"There are thousands of lectures, materials and things on the Internet, but none address the basics," Park said. "If you don't know how or why you get stressed it can be hard to handle."
So what can be done to change the amount of stress felt in life? The first recommendation Park made was to divide the stress by sharing the workload with someone and not attempting to handle everything at once. However, for some that is not an option. The crux of Park's lecture, however, seemed to be an eight-part plan known as "Newstart." The first advisement of this plan was to get healthy by watching nutritional intake.
"Don't eat too much, and don't eat too little," Park said. "Cancer patients, sometimes just by eating adequately, get well."
He also said snacking is not a good thing, but that two to three balanced meals a day are ideal. Next he recommended exercise.
"The number one myth in the United States is that sit-ups are good, but these are not healthy for you," he said, proposing walking or doing leg lifts, instead. "They can cause lower back pain and internal organ problems."
Park also added the importance of drinking six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Sun in moderation can be beneficial because it provides vitamin D, he said.
"Moderation is important, and not doing bad things, like stimulants," Park said. "If you take stimulants, your body doesn't produce them anymore."
Park has been a practicing acupuncturist for 20 years now and has a practice in Dallas with two other doctors. The lecture was specifically for Dance 1100, Stress Reduction through Movement students but was open to everybody.
There have already been a multitude of "solutions" to stress suggested, he said, but all seem to be a quick fix, inevitably circumventing the real issue at hand.
"There are thousands of lectures, materials and things on the Internet, but none address the basics," Park said. "If you don't know how or why you get stressed it can be hard to handle."
So what can be done to change the amount of stress felt in life? The first recommendation Park made was to divide the stress by sharing the workload with someone and not attempting to handle everything at once. However, for some that is not an option. The crux of Park's lecture, however, seemed to be an eight-part plan known as "Newstart." The first advisement of this plan was to get healthy by watching nutritional intake.
"Don't eat too much, and don't eat too little," Park said. "Cancer patients, sometimes just by eating adequately, get well."
He also said snacking is not a good thing, but that two to three balanced meals a day are ideal. Next he recommended exercise.
"The number one myth in the United States is that sit-ups are good, but these are not healthy for you," he said, proposing walking or doing leg lifts, instead. "They can cause lower back pain and internal organ problems."
Park also added the importance of drinking six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Sun in moderation can be beneficial because it provides vitamin D, he said.
"Moderation is important, and not doing bad things, like stimulants," Park said. "If you take stimulants, your body doesn't produce them anymore."
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