The Tao of Stress: How to Calm, Balance, and Simplify Your Life by Robert G. Santee

had resulted in her being late for work on
    numerous occasions. When she finally got to work on this
    particular morning, late once again, her boss said, “The next time you come to work late, you’ll be fired.
    The basic Taoist guideline of moderation is clearly relevant in
    this situation. Sophia’s caffeine consumption is clearly excessive, especially for the evening hours. She could also afford to eat
    dinner earlier, dim or turn off the lights in the evening, watch
    more relaxing shows, and avoid television altogether for a while
    before bed.
    William’s Story
    William was chronically stressed. He tended to overeat and seldom
    exercised, and he often felt anxious and had trouble sleeping.
    Lately, his mind seemed to be racing all over the place and he
    couldn’t focus. His body was going downhill, and his job
    performance was suffering. He recognized that he had a problem
    and wanted to get his life back on track, but he didn’t know how.
    He noticed that one of his coworkers, a woman named Hua Li,
    always seemed to be energetic, focused, and happy. She also
    appeared to be quite athletic. Over lunch one day, he explained his problems and said he felt like he was chronically stressed. He said that he’d noticed how upbeat, calm, and healthy she seemed and
    asked her what her secret was.
    Hua Li smiled and said, “The first step is recognizing that you
    have a problem and wanting to fix it, and you’ve done that. Every
    journey begins with the first step, and by reaching out to me,
    you’re already on your way.” That sounded so reassuring that
    William smiled, heaved a big sigh, and relaxed a bit then and
    there. Hua Li then said, “The next step is fixing. You do this by
    changing behaviors that aren’t beneficial for your health and
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    The Tao of Stress
    well- being.” She explained that she was a Taoist and followed its holistic approach to health and well- being, and said that she taught a class in qigong and taijiquan, which can help create a more
    balance in life, and invited him to attend. She also recommended
    a few websites offering information on the Taoist approach.
    When William visited the websites, he was intrigued by their
    emphasis on cultivating the body through stretching, exercise, and meditation and the idea that calming the body could calm the
    mind. He decided to attend Hua Li’s class and was delighted to
    discover that, in addition to teaching qigong and taijiquan, she
    also discussed the Taoist holistic approach to managing chronic
    stress. He had known that he needed to make changes in many
    areas, and here was one cohesive philosophy that addressed sleep,
    diet, exercise, stretching, meditation, and even interpersonal
    relationships and being in harmony with the world. He was
    hooked.
    William started his journey by implementing a new routine
    that involved stretching, exercise, and meditation. Consistent with Taoist teachings he kept it very simple. Every morning he woke up
    at 6 a.m. and took a few sips of water. Then he practiced sitting
    Baduanjin, which begins and ends with meditation and
    incorporates a series of stretching postures in between. Then he
    drank some more water and went out for a brisk two- mile walk,
    followed by a brief cooldown and drinking some more water. After
    that he ate breakfast and went to work. Three nights a week he
    attended Hua Li’s class.
    William noticed that simply changing his morning routine led
    to many other changes. He started eating more moderately and
    choosing more healthful foods. And because he now awoke at 6
    a.m. daily, he went to bed earlier. He also slept more soundly and felt more rested upon waking. In addition, he noticed that he had
    more energy, was more focused, and no longer felt anxious. Best of all, he simply felt more alive.
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    Mildred’s Story
    One day at work, Sam and his coworker Penny, both parents of
    teenagers, got into a discussion about how to discipline kids when