Yes, You Too Can Control Stress

Dear Readers:

This month we look at stress and what you can do to lessen it. To that end, we’ve turned the “From the Top” column over to a team of experts from Health Net, which has 2.3 million members statewide. Each week they will take on a different aspect of stress and tell us how we can control it. They look at stress and exercise, food, dancing and touch. Me? There’s nothing more soothing than the crunch of a bag of pretzels, a six-mile run around my neighborhood, or listening (with headphones) to anything by Barry Manilow and Luther Vandross.

Later this month, the Guest Workouter will be a man who knows a thing or two about having a stressful job: House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Today, we also start a new weekly feature called StayWell from our Times Mirror sister company with the same name. StayWell is a provider of consumer health information, and each week we’ll offer tips that we hope will be life-strengthening and life-lengthening.

As some of you might recall, I walked the 1994 L.A. Marathon and crawled in at 7:27 and change. You might also remember I said I’d do it again when donkeys sprout wings. Well, look out above. Recently, I’ve started running and I must confess: I’m really diggin’ it.

So, I’m thinking marathon.

Maybe.

I need pretzels bad.

Until next month,

Michelle