This week, I would like to focus on managing stress with some great meditation and exercise options. We all live busy lives, some more than others. Everyone seems to find ways to combat the day-to-day stress of modern living, but a guaranteed stress-reliever is exercise. When you consider the many health benefits of physical activity, it is disturbing that more people do not use exercise as a way to manage their stress.

As you start to review the many studies on the effects of exercise on a person's mental state, each study concludes to a lesser or greater degree improved mood and reduction of stress. Therefore, I think it is fair to say that exercise is obviously more effective than doing nothing to reduce elevated anxiety, improve your mood and provide stress relief.

Here are a few areas to get started on reducing your stress levels:

* Yoga is an amazing stress reliever and has been for thousands of years. A majority of our diseases are linked to stress, so practicing yoga is a huge tension release which calms the mind, and strengthens and aligns the body. These emotional and physical ailments reduce stress, anxiety and depression which allows you to relax more out in the real world, leading to better life moments.

* Kickboxing is another amazing workout and a great stress reliever. Kickboxing is an amazing aerobic or cardiovascular workout which combines elements of boxing, martial arts and aerobics to provide overall physical conditioning and toning. Cardio kickboxing does not involve physical contact between people, but still allows you to get your stress worked out. There are a number of cardio kickboxing classes locally. They usually start with an intensive warmup, which includes stretching. Sessions run 30 to 45 minutes in length.

* Dance workouts like Zumba, with its high-intensity cardio workout, will burn up stress. From beginners with little dance experience or an experienced dancer with a flair for complex dance moves, Zumba will keep you occupied and take your mind off stress.

* Another very effective way of loosening up and ridding yourself of stress is CrossFit, which is an exercise program anyone can start. One of the benefits to CrossFit is it can be scaled easily to anyone's fitness level and ability. CrossFit emphasizes short, but extremely intense activity which consists largely of traditional exercises like push-ups and lunges with the addition of weight training and cardio. CrossFit workouts provide a full-body workout which will boost your cardiovascular system, increase your strength and flexibility, and tone you with intensity, speed and fast tempo. This will leave you with no time to dwell on your stress.

* Weight training can be a great stress buster; weight training is an anaerobic exercise and forces the muscles to tear and break down. This increases endorphin production based on the intensity of your workout. This release of endorphins produces a feeling of euphoria while also relieving pain, reducing anxiety and stress. You can maximize your stress reduction from endorphins by doing circuit training when weight-lifting. Just increase the speed of your sets and reduce the rest periods between sets.

When it comes to stress and managing stress through exercise, you need to adapt your activity around the type of stress you are feeling. If you're having a hard time concentrating or you are feeling down, try yoga or simple meditation. If you feel as if your life is lacking control, do rhythmic exercises like running or biking. If it is frustration or anger, bust it out with dancing, CrossFit or kickboxing.

It can be difficult when you're stressed out to feel like getting up and going with exercise. Exercise and meditation are truly the best medicine for stress, so it is important to take action. If you're just getting started with exercise, pick exercises that you know and are comfortable with. Keep in mind that doing nothing may only add to your stress, and nervous energy can be a great jump starter for many folks.

In general, exercise has a positive effect on mood and stress regardless of gender or age. There are a number of studies that show enhanced mood and reduced stress levels after exercise. These studies had similar outcomes for young kids and middle-aged adults, as well as older and elderly folks. Exercise is a great fit for all when it comes to reducing stress, so get out there and lose your stress.

Judd Jones is a director for the Hagadone Corporation.