On the 15th of November 2011, 45 women and men gathered at Sabeel office for the second session of the alternative medicine series entitled “Exercise and Stress Management.”
Dr. Saleh Majaj, a Naturopathic doctor, shared his wisdom about achieving health of the mind and body. The three key factors are healthy nutrition, exercise and stress management.
Dr. Majaj highlighted the importance of exercise and physical activity in sustaining a healthy body, mind and soul. He presented numerous options of how to include exercise in our daily life. He emphasized how to transform negative events into positive thinking.
To conclude he spoke about the stress that affects Palestinians greatly, primarily because of life under occupation. Periodic closures, the separation wall, and humiliation are all stressful factors that are constant (to a greater or lesser extent) each day for us. Dr. Majaj demonstrated some techniques and ways for relieving stress that could control our mood swings and low self esteem as a result of this stress. Even just these few pointers were helpful as we continue to seek to find ways to help us face the occupation and remain steadfast.
