Energy Express by Marilynn Preston

Haiti is a tragedy of epic scale. Rotting corpses in the streets. Millions of people homeless and thousands of orphans. Field hospitals filled with sick, bleeding, dying children everywhere you look. And we are looking, as television and radio and the Internet bring every horrific detail home to us. People the world over are showing their compassion and responding with tremendous generosity — both cash and service.

Haiti reminds us what deep suffering looks like, smells like, feels like. It forces us to see and feel grateful for all that we have. But in the midst of the aftershocks, the stress can become almost too much to cope with, and it's easy to slide back into the more familiar homeland stresses of paying your bills, keeping your job, worrying about your kids. Haiti creates a crippling amount of heart-wrenching fear at the same time it puts our lives — instantly! — into perspective.

And from the perspective of what it takes to live a healthier, happier lifestyle, it suggests two timely and important questions:

First, are you aware of physical or mental stress over Haiti, or some other tragedy that grips your life and won't let go?

And second, what are you actively, currently, doing to keep it from compromising your health?

Having a plan to deal with your personal stress plays a very big part in promoting your own good health and well-being.

Here's the gist of it: When we go around unaware of our stress, and let it take hold in our bodies and brains, it leads to all sorts of medical complaints. Our lower backs seize up, we get terrible headaches, sleeplessness turns us nasty, depression steals our vitality.

The Rules of Healthier Living tell us that while we can't prevent disasters from happening, we can learn to react and respond in healthier ways that make us more effective, and give us more energy and purpose, while relieving our neck pain, anxiety and fatigue.

Here, then, are four of a hundred suggestions to help you create a disaster relief strategy of your own, because more Haitis will happen on larger and smaller scales, and witnessing great suffering isn't going to go away:

Do your own body scan. You can't release damaging body stress until you find it. So lie down on your back comfortably, close your eyes, and scan your entire body for "hot" spots: areas of tension, pinching, numbness, pain.

Entire books have been written about how to do this.

My newest, favorite body-scanning bible is "Somatics" by Thomas Hanna (Perseus Books), Read it and sweep. Once you become aware of your hot spots — where you hold tension and stress — you can learn to let it go. Letting go, easing stress, finding your own way to release tension is a huge part of maintaining a healthy, strong, flexible body. Focused breathing, yoga and meditation practice can lead you there, but sadly, it's almost never covered by insurance.

Give what you can. Doing good makes you feel good, so please find a nonprofit that's doing work you believe in, and become a continuing supporter. Your compassion and generosity can be directed to the actual disaster area — Doctors to Haiti! Shoes to Haiti! — or you can practice charitable acts right here at home, at your local Red Cross, for example.

Stay present. Find a simple daily ritual that stops the mental chatter and relaxes you. Take a warm bath, contemplate an uplifting poem, make yourself a cup of chamomile tea. When you find yourself regretting past tragedies or imagining future ones, come back to this moment and smile.

Exercise! You knew this was coming, right? Going to the gym isn't the moral equivalent of sending your gently used shoes to Soles4Soles Haitian relief, but it can be a huge help when it comes to relieving tension and inducing calm. Mindless workouts — music blaring, chatting with friends — won't be as stress-reducing as ones that incorporate your breath, relaxation techniques, meaningful visualizations that are intended to relieve suffering, your own and others.

Am I talking about faith-based exercise routines? I think I am. A yoga pal of mine dedicates her practice every day now to the orphans of Port-au-Prince, sending them love and strength. She says it keeps her sane. I believe her.

ENERGY EXPRESS-O! DO WHAT ALBERT DID, AFTER DOING YOUR BEST

"When the day ends and the sun sets, I let my troubles go." — Albert Schweitzer

Marilynn Preston — fitness expert, personal trainer and speaker on healthy lifestyle issues — is the creator of Energy Express, the longest-running syndicated fitness column in the country. She has a website, http://marilynnpreston.com and welcomes reader questions, which can be sent to MyEnergyExpress@aol.com. To find out more about Preston and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2010 ENERGY EXPRESS, LTD. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.