Isle folks learn to Betty Rodriguez puts on a happy face for tourists at Diamond Head Crater where she works. But inside, she's had some emotional ups and downs since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
cope with stress
brought by Sept.11
Yoga and other forms of exercise
are useful for calming the insideBy Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.comThe 55-year-old Honolulu woman has been coping with feelings of depression and has had concerns since September of chemical warfare.
"I've been struggling to get back to life," said Rodriguez. "My way is the ocean -- it's very soothing if you're feeling anxious or depressed."
She swims several times a week at Kaimana Beach in Waikiki -- sometimes both before and after work.
Many Hawaii residents are using physical activity to deal with the complex emotions stemming from the terrorist attacks, threats of anthrax and other forms of terrorism and dengue fever -- the anxieties, insecurity, fear, anger and pain.
"There's no blanket treatment that's going to work for all," clinical psychologist Barbara Swers said. "For a lot of people it means getting out into nature, exercise, prayer or just lighting a candle and saying an acknowledgment or a remembrance."
Exercise helps because it produces endorphins, the feel-good chemical of the brain, she said.
"You not only feel good from exercise, but just from being active instead of being depressed and lethargic," she said.
To ease stress, some like 39-year-old Robin Shwetzer of Kaneohe, have turned to yoga. The word yoga means union and is derived from the root "yuj," meaning to merge body, mind and spirit. After Sept. 11, Shwetzer, a former Washington, D.C., Department of Defense analyst, worried about those she knew at the Pentagon.
Originally from New Jersey, she and her family moved to Hawaii just four months before the attacks. She continues to hear stories from friends and family who have lost someone in the World Trade Center attacks.
"Everyone I know in New Jersey had someone in their town who was killed," she said.
Since the anthrax threats started in mid-October, Shwetzer washes her hands after handling the mail and she uses repellent to fend off mosquitoes that might be carrying dengue fever. "I'm not really worried about it, but all these things together add up," Shwetzer said. "I'm thinking what's going to come next."
Shwetzer took up yoga classes in October.
"After class, I feel more relaxed," she said. She also does deep breathing exercises and follows yoga tapes at home.
Instructor Shelley Choy of the Hatha Yoga Center explains that yoga poses stress the nervous system, slightly, but the body adjusts. "Going through the practice of that, you're able to meet stresses or turmoil," she said. "Instead of getting so shaken by every little thing, you can maintain a balance and not be so reactive."
When doing a pose, a person becomes aware of what the foot, shoulder and thigh are doing, developing inner awareness and tension, she said.
"That really merges your body and mind," Choy said.
After Sept. 11, Choy shared with her classes a sequence of savasana, or relaxation and restoration poses, developed by Yogi B.K.S. Iyengar. "I found that the students really crave this relaxation because our lives are so frenetic," Choy said.
After the relaxation poses, Choy said students say, "'Oh, I feel so relaxed,' or 'Oh, I really needed that.'"
Besides swimming, Rodriguez says she's found shopping, a somewhat physical activity, to be very reassuring.
"There's nothing like a good trip to Longs to pick me up," she said. "And the president said to go shopping."
