TODAY

Feeling anxious on this Tax Day? April is National Stress Awareness Month and a good time to remember anxiety doesn’t have to rule your world.

“Stress is the perception of a threatening thought and if you don’t identify with it, then there’s no stress,” Dr. Deepak Chopra told TODAY. “There’s no such thing as peace of mind. That’s an oxymoron. Peace is when there’s absence of thought.”

He recommends this breathing technique to quickly calm down: Put your hands in your arm pits. Slowly inhale to the count of four, then exhale to the count of four. Then switch the order of the hands in the armpits and repeat. This will slow down your heart rate and breathing, and help you relax.

Follow the link to see Chopra demonstrate the technique.

See how it's done!

Even when we know people’s names, why do we go for days without using them? By using someone’s name, you help them feel seen and acknowledged — and that’s an act of kindness. According to kindness.org’s research in collaboration with the University of Oxford, doing a kind act increases happiness, well-being, trust and compassion. And it can have the same powerful effect on those who receive the act. Try it, and put a smile on both your faces.

A new study suggests people who do just 10 to 59 minutes of low to moderate physical activity per week — like gardening — have a lower risk of premature death from causes such as a heart attack.

Why is gardening so good for the body? For one, the movements you make while taking care of your plants can give you a light cardiovascular workout. Gardening also basically forces you to do squats and can strengthen large muscle groups like quads, hamstrings and glutes. It also targets smaller muscles and ligaments in the hands and feet.

That said, don’t ditch other workouts altogether. Follow the link to see what kind of exercise has even more health benefits.