Although in many situations, stress prompts us to respond to life’s challenges, we generally view stress as something to minimize and manage. Chronic stress affects our susceptibility to illness and disease, our ability to learn and retain information and the quality of our interpersonal relationships. In this course, students will learn specific stress management techniques that include breathing, yoga, and relaxation exercises aimed at reducing the physiological consequences of stress. In addition, students will learn behavioral and cognitive strategies that promote adaptive responses to various physical, psychological and emotional stressors that are an inevitable part of life.