The mood was different around 7 p.m. in the classrooms of North Fulton Regional Hospital than it was two hours before last Wednesday. People were smiling, their shoulders were relaxed and they seemed rather calm. They were experiencing the euphoria that comes along with stress reduction and relaxation techniques.

A crowd of people turned out last Wednesday for Stress Management 101, the first program in a series of monthly health seminars hosted by North Fulton Regional Hospital and Harry’s Farmers Market. Participants listened to numerous health experts discuss the origins of stress, the potential effects it can have on our bodies (including sleeplessness, high blood pressure, headaches and anxiety) and ways of managing it.

One way of managing stress that was a welcome addition to the program was the deep breathing. To close the program, exercise physiologist Lisa Hyman turned down the lights, turned up the soft music and turned on everyone’s relaxation responses. All the way from the toes to the face, each participant learned how to force their bodies into a state of calm simply by channeling the stressful energy into a series of contractions and releases in the bodies.

Stress Management 101 was the first in a monthly seminar series offered through North Fulton Regional Hospital and Harry’s Farmers Market. Future seminars will feature topics such as skin care and holiday eating, among others, and all of these programs will be offered at no cost. Don’t miss the next program, Arthritis and You on Wednesday, June 11 at 11:30 at Harry’s Farmers Market. Learn about arthritis and how diet and exercise can help manage the symptoms you experience.

Registration for any of these free seminars is required. For more information about the seminar series or to register for the upcoming June event an arthritis, call 770-751-2660, or visit www.northfultonregional.com/event, keyword “community calendar.”

North Fulton Regional Hospital (NFRH), part of Tenet Georgia, is a 202-bed, acute-care hospital located on Highway 9, Alpharetta Highway, in Roswell. Opened in 1983, NFRH serves North Fulton and surrounding counties through its team of over 1000 employees, 400 staff physicians and 200 volunteers. NFRH is a state-designated Level II trauma center and provides a continuum of services through its centers and programs, including neurosciences, orthopedics, rehabilitation, surgical services, bariatric surgical weight loss, gastroenterology and oncology. The hospital is fully accredited and also is certified as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency.

For more information about the Healthy Seminar Series with North Fulton Regional Hospital and Harry’s Farmers Market, call 770-751-2660, or visit www.northfultonregional.com. Also contact Harry’s Farmers Market at 770-664-6300 or visit www.wholefoods.com.