I heard it everywhere: “Do yoga! Yoga is healthy and helps against stress!” For me, however, even the thought of yoga causes discomfort. I live in an area where there is not only yoga for children, but also for pets. And now this! Am I supposed to be one of them now? What’s next then? Chia chi gong and cold brew porridge? I could get into aggro yoga, beer yoga or terror pilates… maybe. But that really only comes from the euphonious names. Beyond that, the thought of yoga gives me a really bad headache.
Now, last year many had to search for ways to find a bit of inner peace in their more or less freely chosen prison of their own four walls. That’s probably why this terrible advice rang so often in my ears – along with the tip to try it with a dog or cat – pet yoga, I can tell which way the wind is blowing! And of course I see the advantages, but at the same time I would rather get a child than feed an animal for my own amusement. No offence! It’s just my own personal view on the subject.
And I really had to think it for a moment why I didn’t want to do anything about the trendy topic of stress. But then it struck me why I am not renitent, but rather already very resilient. It was suddenly clear to me, like the kick you get while doing sun salutations, why this search for a miracle cure was pretty much up my ass. Because stress is an issue for which I have known a few remedies for many years. One of my favourites are maths and logic problems and right up there with them is Picross, known to some as Nonogram.
After all, while humans are very confusing and irrational, maths and logic provide a haven of order and structure. While my head deals with these tasks, there is even a tab open in parallel to deal with acute human problems. The more complete my picture in Picross becomes, the clearer the picture in my head. And in contrast to Tetris, I determine the pace myself. Slowing down without a health app. The nonogram is solved when the nonogram is solved.
By the way, I spent even more time in Nintendo’s Picross series than in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Over the years, there was really a lot of stress to relieve. Simple but effective – Picross is yoga for the mind.
Picross by developer Jupiter for Nintendo platforms started in 2011 with Picross e for the Nintendo 3DS. Most recently, Picross s6 was released for the Switch. In the meantime, there are also a few thematic spin-offs, which, however, work in exactly the same way in terms of gameplay. Picross 3D by HAL Laboratory also has many friends in the gaming community.
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