Yoga a stress buster

The way I look at stress is that it isn’t something we can entirely avoid. But when it’s prolonged stress it goes out of hand and gets the best of you, starts affecting your day to day life, our relationships. It takes a toll on us physically, mentally and emotionally. Bubble baths, weekend trips with your friends, testing a new spa, having a massage and of course having a glass of bubbles are great but then we need a tool which helps us in releasing and managing our stress levels. That’s when we might want to hit the mat and give yoga a try. Yoga is a mind-body practice that combines poses or asanas, pranayama or controlled breathing and meditation or relaxation. Yoga can have a positive effect on parasympathetic nervous system and aid in lowering heartbeat and blood pressure. Effective use of this practice can also reduce the chances of stress culminating in anxiety and depression.

Relaxes The Body: Yoga poses, also called asanas, are a series of movements designed to increase strength and flexibility. Asanas practiced in the right way can be as soothing as a massage when it comes to reducing tension and relaxing the physical body. Certain postures have a deeply calming effect on the whole system, particularly forward bends and inversions. For Eg: Balasana (Child’s Pose) is wonderful bility to soothe the adrenal glands and create internal and external calm. Each yoga sessions ends with five to ten minutes spent relaxing in corpse pose – savasana. While this enforced relaxation can be difficult at first, eventually it serves the purpose of a total release for both body and mind. Savasana or the Corpse pose transitions you back into the world feeling refreshed and equipped with the tools to combat stress in you.

Breathe More Effectively: Controlling your breathing is an important part of yoga. Yoga teaches that controlling your breathing can help you control your body and quiet your mind. “The mind is the king of the senses, and the breath is the king of the mind.” -Hatha Yoga Pradipka There are so many powerful breathing techniques (Pranayama in Sanskrit) which can help a myriad of maladies, from depression to mental clarity, energy levels and weight loss; the list goes on and on.

Develop the Mind and Body connection: When the mind and body are connected, there’s generally a greater sense of harmony and ease in our lives. The body sends important signals when something is off
balance, which happens so often when we are under pressure. Having the ability to respond is therefore really important for our wellbeing. Yoga teaches us to be sensitive to each movement and to listen to our bodies. The practice encourages us to exist in the present moment and to live in a more mindful, conscious and connected way.

Release Emotional Energy: Negative emotions like fear, anger and guilt can cause stress, particularly if they bottled up and are not expressed. A buildup of anything creates pressure. Emotional pressure often
gets released in an unrefined way, such as shouting at your partner, snapping at a work colleague or getting unreasonably fired up at petty things like when you ordered a cappuccino and vanilla latte was served!! We actually release emotional energy really effectively throughout our yoga practice, even if you’re not aware of it. Postures that release the hips and shoulders (where we commonly store all our pent up emotional tension) are particularly effective. If you feel a bit wound up, try taking a hip opening yoga class and notice how you feel afterwards. If any residual emotions come up, notice them and then simply spend a few minutes letting them go via the exhalation.

Achieving the right balance: Every person has a different body with different abilities. You may need to modify yoga postures based on your individual abilities. Your instructor or teacher may be able to suggest modified poses. Choosing a teacher who is experienced and who understands your needs is important to safely and effectively practice yoga. Regardless of which type of yoga you practice, you don’t have to do every pose. If a pose is uncomfortable or you can’t hold it as long as the instructor requests, don’t do it. Good teacher will understand and encourage you to explore, but not exceed your personal limits. And to sum it up all stress is not something we can completely shelter from or avoid, but through yoga and meditation we can learn how to reduce and manage the impact of stressful situations and brace ourselves up for a much happier, healthier and more chilled out you. Om Namaste!