Stress Relief Through Yoga
We all are aware that stress is a normal part of life. No one can live a stress free life but we can learn to manage it. Getting overloaded by stress is harmful and makes us vulnerable to health problems. However, stress within a comfort zone can motivate a person to become more productive and energetic.
Stress is caused by external or internal stimuli. External factors are unavoidable and leave us vulnerable to internal ones. In fact, the way we perceive a stress provoking event, and how we respond to it, determines the impact of stress on our health.
Stress means tension or pressure from situations threatening our physical and psychological wellbeing. Stress causes cortisol and adrenaline to run through our circulation causing a significant rise in heart rate, muscle tension, sugar level and ventilation or breath. If this chemical change lasts long, elevated levels of stress hormones exhaust the body and push it chemically out of balance. The main known external and internal causes of stress are outlined below:
Common external causes of stress
Major life changes
Sudden change in job or school
Relationship difficulties
Job difficulties
Financial problem
Sudden change in job or school
Relationship difficulties
Job difficulties
Financial problem
Stress affects each of us differently. Some people have a hard time to coping with stress while others handle it easily. The internal causes of stress may be experienced as a response to external stimuli or they may be self-generated. Our reaction to stress may be physical, psychological or behavioral depending on the individual level of stress tolerance. Learning to moderate the reaction to stress is known as “stress management”, which involves controlling or reducing mental and physical tension.
Fortunately, there are many ways to minimize stress. Learning healthy “coping strategies” are known to be the best ways to manage stress. Yoga is a great stress reliever. Techniques of yoga teach us how to manage and reduce stress by natural and healthy means. Managing stress does not eradicate stressors but alleviates their effects. It is important to take control of your stress before it takes control over you.
In my experience, the following are eight simple but highly effective yogic techniques to reduce the tension caused by stress:
- As you wake up in the morning, focus your attention on your breathing. After a few breaths, as you inhale, start counting from one to four and as you exhale, count reversely. Continue in this manner of breathing several times. Follow this by repeating motivating, positive statements assertively.
- During the day, whenever you become aware of the subtle signs of physical or mental tension, take a few diaphragmatic breaths. Count one number for each breath (i.e. with the first diaphragmatic breath, count “ten” to yourself, with the next breath count “nine”, in reverse order, until you reach number one).
- Try this excellent anti-stress breathing technique whenever you find yourself right in the heart of stress. Place your right thumb and first finger at the end of your septum and apply a light pressure on it, making sure that your nostrils remain free or open for breathing. Close your mouth and inhale deeply making soft and even sounds from your nostrils. After holding your breathe for a second, exhale smoothly and continuously with sound. Repeat this several times.
- Try, on a daily basis, a few cycles of the “Sun Salutation” followed by at least thirty breaths of kapalabhati pranayama.
- After passing through stressful situations, it is helpful to perform “Lion Pose” or Simhasana to reduce tension and to maintain your emotional stability.
- Before bedtime, repeat positive and motivating statements assertively.
- Performing a series of five, consecutive, simple yoga stretches as suggested below, right before going to bed at night, puts you in a generally calm mood. This cycle burns stress chemicals and brings sound sleep:
- Virasana
- Shashankasana
- Marjarasana
- Stretches of Marjarasana
- Adho Mukha Svanasana
8. The following is a “guided imagery” relaxation technique that can help you quickly manage stress and reduce tension in both body and mind:
- Lie on your back and calm your body.
- Close your eyes and breathe deeply, focusing on:
- breathing in feelings of peace
- breathing out feelings of stress.
- Once you’ve reached a relaxed state, visualize a clear blue sky
- Begin to envision yourself floating in the clear blue sky, feeling weightless and light
- Feel the profound peace flowing like a gentle breeze around you and the infinite sprit of love enveloping you.
- Enjoy the infinite calmness.
- Turn your attention again to breathing. Breathe deeply
- Concentrate only on your inhalations. While inhaling imagine that a gentle blue breeze is passing through your nose, going deep inside your body, filling it with peaceful sensations. After a while, shift your attention only on your exhalations. While exhaling feel freedom in the body and mind and then let the sensation go. Feel the detached state of mind for as long as you wish.
- After a few minutes, count in reverse from twenty to one. When you reach number one, slowly open your eyes feeling refreshed, energetic and full of positive sensations.
Managing stress effectively requires dealing and working through it assertively. You can sweep the stress away if you use yogic techniques regularly. This significantly improves your mental and physical wellbeing.
Maya Machawe