Yoga For Stress Management And Relaxation

Why Yoga Is An Ideal Stress Solution?

Yoga And Stress

Why should you contemplate Yoga for stress management? What is there in this ancient practice that makes it so attractive even today?

Yoga certainly helps you in dealing with stress: it relaxes you, makes your body more resilient to stress and gives you an overall sense of balance.

The other benefits of Yoga are –

• Better quality of sleep,
• Lowering of blood pressure,
• Increased strength and flexibility of your body,
• Improvement in blood circulation which leads to a healthier heart,
• Improvement in joint movements,
• Improved memory and concentration,
• Increase in the immunity of body.

Let us start by examining the nature of stress and then go on to understand why it makes sense to take up Yoga for stress management and relaxation.

The Affects of Stress on Body and Mind

Stress is a normal occurrence in life; even useful because it prompts you to take action to avoid unpleasant circumstances: You prepare hard for a business meeting because you want it to be productive. You try to give your best in your promotion interview, because your future depends on it. And so on.

...This is positive stress in action.

However, life these days is such that often you have to face stresses from which there is no immediate release: the complexities of relationships, money, children, job, education, all this and more make your life so much complicated.

Stress for long periods is not good at all; you are not 'made' for it: neither your minds, nor your bodies. It gives you hypertension, heart diseases, sleeplessness, skin problems, asthma, ulcers, anxiety, depression and it also weakens your muscle and bone structure.

Now, how does Yoga cure stress? How effective is yoga for stress management?

What Is Yoga?

When you think of Yoga, you might be visualizing various poses that you see in Yoga classes or videos – some graceful and some obviously difficult to emulate. But don't worry, the yoga postures that are beneficial for lay people are quite simple; and over a period of time you start enjoying them.

The Asanas, or the poses, are but one part of yoga, and are known as Hatha Yoga. In fact Breathing techniques, or the Pranayama, are also encompassed by the Yoga.

Different people practice yoga for different purposes: some take to yoga for better health, some practice it for spiritual advancement; some use specific yoga poses to cure health problems, while some take to yoga for stress management and for living a more balanced life.

Practicing Yoga means following a well balanced life which consists of -

1. Right thinking,
2. Right actions, and,
3. Right food.

The complete Yoga system comprises of eight legs, described below.

The tradition of yoga is so old that its origins cannot be traced; it might be more than 5000 years old. Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word 'yog', which literally means 'to join'. The aim of Yoga is to witness the real self, the innermost self, the atma-- and thereby to realize the supreme self, the (parmatma).

The Yogic path takes you from your body, through your mind and intellect, to your innermost being, and helps you in actualizing your real self. You can reach self actualization only through a healthy body, a balanced mind, and a purified spirit. This is the real path of Yoga.

But, you can use Yoga for its limited benefits, and that is how it has become popular in many parts of the world. Practicing yoga for stress management is one such way of practicing it.

The Yoga consists of eight limbs – yama, niyam, asan, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi.

The third and fourth limbs are generally practiced for the health benefits derived from them.

1. Asanas – consists of Yogic postures,
2. Pranayama - is practice of breathing techniques.

You may like to add in a third one out of the above eight – namely, dhyana, or meditation, to get the complete benefit of the spirit of yoga for stress relief.

Practice Of Yoga For Stress Management

Once you have taken up Yoga, you should learn to practice it the right way. You can start with some simple asanas, like Bhujang asana, Vrikshasana, Balasan asana, etc. Then after taking some rest, you may practice Yogic breathing for 10-15 minutes.

The yogic postures consist of various body poses that are to be maintained for specific periods. However, these periods are different for the novices than those for the experts. So, be careful when you are starting out. Always take the guidance from an expert. It is always better this way.

One place where you will get such authoritative guidance is The Yoga Tutor, an absolutely great website. You must take advantage of Yoga lessons that they offer free of cost. Click here to download these Free Yoga lessons that will also enlighten you on how to use yoga for stress management, and on getting a better and more restful sleep with little known yoga relaxation practices..

Practicing Yoga for stress management gives results because it does the following–

• Releases Stress: When you are tense, your body is also in knots; the tension can be felt in various parts of the body, for example, in neck and back muscles.Stressed out body cannot get rid of toxins and does not allow free flow of oxygen. This oxygen deprived state will lead to states of anxiety and depression.

  When you practice Yoga, the stretches and twists of postures lengthen your muscles, relax your body, and help it get rid of accumulated stress hormones and other toxins. It releases endorphins that give you a feeling of well being. Studies show that regular yoga practice helps reduce the secretion of several stress hormones.

  During periods of stress your breathing is shallow. Yogic Breathing (Pranayama) makes you take deep life enriching breaths through specialized techniques, which fill the blood stream with oxygen. Yogic breathing can take you to states of deep relaxation.




• Increases Resilience: Practicing Yoga strengthens the inner organs, and regulates bodily functions. It releases good hormones like endorphins.

  During stress, you involuntarily constrict your muscles thereby constricting blood vessels as well. This may lead to hypertension and cause health problems anywhere in the body.

  Here we come to a reason strong enough to take up yoga for stress management and relaxation: it will help you keep your blood pressure normal.

  Yoga postures reverse this constricting effect and enable oxygen to flow freely through your body. They revive and rejuvenate your body, and keep diseases at bay. Yogic breathing strengthens lungs as well as other parts of the body by enabling blood to carry nutrients to all parts.




• Creates Mind Body Balance: Yoga postures give you a sense of balance. Yoga Postures and Yogic breathing, both make you aware of your body. When you perform asanas you feel tension getting released from your body. When you practice Pranayama, you get relaxed.

  The yogic system has been designed to help you to know your innermost being. You gain mastery over yourself through mastery over your body. The practice of yoga makes you aware of the inter-connectedness of your body, mind and spirit, and helps you in maintaining balance even in your day to day life.

  After sufficient practice, whenever you are tense, you instinctively become aware of the tension spots in your body, and your mind and body start taking immediate steps to restore its native balance.

The useful asanas or postures in yoga for stress management, some of which I have already mentioned above, are – Bhujangasana or the Cobra posture, Vrikshasana or the Tree posture, Balasana or the child posture, shavaasana or the Corpse posture, and makarasana, or the crocodile pose.

These postures are good for getting relief from stress, and they can also help you keep your hypertension in control.

Further Reading

What Is Yoga: Understanding It's Spirit.

Five Main Causes Of Stress

Diaphragmatic Breathing: The Correct Way To Breathe

Meditation: Stress Relief Through Awareness

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) For Stress And Anxiety Relief

What Is Stress - Is It Always Bad?

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