Yoga For Stress Management – A Complete Mind-Body Guide

Are you often stressed? It may be due to work, family responsibilities, or something else altogether. Due To stress, you may be getting affected in various areas of your life. Take for example, you may be eating right, but putting on excess weight. You may have emotional swings, as well. If you are a woman, reading this, you may be suffering from chronic pain, migraine, blood pressure, and diabetes as well. And the main reason behind all these manageable conditions is stress. So, you must get into yoga for stress management.

But, before you learn about various yogic kriyas for stress management, it makes sense to study the background. 

The Science Of Stress & How Yoga Helps

Stress is nothing but the response of the body system towards perceived attacks. When the body foresees danger, it moves into fight-or-flight response. The brain’s amygdala initiates a quick response, which passes it on to the hypothalamus, to release stress hormones. These hormones are mainly cortisol and adrenaline. Adrenaline provides the needed energy towards the threat and cortisol transmits that energy to the organs. 

Many physical changes occur in the body, at this time. Your heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure increases at this time. And your digestive system and immune system takes a backseat. There can be multiple types of stressors, ranging from tension created by your superiors at work to traffic jams. Chronic stress, if not managed well within time, leads to negative impacts on physical and mental health. Here, enters yoga for stress management. 

Yoga is an ancient holistic practice which affects the mind in myriad ways. It incorporates practices such as yogic poses and breathing, which relaxes the body’s sudden response systems. There will be changes in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus. Stress negatively impacts the prefrontal cortex. Yoga practice on a regular basis leads to increased activation of the prefrontal cortex, which ultimately leads to betterment of its functioning. Yoga cannot change the reason for stress, but it can change the way you react to stress. 

Why Yoga Is More Than Just Physical Exercise

For most of the world, yoga is asana. But, it is a lot more than that. It has the ability to control and manage your emotions, and also reach deeper into your soul. These are the reasons why yoga is more than just a physical exercise. 

• • When you physically balance your body in poses like the Tree pose, or the Mountain pose, your emotions also get balanced. 

• • When you practice forward bends, the body becomes more flexible and you start understanding people in a better manner. 

• • The moment you start practicing backbends, you become more courageous. 

• • Twists release hidden fears and make you experimental. 

• • Chanting mantras and practicing pranayama gives you mental clarity and power. 

• • Daily meditation sessions also make you more centered, and you stop getting affected by the world around you. 

Yoga Breathing (Pranayama) For Instant Calm

In yoga for stress management, Pranayama is an important kriya. When you practice it well, life energy flows smoothly through the energy channels. Proper breathing controls and manipulates it. Through pranayama practice, you can connect the body and the mind. According to yogic principles, when you control the timing and duration of the breath, it can lead to huge benefits. 

Some of the common Pranayama practices are:

• • Alternate Nostril Breathing

• • Ujjayi Breathing

• • Bhramari Breathing

• • Bhastrika Breathing 

These breathing practices can bring about far-reaching effects on the human body, mind and the soul. You will instantly feel calm, after practicing breathing modalities. 

Best Yoga Poses For Stress Relief

• • Balasana – It is a calming and restorative pose, in which you fold the torso in a gentle manner and stretch the upper body. It can lead to introspection. 

• • Vrikshasana – This is one of the easiest and most effective poses for beginners. It leads to focus and balance. 

• • Padmasana – This is a cross-legged meditative pose, which allows you to focus and look inwards. It promotes inner stillness, as well.

Yoga Nidra & Meditation: Deep Rest For Stress Recovery

When you enrol yourself in yoga for stress management, you will learn this ultimate mechanism for stress relief. Yoga Nidra is one of the few practices that can bring about a deep rest and stress recovery process. Your anxiety levels will also go down, when you practice Yoga Nidra properly. It is a guided form of meditation, in which you set an intention, and focus on your breath. Visualizing your intent is another common stage in the Yoga Nidra process. 

How To Build A Personal Stress-Relief Yoga Routine?

If you want to get the best out of yoga, you need to combine yoga asana or poses, Pranayama, and meditation. These are a package in itself. Those of you, who are working, can practice yoga as a routine early in the morning. It is the best time to practice yoga, as the air is pure and the mind silent after a good night’s sleep. It is also possible to practice yoga after work, in the evening. However, you have to make sure to have practice on an empty stomach.  You can learn various yogic mechanisms, like Yoga Nidra under trained experts only.