Guest Author - Martha McKinnon
Life is stressful. To stay healthy, it's important to find healthy ways to deal with stress and relax the body and mind. Yoga has the ability to induce the relaxation response which makes yoga for stress management so effective.
What exactly is stress?
What we refer to as 'stress' is actually the body's natural response to a perceived physical or psychological threat that causes a chain reaction of chemical and hormonal changes in the body. Commonly referred to as the 'flight or fight' response, this prepares the body to do whatever it needs to for survival - your sympathetic nervous system activates, adrenaline and cortisol are released into the blood stream, heart rate increases, blood pressure goes up, pumping more blood to the heart and muscles. All non-essential functions, such as digestion, assimilation, elimination, cellular growth and repair, and reproduction are shut down or considerably stunted.
This reaction is important to self-preservation and can protect us in dangerous situations. However, when the stress response becomes habitually engaged because of chronic physical and/or mental stress, as it is in modern society, the entire body suffers the effects, leading to depression of the immune system, weakening of the entire body, and ultimately disease. Modern day symptoms of living in a chronically stressed state include high blood pressure, depression, insomnia, back pain, infertility, anxiety, and ulcers.
Why is yoga for stress management important?
According to The National Mental Health Association, 75 to 95 percent of all doctor visits are somehow stress related. Stress has been linked to many health conditions and illnesses including chronic headaches, backaches, weight gain, high blood pressure, sexual dysfunction, infertility, ulcers, insomnia, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, depression, and heart disease.
Additionally stress is a major contributor to anger, irritability, as well as decreased ability to concentrate and retain information.
Modern life is stressful. The key to a happy healthy life is developing strategies to counter the effects of stress with deep relaxation. Yoga is one of the strategies for stress management that works.
How Does Yoga Help with Stress Management?
Yoga, a form of mind-body exercise, with its various postures designed to stretch and strengthen the body, controlled breathing exercises and guided relaxation components has become a popular method for stress management because of its recognized ability to induce the body's relaxation response. When relaxed, your muscles release, blood pressure drops, stress-hormone levels decrease, and your heart rate, breathing, and brain wave activity slow down, leading to multiple health benefits.
Benefits of Yoga for Stress Management
• Released muscular tension
• Increased blood circulation and oxygen uptake
• Increased relaxation
• Improved sleep
• Increased energy
• Increased coping skills
• Decreased production of stress hormones
• Increased feelings of well-being
• Increased "feel good" hormone (endorphins) production
• Improved mood
• Increased self-confidence
• Improved digestion and elimination
Yoga for Stress Management Strategies
Are you ready to start experiencing some of the powerful benefits of yoga for stress management? Here are a few easy strategies for getting started.
1. Acknowledge the importance of relaxation and give yourself permission to spend time relaxing each day.
2. Begin incorporating a few minutes of gentle yoga into your daily life. Find just 2-3 poses that help you relax and begin doing them often.
3. Learn more about yogic breathing and turn to it whenever you are feeling stressed.
4. Consider incorporating more gentle restorative yoga into your life, especially during stressful times. One especially beneficial restorative yoga pose is legs-up-the-wall pose.
5. Consider investing in a yoga DVD specifically designed for stress management. My personal favorite is Yoga Journal's Yoga for Stress With Dr. Baxter Bell.
