Yoga for Stress Management Essay

Abstract:

Yoga is an increasingly popular therapy, used to maintain wellness and assist with the management of a range of health complaints. Stress affects individuals of all age groups, and people of all sectors and occupations, including doctors. Though many modalities of treatments are available for reducing stress, people are trying to find an alternative to relieve stress without medications. Yoga, developed thousands of years ago, is recognized as a form of mind-body medicine. This paper traces the benefit of Yoga to reduce stress in day-to-day life.

Introduction:

Stress is an integral part of the natural fabric of life. Stress is very common with people of all ages across the globe and this has no boundaries as to age, sex, or religion. This factor needs to be addressed immediately, failing which there is going to be catastrophe for the very existence of human beings on this planet, just for the reason that, stress is found to be the root cause of social unrest. Due to heavy stress that affects the physical and psychological aspects of the human being, one should think positively and adopt the right ways of resolving stress-related problems. Stress management involves controlling and reducing the tension that occurs in stressful situations by making emotional and physical changes. Meditation, yoga, pranayama, physical exercises, physical relaxations, etc. are the important techniques that are to be followed to manage stress. Yoga will help man perform all of his duties in harmony with the laws of nature and the sentiments and conventions of society. Meditation helps psychophysical control of the human organs and maintenance of steadiness and strength. It helps with emotional problems and also helps to reduce physical, mental, and emotional tension. Pranayama is another step in the systematic study of yoga. It is the method of deep breathing by which one can absorb larger quantities of atmospheric energy by expanding the lungs to one’s capacity. In the 1970s, meditation and other stress-reduction techniques have been studied as possible treatments for depression and anxiety. One such practice, yoga, has received less attention in the medical literature, though it has become increasingly popular in recent decades. One national survey estimated, for example, that about 7.5% of U.S. adults had tried yoga at least once, and that nearly 4% practiced yoga in the previous year.

Signs and Symptoms of Stress: -

Numerous emotional and physical disorders have been linked to stress including depression, anxiety, heart attacks, stroke, hypertension, immune system disturbances that increase susceptibility to infections, a host of viral-linked disorders ranging from the common cold and certain cancers, as well as autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis

Body

The symptoms of stress and changes in your body that you may notice include:

• headaches
• other aches and pains
• sleep disturbance
• fatigue
• upset stomach, diarrhoea
• high blood pressure
• weakened immune system
• muscle tension
• change in sex drive (male or female)

Mind

The symptoms of stress affecting your mind, thoughts, and feelings include:

• anxiety, worry
• anger, irritability
• depression
• feeling overwhelmed and out of control
• feeling moody, tearful
• difficulty concentrating
• low self-esteem, lack of confidence

Behavior

The symptoms of stress that impact your behavior include:

• overeating or undereating
• outbursts of anger
• relationship problems
• alcohol, smoking, or drug abuse
• avoiding people

Chronic and severe stress can increase the risk of developing depression, anxiety, substance abuse, or a range of other mental disorders. If you are concerned you may have a mental health issue, visit a health professional.

Measuring Stress:

There are several ways to measure stress. However, the exact way depends upon several factors including the questions being raised, the complaints of the person affected, the potential impact of the stated person, the socioeconomic experience of the person, and the different kinds of events to which the person is exposed.

Psychological changes in response to stress can be evaluated through blood, urine, saliva, and proxy autonomic measures. The Psychological impact of stress can be obtained through observation, self-report methods, checklists, and interviews.

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Stress Management through Yoga

The definition of yoga is “to yoke or joint together. Yoga is the most recognized form of Exercise, Stretching, Aerobic exercise, and Meditation. it integrates the mind and body focusing on balanced posture, deep breathing, stretching, and relaxation. Yoga evolved from the Hindu, Jaina, and Buddhist religious traditions in India. Yoga alters stress response and a person’s attitude, towards stress along with improving self-confidence, increasing one’s sense of wellbeing, and creating a feeling of relaxation and calmness.

Yoga, developed thousands of years ago, is recognized as a form of mind-body medicine. In yoga, physical postures and breathing exercises improve muscle strength, flexibility, blood circulation, and oxygen uptake as well as hormone function. In addition, the relaxation induced by meditation helps to stabilize the autonomic nervous system with a tendency towards parasympathetic dominance. Physiological benefits which follow, help yoga practitioners become more resilient to stressful conditions and reduce a variety of important risk factors for various diseases, especially cardio-respiratory diseases.

Patanjali was the father of yoga around the sixth century B.C. and appeared in the massive epic. The Mahabharata was written by sage Vyasa and contains The Bhagavad Gita. Krishna explains to Arjuna the essence of Yoga as practiced in daily life (‘Song of the Lord’), and uses the term “yoga” extensively in a variety of ways. In addition to an entire chapter dedicated to traditional yoga practice, including meditation, it introduces three prominent types of yoga:

• Karma yoga: The yoga of action
• Bhakti yoga: The yoga of devotion, note Krishna had also specified devotion itself was an action similar to above.
• Jnana yoga: The yoga of knowledge.

Yoga provides a unique way of managing stress through pranayama (A birthing technique), in this technique an individual does slow and steady breathing- like inhaling through one nostril and exhaling through others. Besides there are fast breathing movements like intake of air through the nostrils and exhaling through the mouth at a fast pace, this way air is passed properly through blood capillaries and the person feels himself/herself in light mode i.e. he/she feels that there is no burden over their mind and soul

Yoga Poses to Reduce Stress:

• Anjali Mudra

Practicing Anjali Mudra is an excellent way to induce a meditative state of awareness. Most of the time we perform it with our hands in the center of our heart chakra. This represents the balance and harmony between the right and left sides reunited in our center. This balance can be not only physical but also mental and emotional, and the idea is to bring us to the center to prepare ourselves for meditation and contemplation. Start this sequence by practicing this mudra while seated in a comfortable cross-legged position with your eyes closed.

• Sukhasana (Easy Pose)

Easy Pose has some great benefits in addition to promoting groundedness and inner calm, such as: opening your hips, lengthening your spine, amplifying the state of serenity, tranquility, and eliminating anxiety, relieves physical and mental exhaustion and tiredness. Focus on your breath in this pose and sit still with a straight spine for at least 60 seconds.

• Janu Sirsasana (Head-to-Knee Forward Bend)

A forward bend for all levels of students, Janu Sirsasana is also a spinal twist. This pose calms the brain and helps relieve mild depression anxiety, fatigue, headache, menstrual discomfort, and insomnia. You can do this pose with both arms reaching for the extended foot, or by rotating your torso sideways and extending the outer arm over your head.

• Bitilasana (Cow Pose)

Cow Pose is an easy, gentle way to warm up the spine. This pose is often paired with a Cat Pose on the exhale for a gentle, flowing vinyasa. In addition to relieving stress and calming the mind, this pose also: massages and stimulates organs in the belly, like the kidneys and adrenal glands, and creates emotional balance. For proper alignment place wrists directly under the shoulders and knees under the hips.

• Savasana (Corpse Pose)

Savasana is a pose of total relaxation, making it one of the most challenging asanas. Savasana gives the nervous system a chance to integrate that in what can be thought of as a brief pause before it is forced once again to deal with all the usual stresses of daily life. Lie on your back with your eyes closed, arms by your sides and palms facing up. Allow your ankles to fall outward. Allow your body to melt deeper into the mat with each breath. Stay in this pose for a minimum of 5 minutes.

Conclusion:

Yoga provides a combination of benefits such as breathing exercises, stretching exercises, fitness programs meditation practice, and guided meditation all in one technique. So, in conclusion – Yoga has a combined set of principles and exercises that can greatly benefit us in dealing with stress in day-to-day life.

References: -

1. Yoga and Meditation – Katherine Wright
2. Yoga for Stress Relief – Swami Shivapremananda
3. Stress Management Through Yoga and Meditation.