We could all do with a little less tension in our lives. Fortunately, there are many easy-to-utilize yoga techniques and practices to ease your stress and cope better with the daily tribulations of life. If you are new to yoga, you might feel intimidated by all the poses and perhaps unsure of what to do. Don’t worry; yoga is easy to get started with. Just one simple yoga practice can help you reduce your daily stress and create happier times in your life.
Five Ways To Harmonize and De-Stress Your Life With Yoga
Extend: Yoga has many forms – try using the slow, extended poses, or asanas, of Kundalini yoga to allow your body time and space. These extended asanas open your body’s energy, or prana, channels, allowing those areas of stress to disperse and dissolve. Along with gentleness and strength, these extended asanas serve as therapy for you and for those you share them with.
Pranayama – Just Breathe: Pranayama is the fundamental practice of watching the breath. There are many forms of pranayama, and many postures in enhancing the practice. But taking a moment for a few long, deep breaths enlivens the senses and dissipates carbon dioxide, allowing your muscles to relax but keeping you on your toes and ready to deal with any of life’s tribulations. If you feel a surge of anxiety or stress, fill your lungs with breath. Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth.
Meditation – It’s Not What You Think: Simply being in the moment is the essence of meditation, and you can practice it no matter what you’re doing: if you’re vacuuming, just vacuum, if you’re walking, just walk, let that be your only concern. Allow other thoughts to come and go, releasing your grasping attachment to them and not succeeding them with after-thoughts. Let go and just ‘be.’ Continue to follow the breath without any judgment, and see how it feels. As it fills your body, clear the mind of whatever you are doing, and let the mind be empty of thoughts and feelings. As it starts to become lighter and lighter, you are guided gently into a pleasant calm state of meditation. Meditation is essential for achieving the goal of better health and being more at peace with your body.
Take Advantage Of The Moment: Be aware of your body when sitting at your desk or in your car, lengthen your spine, release and open your shoulders, let go of the tension through your pelvis and solar plexus and let your breath come naturally. Simply removing the slouch can reawaken your mind and soul as you go about your day.
Don’t Forget Your Diet: Stimulants, such as caffeine and sugar, increase adrenal function while fatty, starchy foods inhibit the natural flow of adrenalin and exacerbate this effect exponentially. A heavy meal can reduce digestive efficiency and will create added stress and frayed emotions. Choose fresh fruit and vegetables combined with nuts and pulses for their detoxifying and energizing properties. Fruits and vegetables contain significant amounts of antioxidants that have powerful anti-stress and antioxidant effects, as well as enzyme-increasing properties which boost adrenal functioning.
These yoga exercises teach us techniques to reduce tension and help with emotional stress. This means we can decrease or decrease our anger, anxiety, and sadness, and get over it faster. There is no better way to live life than to practice yoga regularly. Yoga provides you with the strategies to deal with your feelings, as well as information on the underlying cause of our emotions. It can empower you to attain an enlightened perspective on yourself, on your emotions, and on how to make real changes in your life.
