Yoga As A Cure for Modern Day Stress

What is Stress?

Stress is our body’s reaction to any challenging situation which targets us, through physical, mental, or emotional responses. These responses are operated by our brain, by activating the nervous system with specific hormones. Hypothalamus (in the center of the brain) signals to the adrenal to produce more adrenaline and cortisol and pass them into our bloodstream. As a result, heart rate, BP, and metabolism increase, which leads to the expansion of blood vessels, more blood flow, and thus making muscles tense and hence our brain on high alert. At this time, the liver releases some of its stored glucose to cope with energy deficiency, and sweat is produced to cool the body.

Though this chain of responses is our natural defense mechanism to suppress the inflammation, it also suppresses the immune system as well. Once the adrenal is activated, it needs time to recover from its side effects. If it is activated again and again without sufficient recovery time in between, our body becomes depleted and exhausted.

What Does It Do?

The continued stress signals cause greater damages to our nervous system which in turn stimulates the production of stress hormones for longer periods. This may result in wearing out our body’s reserves which leads to feeling depleted. These prolonged degenerating conditions can cause weakening of our immune system, and that is the foundation for all the illness, fatigue, mood swing, lack of focus, irritation, anger, and so on.

Stress, hence, becomes the root of many health issues ranging from minor headache to risky heart attack and even cancers. The list of common symptoms is endless, such as dizziness, general aches, and pains, grinding teeth, clenched jaw, headaches, indigestion, loss of appetite, overeating, muscle tension in the neck, face or shoulders, sleeping disorders, racing heart. cold and sweaty palms. tiredness, exhaustion. trembling/shaking, weight gain, or loss. upset stomach, diarrhea, etc. are a few to name.

Milder stress may be a motivating factor to keep us moving. But the unreleased chronic stress is taking its toll to a tremendous level, causing our body’s diminished performance. In this fast-paced life, we may not be consciously aware of the haggards surrounding us in the form of electricity, radiations, electromagnetic waves, infra-red, etc., but our body’s internal system registers all the noises and responds accordingly.

We, the whole human race, are struggling to find the balance between modern life and our animal instincts. Our brains are over-stimulated, bodies are more sedentary than ever, many of us struggle through fatigue and imbalance resulting from irreversible chronic stresses. The irony is, as technology is growing at an unprecedented pace we have lesser and lesser time at our disposal! This is the time we need more time to calm our mind, slow our pace, and take a deep breath.

How to Handle It?

Do’s

We should learn the ways and techniques to manage stress for a healthier and happier life. Practicing the following multiple ‘rituals’ as a way out to soothe the nerves that are constantly overdriven can help it recover fast. Learn and practice relaxation techniques like meditation, yoga, or tai-chi. Keeping a positive attitude and accepting that there are events that we cannot control. Practice being assertive with our feelings, opinions, or beliefs instead of aggressive like getting angry, offensive, or passive. Exercise regularly. Our body can fight stress better when it is fit. Follow a healthy diet with well-balanced meals. Learn the art of saying no to requests that would create excessive stress appropriately. Make time for hobbies and interests. Take enough rest and sleep, our body needs time to recover from stressful events.

Don’t Do’s

Don’t turn to alcohol, drugs, or compulsive behaviors as a remedial to reduce stress. Don’t over engage in the same activities which give us stress already. Don’t accept any assignments which you don’t like. Don’t talk too much about the stress-causing events, persons, or situations.

How Yoga Helps Handle Stress?

Enhance our body’s natural functions:

The process of recovery from the exhaustion associated with chronic stress involves different methods of yoga targeting to turn off the adrenal hormones and promote the secretion of anabolic hormones. Some particular yoga poses, such as inversions can help to stimulate glands in the brain such as Pituitary and Pineal. For which, moving into the Alpha state is considered to be ideal, where the brain’s healing process is activated. Alpha state is often attained through different stages or types of yoga such as Nada yoga, Dhyana yoga, Savasana, etc.

Twists, stretches, postures, and deep breathing in Yoga help our body’s natural functioning be balanced. It keeps our nervous system supple, enhances the flow of fluids in the spine, and also stimulates glands to reinstate the body’s original vitals. Muscles are strengthened and turned flexible, toxins are released and lungs are rejuvenated. Yoga balances the whole body system with its enormous flow of energy and hence considered as energy medicine for healing.

Releases Tension:

When we stress out, our body and mind carry a great amount of physical and mental tensions. Yoga helps us to release those tensions otherwise it accumulates over a period to form chronic illnesses and psychological issues. Through the triangular ways of yoga, such as Asanas (poses), Dyana (meditation), and Pranayama (breathing exercises), we attain the true union of body and mind by releasing all the tensions and negative elements present.

Yoga helps us to activate all vital energy parts, called chakras (7) of our body to carry out organ-specific restorations and divert it to manifest the ultimate realization we longed for.

The Breath:

Breath is our Jeeva Bindu – the center point of life. When we go through the stressed situations, the body will show its relative symptoms such as anger, anxiety, muscle stiffness, distractions, hyperactivities ect., and the breathing becomes fast and shallow. In this condition, our oxygen intake is diminished and lungs fail to exhale the stale air to become vulnerable by the accumulated residuals of the toxins built in. This leads to multiple reactions resulting in cell degenerations and then to the accelerated aging and chronic diseases such as cancer, stroke and heart diseases etc. Effective breath patterns can change our metabolic processes, emotions, chemical reactions and secretions.

Mind-Body Connection:

As the common saying, ‘mind affects the body; the body affects the mind’ is truly experienced and agreed by every human being irrespective of their beliefs. Once we master the yoga skills to a certain level, we will be in control of our breathing patterns, postures, emotions and diets, to use wisely. For every emotion we express, our body registers it and then mirrors it. To know it better, please stop for a while and notice, when any of us get angry or afraid, what happens to our body. Somebody may get difficulty in breathing, for somebody, body shivering, heart beat faster, and for some others, prolonged weakness lasts upto couple of days. Why is this happening? This undoubtedly proves that the body and mind are inter connected.

Here is where yoga comes to play a bigger role to manipulate this phenomena to live a better controlled life. Yoga teaches us to control or heal our physical ailments through mindfulness and in the same way it teaches how to regulate the mind by doing postures. Hence it allows us to realize the cause and effect of emotions and learn how to manage it. We are then better equipped to handle everything that comes in our way. We can then handle our life with more ease, with more grace, and from a more objective point of view.

Our life we live is the sum total of what our thoughts processed. Once we realize this fact and do the favorable alteration in our way of living, the world around us starts shaping as we dreamed of. The theory of ‘ultimate wisdom comes from within’ is the whole concept of yoga.

Through yoga, we learn to find a sense of wholeness more aware of ourselves. Yoga thus creates balance in our bodies, in our minds, in our lives such that it even replaces antidepressants or pills which causes side effects. Eventually we as a supreme living being, evolve close to the universe creating a better space for us and all.

Recomended Poses:

➤Chakrasana (Wheel pose); ➤Sukhasana (Easy pose); ➤Balasana (Child’s pose); ➤Paschimottanasana (Seated forward bend); ➤Ananda Balasana (Happy baby pose); ➤Uttanasana (Standing forward bend); ➤Padangusthasana (Big Toe Pose); ➤Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose); ➤Dhanurasana (Bow Pose); ➤Setu Bandhasana (Bridge Pose); ➤Ustrasana (Camel Pose); ➤Marjaryasana (Cat Pose); ➤Nadi Shodhana Pranayama (Channel Cleaning Breath); ➤Bitilasana (Cow Pose)