Stress Relief With Yoga - Breathing Exercises and Yoga Poses

Stress can be a dominating part of our lives. In this day and age, we need to imbibe habits and ways to reduce stress to foster better physical and mental health. However, this may feel overwhelming because when it comes to stress, one formula doesn’t work for everyone.

Our bodies and our minds react differently to remedial practices depending on what we are compatible with. Today, we are going to talk about yoga as a stress-relieving practice.

A 2018 study in Iran strongly suggests that yoga is a great way to relieve stress, anxiety, and depression, especially in women. In addition to this, a research study focused on men was conducted in 2020. According to this study, yoga reduced cortisol levels and positively affected parasympathetic nerve activity.

Yoga has been shown to have a plethora of mental and physical health benefits. Some of these are as follows:

• Yoga helps relieve back pain.

• Improves strength, balance, and flexibility.

• Eases symptoms of arthritis.

• Reduces levels of inflammation in the body.

• Improves heart health.

• Helps you sleep better.

• Boosts energy levels, leading to a bright mood.

• Helps relieve stress.

If you’re unusually stressed, adding yoga to your daily routine can help improve your overall health. Yoga is an ancient wellness practice that has been known to promote self-care and lower stress levels. Let’s have a look at some Yoga practices you can follow to manage stress and anxiety.

Breathing Exercises

Breathing exercises in Yoga are also known as Pranayama in Sanskrit. They can help regulate your breathing patterns by promoting deep breathing and relaxation. This will help relieve stress and improve the quality of your sleep. Not only do these breathing exercises reduce stress, but they also help you practice being in the moment.

You can either incorporate breathing exercises in your yoga routine or do them anytime during the day. The only important factor here is that you should be comfortable with it. Take your time and practice whenever you can. Here are some breathing exercises that you can do to reduce stress:

• Breath of fire, i.e., kapalbhati, cleansing and heating

• Lion’s breath, i.e., simhasana

• Alternate nostril breathing, i.e., Nadi Shodhana and Anulom Vilom

• Humming bee breath, i.e., bhramari

• Sitali breath, cooling

These breath practices are known for many more benefits besides stress relief. Research each breath and learn which ones to use based on your symptoms and the source of your conditions. Please do not attempt these physical practices on your own without proper training. In the beginning this is a double edge sword. You will be purging, detoxifying and cleansing your organs and this can cause side effects such as headache, dizziness, lethargy nausea and moodiness.

All emotions, thoughts and physical energies in the mind-body complex will be purging. Get the poison out if you will. After cleansing you will begin to feel great. The key is to nurture your life force and balance out your constitution to thrive fully!

Here are some reliable resources for seeking this knowledge.

Yoga Poses for Stress Relief

Exercising, in general, helps with several problems like blood pressure, cholesterol, and mental illnesses. By practicing yoga poses, you can take your exercise regime one step further. Here, we are going to talk about some yoga poses you can include in your yoga routine to combat stress.

Cat and Cow Pose

The cat and cow pose, known as Marjaryasana to Bitilasana, helps with back pain and strengthens the back muscles. You have to follow the steps below for the cat and cow pose:

• Place your hands and knees on the mat in a tabletop position. Make sure to position your wrists write beneath your shoulders and your knees parallel to your hips. Press your palm and fingerprints into the mat.

• Inhale while pushing your stomach out, ribs down move your neck and crown upwards. Get a good stretch in the belly, ribs, and chest. This is the Cow pose.

• Then, exhale while bringing your stomach and ribs in toward the spine with your neck and head moving down. This is the Cat pose.

• You can continue to do this for 1 minute.

Child’s Pose

The child’s pose, or balasana, is quite simple. It’s a pose you will have to hold for 4 minutes to 5 minutes. Here’s what you need to do:

• Place your knees on the mat and sit back on your heels.

• Fold your torso forward while hinging at your hips, and rest your forehead on the mat.

• Relax your torso and let it release into your thighs.

• Practice deep breathing and try to relax. Hold this position for 5 minutes.

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Legs-Up-The-Wall Pose

The legs-up-the-wall pose, also known as viparita karani, is just what it sounds like. You have to rest your legs vertically on the wall while lying on the mat. This pose helps increase lymph flow and improve circulation.

• First, sit on the mat with your body facing the wall as closely as possible.

• Lie down on your back and put your legs up against the wall. Make sure your knees are straight.

• Keep your arms next to your body flat on the mat.

• Hold this pose for 10 to 15 minutes.

Corpse Pose

The corpse pose, also called savasana, is straightforward. All you have to do is:

• Lie down on the mat with your arms and legs spread out.

• Place your arms next to your body at a 45-degree angle.

• Relax your feet, followed by your entire body.

• Stay in this position for 10 to 15 minutes.

In a nutshell, yoga is nature’s solution to a lot of health problems like stress, anxiety, depression, etc. If you’ve been noticing an overwhelming amount of stress which is becoming difficult to deal with, it’s your sign to include yoga practices like pranayama (breathing practices), meditation (mind practices) and exercises (physical practices) into your daily routine.

Try for 30 days with a set weekly schedule and leave comments on the benefits you have received.