This post is all about taking the yogic approach for stress management. Disclaimer please consult your doctor and/or a professional as the contents of this post and website are not to be considered as medical advise.
With the constant unpredictability of life, Yoga has been a trusted practice for centuries, offering physical benefits and relief for our overworked minds, bodies, and emotions. And with science catching up to the Yogi’s long-lived knowledge, it makes every yoga practitioner proud! Especially now, as more practitioners are finding their practice and experiencing the benefits, and researchers are taking a closer look at yoga’s stress-busting abilities.
It’s really easy to forget that you are not alone in the struggle of stress. From juggling responsibilities, financial worries, health concerns, and/or you own personal goals – stress is a shared human experience.
Take a big breath, slow and complete. Feel a little better?
My Ah-Ha Moment
Typically, after work, I take a hot shower to help me unwind and reset after the day. But my stress was so high one day that I found myself rushing my shower – I mean barely lathering the soap, just on go-mode, taking short, shallow breaths, jaw clenched and eyebrows furrowed.
My (mental) stress was causing my body to respond with muscle tension, quick movements, and short, incomplete breaths. What a killjoy and a TERRIBLE shower experience. These were my body’s symptoms of my mind’s chaos and stress.
So how can I/we manage and reduce this unwelcome invisible attacker? …Yoga!
Let’s jump into the juicy bits of how your yoga practice can help with stress, with a few shared researched benefits and some simple ways to weave it into your daily routine.
The Science of Stress
Short-term stress can be motivating, but we know that chronic stress can negatively affect our health. Logically living this way, in a state of stress every day or for long periods of time is not healthy.
Lets cover some basics. When you experience stress, mainly phycological (mental) stress—the brain initiates the “fight-or-flight” response. This leads to the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, preparing the body to confront or escape the threat, which causes an increased heart rate and blood pressure. Your muscles tense, especially in the neck, shoulders, and back, which can lead to tension headaches and body aches.
All things you can simply google and learn about. Live this way long enough, and you’re at risk for chronic illness. Losing sleep, aging quicker, stress headaches, even walking around in a sad/bad mood all the time.
How can Yoga Help?
Earlier when I shared my rushed shower story.. I had enough self awareness to catch myself in this action. I realised how tense my body and jaw was, how caught in my own mental hell of stress and took a deep breath through the nose, softened my belly and shoulders, and did a little full body shake. It took a few breathes but I was able to calm my mind and release the grip I had on myself.
The ability to catch yourself in that state of stress and then having the tools to become present and calm was from the teachings of yoga. Period. Knowing that the body and mind are in a constant relationship all day and use one or the other to find a place of ease.
Our bodies and breath are storehouses of every experience we’ve had. It will hold on to these experiences, affecting how we breathe, and all of a sudden, we’re walking around constantly taking shallow breaths with tight shoulders pushed up to our ears. Because we havn’t helped ourselves recalibrate or reset.
Put simply, the practice of yoga helps regulate the autonomic nervous system and activate the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), taking us out of the “figth-or-fligth” response. Specific practices will encourage fuller, deeper breathing, poses will release tension and manipulate the energy in the body to soften and bring awareness to calm your mind. Soothing our overworked nervous system with immediate results.
Activating your parasympathetic nervous system helps lower heart rate and blood pressure, alleviating symptoms of stress. – PubMed + Stanford Longevity Center + Verywell Health
Yoga is not about flexibility—it’s a powerful practice made up of many tools for mental, emotional and physical well-being; flexability is but one of the fruits.
The Best Yoga Practices for Stress Management
Whether you are aware of not, practices have an energetic intent aka they invoke a particular energetic response; rest and digest or energetic and alert are the two most popular.
So let’s talk about some of the most effective yoga styles for rest and digestion for stress management and reduction.
- Yoga Styles and Practices – Hatha, Yin, Restorative, Yoga Nidra, Slow Flow
- Key poses – Child’s Pose, Forward Fold (standing or seated), Legs-Up-The-Wall, Happy Baby, Pigeon Pose – hold for 5 – 10 complete breaths or 1 – 3 minutes
- Breathwork (pranayama) – Nadhi Shodana, Complete Breathing (full inhales and soft complete exhales)
How to Incorporate Yoga Into Your Daily Routine
It’s easy to forget the benefits and results of yoga especially when our daily routines have been built and lived for so long which never incorporated a few minutes of physical or mental checking. So, give yourself some grace as you learn the positivity of yoga and learn how to include it in to your life.
Here are 4 ways to try and incorporate yoga into your daily routine; even 5 minutes can support your nervous system in recalibrating and at least remind you of the magic it holds:
- Set a daily alarm for your ideal time, maybe its first thing in the morning, example I wake up at 5:15am so I have an alarm set for 6am that says ‘Time For A Feel Better Flow’, or set one for lunch or in the evening this way your mind does doesn’t have to remember. This is your dedicated time to move and breathe.
- Before or after your shower. Make it a habit to sit and breathe and flow for however long you need or have time for.
- When your coffee machine is warming up, take those few minutes to open your body and breathe intentionally.
- Lay on the floor and move while bingeing a show or watching a movie.
Ideally, you would practice in silence with intention and attention on your body, mind, and emotions rather than externally distracting yourself BUT we can all relate to the challenge when it comes to adding a new thing to our routine. So, make these simple additions however you need to and slowly transition to a more intentional practice.
Conclusion
If stress is a part of everyday life, then yoga should be too. Even a few minutes of mindful movement and deep breathing can help regulate our nervous system, lower stress hormones, and bring a sense of calm to even the busiest days. Without the need an expensive studio membership or hours of free time.
Take the time to practice and learn the yogic tools to have self awareness and know how to apply the tools when needed.
What are your go to practices or poses that help you recalibrate when stressed?
