Anxiety and stress can easily cause you to develop many symptoms that negatively impact your quality of life, like loss or gain of appetite, headaches, stomachaches, fatigue, depression, weight loss and weight gain. Anxiety and stress also worsen existing conditions and diseases. Fortunately, many people have found yoga and meditation practices to be helpful for combating stress and anxiety. The key to success in using yoga for stress relief is in the consistency with which you practice.
Identification
Yoga is a practice that derives from ancient India. It includes asanas (yoga positions), pranayama (breathing exercises), shavasana (relaxation), dietary guidelines and dhyana (meditation). Yoga classes typically start with doing some breathing exercises, a warm-up series of exercises known as sun salutations, which are followed by holding yoga poses. Yoga classes usually end with a guided relaxation and meditation.
Benefits
According to the Mayo Clinic, one of the benefits of yoga is that it helps you calm your mind by bringing your body into positions that demand balance and concentration. Over time, yoga practices help you develop greater flexibility, range of motion, balance and strength. Mayo Clinic also reports that yoga can help you better manage not only anxiety and stress, but also depression, insomnia, pain, fatigue, sleeping problems and moodiness. The Mayo Clinic states that yoga can additionally help lower your blood pressure and heart rate.
Function
Yoga, like all forms of exercise, can be helpful in fighting stress because it gives you a boost of endorphins, which are hormones that make you feel better physically. Deep breathing in particular can be very helpful for dealing with stress, as the oxygen you take into your body through breathing deeply can alleviate the buildup of lactic acid that causes feelings of fatigue and stress. When done with yoga exercises, deep breathing can also prevent you from feeling tired afterward, giving you more energy instead of taking it from your body. In this way, yoga practice provides you the benefits of deep breathing as well as those associated with exercise.
Types
The specific kinds of asanas (yoga postures) that help relieve anxiety and stress include bow pose, bridge pose, child's pose, cobra pose and cow pose. Easy pose, triangle pose, dolphin pose and the dolphin plank pose have also been found helpful for dealing with stress and anxiety.
Warning
It is important to learn yoga from a qualified teacher, especially when you first start practicing. Visit a doctor before starting a yoga practice if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure, severe osteoporosis, balance problems, are pregnant, have artificial joints or certain eye conditions, such as glaucoma.
