Banish Stress with these Yoga, Breathing and Meditation Tips.

Hello everyone!
Stress is a normal reaction our body has to challenging situations like when we are in danger or when we are doing a new activity. But if it takes control over us it can negatively affect our health. Because of this it is important to be aware of the signs our body sends, it send us calls for help in the form of sleep problems, tiredness, lack of concentration, memory problems or a stiff neck or jaw, etc. When you notice any of these symptoms try to dedicate some time each day for relaxation. Yoga, meditation or breathing techniques are some of the tools you have at your disposal.
Yoga postures for stress reduction
Much of the tension produced by stress is held in the area around the neck and the shoulders. This can cause headaches, nausea, vertigo, pins and needles in your hands, etc. If we don’t do anything to fix these problems we can end up suffering from muscle spasms, osteoarthritis or cervial hermiated disc, so, let’s get to work!
The idea is to work the muscles that are most affected in these areas (the trapezius muscle and the sternocleidomastoid muscle are some examples) so that they recover their elasticity and strength, and therefore the movement of the neck is improved.
Before starting it is a good idea to do a few stretching exercises. If you can also do these at work it will help you to relieve tensions through the working day. Some of the recommended yoga postures are: matsyasana or fish pose, perfect for stretching the cervical and dorsal regions of the spine; the position of the arms in garudasana or eagle pose, to relieve tension in the neck and shoulders; and the twisting of the shoulders. Resting or relaxation postures are also recommended such as balasana or child’s pose, uttanasana or standing forward bend and shavasana (corpse pose).
Garudasana or eagle post
As well as these yoga poses it is important to pay attention to your posture on a daily basis. Good postural hygiene is the best medicine. Of course if you have any type of injury you should consult a doctor before undertaking any exercise. And if you have never practised these yoga postures it is best to first try them in a class with the help of a teacher.
Pranayama for stress
I have already told you about the importance of breathing for our mood, because of this pranayamas can be our greatest allies in cases of stress and anxiety. Both complete breathing and Nadi sodhana (alternate nostril breathing) or Brahmari (bee breath) help us relax at tense moments.
As I already mentioned in the post about ‘the importance of breathing’, alternate breathing and the bee breath are perfect techniques to calm our mind in a state of agitation. On top of this, for days when the stress has overwhelmed you and the accumulated tension has given way to headaches, try to do Nadi sodhana by closing your right nostril and breathing with your left, in a few minutes the pain should disappear.
If one day you realise you are anxious, do Brahmari and remember that the longer you maintain the exhalation the more relaxed you will become. If on the other hand you force it you will end up causing yourself more stress.
Stress and Meditation
It is commonly said that if the mind is not relaxed the body can’t relax either, because of this breathing exercises and meditation are so important. When calming the mind meditation plays a very important role. There are different ways of meditating, today I propose one that is based on ‘body scan’, the only thing you need to do is concentrate on your breathing while you pay attention to the sensations in each part of your body. Start with the toes and little by little move upwards towards the top of the head. You will manage to leave behind all your worries at least for a moment.
Remember that even if a bit of stress helps us to react to challenges that we weren’t expecting, a lot of stress immobilises us, it wears us down physically and emotionally and in the long term it ends up making us ill. Because of this it is so important to know how to manage stress and to fight it.
Have a good week!