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YOGA
AND STRESS
Stress
is something that stimulates us and increases our level of alertness.
Life without stimulus would be incredibly dull and boring. Life with too
much stimulus becomes unpleasant and tiring, and may ultimately damage
our health or well-being. Too much stress can seriously interfere with
our ability to perform effectively.
Too
little can lead to boredom and "Rust Out"
but
too much can produce "Burn Out".
Stress
is the physical and mental response of the body to demands made upon it.
Stress arises when we are unable to get rid of our negative feelings
that pile up as a result of our reactions to the daily events.
Different
things cause stress in different people. Some of the things are:
deadlines, difficulty in organizing work, poor time management, out of
control debts, noise, adjusting to life in a new environment,
difficulties with personal relationships. Very often stress results from
an accumulation of many different pressures, which build up gradually
without us noticing.
Stress
is most created when we cannot cope with the demands that we
are subjected to.
Job
stress causes physical symptoms – headache, backache, stomach problem
and sometimes anxiety.
EFFECTS
OF STRESS
Stress
has physical, psychological and emotional effects.
Physically through the experience of physical symptoms like pain in the
back of your neck, tightening sensation between your shoulder blades,
tension headaches, etc.
Psychologically
& emotionally through negative behaviours, poor relationships at
work or in your personal life, as well as poor lifestyle choices.
Today
with the fast pace of life, repeated change in jobs, homes, frequent
divorces and marriages, and advancement of modern technology with which
we cannot keep pace, numerous tensions are created. In this unrelenting
struggle for existence, we try to keep a calm exterior but conceal a
disturbed mind.
Peace
in us is disturbed whenever there is disintegration within the
self through lack of coordination between the conscious and
unconscious mind; whenever there is a lack of integration
between the self and the society where the two are not knit
together.
Mental
stress and strain is the penalty we pay for becoming modern. This has
resulted in the phenomenal increase in psychosomatic disorders.
Stress
is really more a psychological factor than a physical, quantifiable one.
It has nevertheless become a part of human life and man has necessarily
to live with it.
Stress
is not only bad for the body and the mind; it also causes us to bury our
true nature beneath the debris of tasks, deadlines and worries.
So
how do we MANAGE STRESS?
Again,
our lives are full of stresses and pressures, some we create ourselves,
others we cannot control. Coping with the stresses of modern life is an
essential skill and there are many techniques available to us, some with
a long long history.
YOGA
- consisting of Yogic postures, breathing exercises and Meditation –
is
one of the oldest and simplest methods to combat stress in our fast
modern life.
Yoga
helps relieve the stress of the daily routine and teaches us how to
relax and release tension.
Learning
to relax is a key to a physical, emotional and mental health.
Yoga
gives you the opportunity to experience calmness of mind.
Stretching the body and working with the breath engages the body's
parasympathetic nervous system - allowing the body to normalize,
gradually improving health and posture - defeating fatigue, increasing
alertness and leading to improved productivity and feelings of
well-being.
We
function best when we are in a state of relaxation. Relaxation is a
breathing space in the rush of daily living. This breathing space is
necessary to prepare the body and the mind for greater energy and
clearer vision.
Relaxation
lowers blood pressure, respiration and pulse rates, releases muscle
tension and eases emotional strains.
Our
nerve cells get invigorated because during relaxation they are relieved
of their routine burden of working.
Don’t
you think that 8 to 10 hours of work a day should be followed by a
period of relaxation, just like nature has ordained that there shall be
sleep after a waking period?
We
who live in the Western world have neither the leisure nor the
opportunity, and frequently not even the will, to have the time for
relaxation. Our busy life seldom allows us to look inward.
It
is wrong to think that we cannot spare time. It is not so much the lack
of time as the feeling that there is no need for such relaxation, which
is the cause of the mad rush.
A
life of “RUSH RUSH” is a life of tension, nervousness and anxiety.
The
problem has to be tackled at the root.
We
must learn to relax.
Yoga
helps relieve the stress of the daily routine.
You
meditate to beat the stress.
MEDITATION
will help you to relax.
But
don’t meditate on your office project – it will then bring the
office stress with it, which you want to get rid of.
When
your mind rests, it gets exercised; it gets its nourishment. Mind is
then invigorated.
You
become calmer, you become patient, and you become alert.
Yoga
will counteract physical and mental fatigue.
It
will establish emotional steadiness.
A
novel process like Yoga derived from the psychophysical wisdom may bring
you relief from the constant stress in this world of fast life. The
postures and the breathing exercises will help you to change the
reaction to stress and thereby minimise the ill effects of stress.
Yoga
encompasses both physical and mental stimuli.
Yogic
exercises help to maintain good body posture.
It
not only exercises the body, but also through the act of breathing it
calms down the nervous system, it oxygenates the blood and tissues and
it brings changes in the brain functions.
Emotional
stress causes the back muscles to become tense. Gentle yoga stretches
help reduce physical tension directly.
When
muscles relax, the mind becomes more tranquil.
Yogic
postures change the reactions of the body to the day-to-day tensions,
which are so rampant today.
Medical
studies have shown what Yoga has known for thousands of years:
Meditation
is beneficial to the body and the mind. As it is accompanied by deep
relaxation, it unstresses the body, causing a feeling of physiological
and psychological ease, rejuvenation and heightened vitality.
At
more advanced levels, the practitioner experiences deep peace and
tranquility, which carry over into everyday life.
The
most important thing is that we should learn the mental discipline that
will teach us how to be in harmony with our own selves, our own
instincts, emotions, sentiments, and ideas.
Yoga
helps relieve the stress of the daily routine and teaches us how to
relax and release tension.
Stretching
the body and working with the breath engages the body’s
parasympathetic nervous system – allowing the body to normalize,
gradually improving health and posture – defeating fatigue, increasing
alertness and leading to improved productivity and feelings of
well-being.
Today
with the fast pace of life, repeated change in jobs, homes,
frequent divorces and marriages, and advancement of modern
technology with which man cannot keep pace, numerous tensions
are created. In this unrelenting struggle for existence, we
try to keep a calm exterior but conceal a disturbed mind.
Mental stress and strain is the penalty we pay for becoming
modern. This has resulted in the phenomenal increase in
psychosomatic disorders, that is, the disorders of the body
caused by the disturbed mind.
You
meditate to beat the stress.
MEDITATION
will bring about relaxation.
Relaxation
lowers blood pressure, respiration and pulse rates, releases muscle
tension and eases emotional strains.
Our
nerve cells get invigorated because during relaxation they are relieved
of their routine burden of working.
Yoga
will counteract physical and mental fatigue.
It
will establish emotional steadiness.
A
novel process like Yoga derived from the psychophysical wisdom may bring
you relief from the constant stress in this world of fast life. The
postures and the breathing exercises will help you to change the
reaction to stress and thereby minimize the ill effects of stress.
Yoga
not only exercises the body, but also through the act of breathing it
calms down the nervous system, it oxygenates the blood and tissues and
it brings changes in the brain functions.
Emotional
stress causes the back muscles to become tense. Gentle yoga stretches
help directly reduce physical tension.
When
muscles relax, the mind becomes more tranquil.
Yogic
postures change the reactions of the body to the day-to-day tensions,
which are so rampant today.
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