YOGA
AND STRESS RELIEF
What
is stress?
The
exact dictionary meaning is pressure, urgency or strain. But at large,
stress is defined as an unpleasant or uncomfortable mental and physiological
state that we experience in situations which we perceive as dangerous or
threatening to our well-being.
Some
define stress as events or situations that cause them to feel tension, pressure
or negative emotions such as anger and anxiety.
Some
view stress as response to situations, which includes physiological changes-
such as increased heart rate, muscle tension, gastrointestinal tract problems
and emotional, behavioral changes.
Psychologists
regard stress as a process involving a person?s interpretation and response to
a threatening event.
I
would like to define it as change. Whenever one has to face change one feels
stressed.
How
does it affect us?
Stress
can have both positive and negative effects. As we observe stress is a normal,
adaptive reaction to threat or change.
Stress
motivates us to deal with things that pose realistic threats. For example we pay
our telephone bills in time to avoid being cut off. It motivates us to achieve
and fuel creativity. Or it might make us be depressed or be in illness.
We
may feel stress when we are very busy, have important deadlines to meet, or have
too little time to finish all of our tasks. Often we experience stress at work,
in social relationships, argument with a friend or at traffic lights. Some of us
may have extreme fears of physical threats like cockroaches, lizards, flying in
a plane. And some are stressed out because of major life changes.
Stressors
can be classified into three major categories: catastrophic events, major life
changes, and daily hassels.
Note:
daily hassles may look minor compared to major changes, but over time they can
cause significant stress. The amount of exposure to daily hassles is strongly
related to our mood, the greater exposure to hassles, worse is the mood. And the
attitudes that we hold onto determines our capability to diffuse the stress of
daily hassles, if the stress becomes cumulative, over time, then we are more
prone to illness than the other two causes of stress. Sometimes, chronic
headaches are due to attitudinal problems.
When
one is stressed, the sympathetic nervous system activates adrenal glands to
release hormones, the heart begins to beat faster and there is increase in
muscle tension. Blood pressure increases, breathing speeds up, blood flow is
diverted to brain and muscles, the pupils dilate, perspiration increases and the
person is either in fight or flight response.
Most
commonly the first signs of stress can be seen in hand wringing, pacing, nail
biting, butterflies in the stomach, cold hands and feet, dry mouth, neck and
shoulder pain, out burst of tears etc. The nerves of head and face become taut
and exhaustion results. This takes the form of headache. If these are short term
effects the long term effects can be stomach and colon ulcer, migraine, blood
pressure, diabetes, coronary heart disease, over weight and researchers say
stress can act as a risk factor in cancer. Physicians increasingly acknowledge
that decreased immune response can also be caused by stress.
The
above-mentioned effects are physical and physiological in nature, greater harm
can be caused at mental levels. People who experience a high level of stress for
a long time, and who cope poorly with this stress, may become irritable,
socially withdrawn, develop panic disorder, depression, anxiety disorder ?
post-traumatic stress disorder and be emotionally unstable.
How
to manage stress better?
Most
of us are intelligent, we are aware of unrelieved stress and its effect on our
lives but this alone is not sufficient for reducing its harmful effect. There
are as many ways to relieve stress as there are things that make us stressed.
The
most easy and readily available therapy might be drugs, minor tranquilizers,
talk therapy, alcohol and other stimulants. Certain antidepressants, like Prozac
and others have proved helpful in treating anxiety. Although no one knows
exactly why these antidepressants work, one important clue is that their effects
don?t show up until after few weeks of treatment.
It?s
a mistake, however to think that pills alone can soothe your neurochemistry of
stress. Drugs, recreational stimulants work on the periphery. They get rid of
symptoms and not the cause. And one can get easily addictive to the drugs. On
the other hand nicotine and alcohol hamper the production of healthy cells in
the bone marrow and, immature cells, which function ineffectively, are released
into the circulation. Moreover alcohol, insufficient sleep and high blood
pressure aggravate headaches.
One
simple technique of relieving stress is exercise. Everybody knows that a good
workout or a brisk walk will energize the body. These alone are not sufficient
enough, as they have no means of calming the estranged nerves. The only solution
for calming the nervous system is YOGA.
Yoga
is a complete exact Science, natural (Sahaja), perfectly practical, easy and
effective. Yoga brings harmony between body-mind and transcends limited
individualities into Universal or Unlimited Consciousness. It is not a myth but
a Science which is elaborately practiced, studied and researched.
Yoga
comprises of postures or asana?s, breathing techniques or Pranayama and
Meditation or Dhyana.
Postures
have a rectifying action on the functioning of various glands and internal
organs like kidneys, stomach, backbone, lungs etc. Millions of joggers/ aerobic
exercise practitioners push their systems everyday without realizing that
enhancement of circulation can be achieved without strain by just a single
asana. For example, the back bending asanas stimulate the entire system without
irritating it.
Prana
is the Vital Energy, Pranayama is regulation of this energy, which is very
important in preventing exhaustion. It can also be described as the current
inflow that feeds the battery, which is the nervous system. The breathing
techniques increases the capacity of lungs, regulates rate of breathing and
facial muscles are relaxed. This pacifies the organs of perception (smell,
touch, sight, hearing and taste) and thus controlling, calming and elevating the
mind. It also acts as introductory tool for Meditation. Meditation helps to
analyze one?s personality and to rise from limitedness into unlimited ness.
Yoga
is the only art that is totally symmetric in its practice.
With
the practice of Yoga, stress is removed from the electrical system (i.e.,
nerves) of the body; one?s general health is increased leading to restful or
peaceful sleep. You feel energetic, positive, full of life and calmness of mind
at all times. Thus one can turn out maximum and efficient work within short
periods of time. This will infuse new strength, confidence and self-reliance. It
cures many of the psychosomatic diseases like blood pressure, heart problems,
asthma, and diabetes.
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