After a long stressful day do you ever find yourself unsure of how you can possibly relax and 
relieve your stress? Well, yoga might just be the answer for you. When it comes to analyzing stress and your brain, there are two parts of the brain that are responsible for stress. These include the Amygdala and the Prefrontal cortex. The Amygdala is commonly known as the ‘emotional’ brain, where as the prefrontal cortex is known as the ‘logical brain’. These two areas of the brain are related when it comes to stress, as the amygdala initiates the stress response, causing the prefrontal cortex to try to turn off and relax the stressful response.
Now you may wonder how yoga can relax your body and mind. Yoga focuses on relaxation, breathing, the mind, the body, and spiritual connections. Individuals who consistently partake in yoga have noticed a beneficial change in their sleeping patterns.
The benefits of yoga stretch far beyond just a ‘simple workout’. Founder and President of Yogafit Training Systems in Torrance, Calif, Beth Shaw notes that, “The benefits of yoga include decreased stress and tension, increased strength and balance, increased flexibility, lowered blood pressure and reduced cortisol levels.”
When thinking of yoga, people commonly just tend to think of stretching and flexibility, but the science behind yoga includes much more than that. There are an abundance of different yoga positions that aim to target certain parts of the body. Some specific positions that aid in stress relief include:
- Anjali Mudra (Salutation Seal): representing balance and harmony throughout our body, physically, mentally and emotionally preparing oneself for meditation
- Sukhasana (Easy Pose): promoting inner calm, serenity, tranquility, thus eliminating anxiety
Easy Pose
Uttana Shishosana (Extended Puppy Pose): By lengthening your spine, your mind becomes more relaxed. these tranquil feelings relieve stress and even insomnia.
Next time you are overly stressed, try something new and attend a yoga class! Yoga will help you access inner strength, face overwhelming thoughts and fears, and the overpowering challenges of everyday life.
Sources:
http://upliftconnect.com/yoga-and-stress/
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/yoga-for-stress-management
I love, love, love yoga. There is an abundance of proof that it works, and I can vouch for it myself. I always do yoga when I’m stressed and need to release tension and negative energy from my life. I also know that when I was taking a psych class, I did a project on stress. When I spoke to a psychologist one what she recommended to help, one of her first suggestions was yoga. I’m glad so many people commented on this because that just shows it is growing in popularity. One thing I think I would want to know though is if yoga is better than medication and how successful it has been with people who have more severe mental issues. Your blog got me thinking!
When I was in high school at least twice a week I would attend a yoga class and would even go to hot yoga classes. When I read your post it really reminded me of my mom because she always said yoga relieved her stress. I believe between all the stresses and deep breathes yoga lets you focus on other things rather than your huge exam, or just the loads of homework you have to do. I was wondering if there was a study based on the correlation between students who do yoga and grades. There was a study done on eighth graders from the California State University. “The 2003 study showed a 20 percent increase in the number of students who felt good about themselves — and a 6 percent increase in classroom discipline scores, indicating that students who had high participation in yoga class also had fewer referrals or discipline problems.” I thought that even though they did not really mention grades yoga has a factor on other aspects in people’s lives other than stress.
I love this blog post. I don’t do yoga super frequently, but I have done it a few times, and I’ve always felt better after doing it. Mind you, my body is most certainly sore afterwards, but I always feel de-stressed. This article talks about why why yoga is so good for you. These reasons include: lowers stress and improves your mood, boosts confidence, lowers the risk of injury, helps you lose weight, increases flexibility, improves muscle tone and strength, benefits breathing and lowers blood pressure, and improves your posture.
As a student who personally attends yoga classes, I think this article is on par. Yoga is great for stress and for stretching out the body, and 9x out of 10, when i leave I feel so much better than i did when i first walked in. I enjoy the fact that you can stretch, get a workout in, and relieve your stress all at the same time. It definitely isn’t your everyday cardio workout, but I think it happens to be very effective. Whenever i leave a class, i always feel refreshed, which is a good feeling.
Whenever I call my mom feeling stressed out about something, she aways bugs me to try taking a yoga class or just doing some stretching and simple positions in my dorm room to help try and alleviate stress. It’s really interesting how much something seemingly so simple can truly help alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression because of how it connects with your brain and your body. There tons of benefits to yoga besides just anxiety and stress relief, according to this article, http://www.everydayhealth.com/fitness-pictures/10-surprising-health-perks-of-yoga.aspx#04, yoga can also help with fertility and back pain. Who knew!