Yoga Is Medicine for Stress Management

Stress can be described as the physical body’s reaction to an overpowering and overwhelming mental stimulus. Having to deal with difficult and challenging situations tend to overwhelm us. As our lives become more hectic and fast, stress levels too increase, resulting in several psychological and disorders. Stressful situations narrow one’s ability to think clearly and work effectively. People with high blood pressure tend to emotionally crack up. Practicing yoga can help a lot in stress management and balances your nervous system. Yoga bequeaths you with a sense of calmness and gives you control over your life.

Dating back to over 5000 years, yoga is the oldest known practice of self empowerment through physical and spiritual practices. Developed in India, Yoga is traditionally an Oriental practice but has been gaining rapid acceptance and popularity in the West. In the USA, people experiencing the benefit of yoga have started incorporating it in stress management programs. Most corporations have recognized that workers who are relaxed and at peace with themselves are more efficient and creative. This is the reason why they have started sponsoring yoga fitness programs for both stress management and anger management.

Yoga has a number of benefits. The physical benefits from yoga are apparent enough but its practice also leads to psychological and spiritual harmony. One experiences stress reduction coupled with a sense of well-being and spirituality. Most asanas or poses can be done almost anywhere and the only accessory you need is a comfortable mat to sit on. Meditation yoga is one of these simple asanas, in which you need to sit in a quiet place, clearing your mind, focusing on your breathing, inhaling and exhaling deeply for ten to fifteen minutes. This can be a very effective stress management practice.

One of the most effective stress management therapies is laughter yoga. In Dr Kataria’s Yogalaff (www.yogalaff.com), a typical laughter session consists of different laughter exercises, which help the individual discover an innate ‘spark’ within themselves, and this lets the laughter loose. Laughteryoga is a physical technique that utilizes a perfect combination of lighthearted, empowering, and tension-releasing laughter drills, followed by yogic breathing techniques, gentle stretching, rhythmic hand clapping, and chanting of the laughter mantra. The mantra of Ho Ho Ha Ha is chanted in unison. In laughter clubs, these exercises end with a powerful cool down laughter meditation, in which laughter flows out of the body like a river. Laughing Yoga has a number of health benefits and one of them is stress management. Visit us at www.yogalaff.com to laugh your way to a de-stressed life.

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