Do you feel drained of energy on a regular basis? Has waking up in the middle of the night become part of your daily life? Without a doubt, you are suffering from stress. But, what is stress? Put simply, stress is a mental health issue that initiates a biological response when you perceive something as a threat or challenge. However, you can tackle this issue by including yoga for stress reduction in your daily life.
Stress activates your body’s fight or flight response to prepare you for facing the danger or run from it. In normal circumstances, your body relaxes. However, too much stress has a negative impact on your health. Long-time activation of the fight or flight response system leads to wear and tear in your body. Do you know about the different types of stress? Let us find out what these are.
Types of Stress
Stress does come in different forms. Yoga experts have come up with three types of stress;
1. Acute Stress
Acute Stress is your body’s response to a new challenge. For example, you feel this stress when you escape a car accident. However, acute stress can also occur out of doing activities you enjoy.
Unfortunately, acute stress is a completely different story. This occurs when you have faced a life-threatening situation. However, it leads to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or other mental health issues.
2. Chronic Stress
When you suffer from high levels of stress for a long period of time, you experience chronic stress. In the end, this type of stress often results in:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- High Blood Pressure
- Cardiovascular Diseases
- Weakened Immune System
In the long run, chronic stress leads to headaches, an upset stomach, and difficulties in sleeping. You can practice yoga for stress reduction to get rid of this issue.
3. Episodic Acute Stress
If you have frequent episodes of acute stress, you are suffering from episodic acute stress. This also happens if you are anxious or worried about things you suspect might happen. Episodic acute stress can easily impact your physical and mental health.
Let us now find out how your body reacts to stress.
Body’s Reaction Towards Stress
Given below are some of the mental and physical symptoms your body develops due to stress.
- Aches
- Chest pain
- Exhaustion
- Weak Immune System
- Stomach and Digestive Issues
- Anxiety and Depression
- Sadness
- Gambling
- Smoking
- Consumption of drugs
Luckily, there are strategies that can help you reduce the risk of developing stress.
Did you know stress often leads directly to addiction? That’s right, there are drugs that make you forget about the real world, and these drugs are especially addictive to those who are very stressed. Drugs like meth are especially known for this. So how addictive is meth? Meth is the type of drug that you can get addicted to after your first or second time consuming it.
Strategies For Stress Relief
Although you cannot avoid stress, you can stop it from becoming a problem in your life. Yoga experts have come up with a few tips to help you keep stress miles away.
- Do a little exercise like walking when you feel stress is building up
- Take a moment to think about what you have, not what you do not have
- Set goals for a day, week, or month
Fortunately, you have yoga for stress reduction to help you keep this issue under control.
How Yoga Helps You Fight Stress?
The ancient art of yoga has helped millions enjoy good physical and mental health. Yoga has numerous techniques that help you keep stress at bay.
With that said, given below are two of the most awesome yoga exercises to help you fight stress.
1. Meditation
Daily meditation improves your mindfulness. When combined with deep breathing, this yogic technique activates the deep relaxation response in your body.
2. Breathing Exercises
Deep breathing in yoga delivers more oxygen to your heart, lungs, and brain. It activates your body’s relaxation response system which keeps anxiety and stress at bay.
However, that is not all. There are some yoga asanas as well that can help keep stress at bay.
Yoga Asanas to Deal With Stress
An effective way for you to shake off stress is to practice yoga for stress reduction. Given below are three powerful yoga asanas to help you live a healthy and happy life.
1. Standing Forward Bend
If you want to give your hamstrings, thighs, and hips a good stretch, do the Standing Forward Bend. This yoga asana keeps you away from mild depression and is effective in combating stress.
2. Easy Pose
Are you physically tired all the time? You should do this yoga for stress reduction pose for complete relaxation. The Easy Pose also deals with anxiety and lengthens your spine.
3. Bridge Pose
Do you find it hard to sleep peacefully at night? The Bridge Pose fights insomnia and anxiety to help you fall asleep at night. Moreover, this yoga asana also gives your back and legs a gentle stretch.
Conclusion
Has remaining stressed become a part of your daily life? Too much stress can result in damaging your physical and mental health. You should include yoga for stress reduction in your daily life to get rid of this problem and enjoy a healthy and happy life.
Read More:- Hot Yoga Poses