Pose More, Stress less
In the height of an era where everyone claims to have the fast and easy fix to all ailments, there is one in particular that is virtually impossible to completely do away with. Of course, I am talking about Stress. There are a plethora of prescription drugs on the market that claim to help people manage or cope with their stress, but why waste your money and alter your body chemistry for something that may not work when you can simply find a healthy way of managing it? There have been countless studies that have shown that practicing Yoga has tremendous effects on your body; one of them being how well you can handle stress. By practicing Yoga, you can lower body tension and promote relaxation, interrupt cycles of worry, and learn to foster self-acceptance and demonstrate self-compassion in order to alleviate yourself of your stressors.
One of the first things you may notice when you begin to feel stressed is that your muscles tighten up. Stress causes your body to constrict, particularly in your shoulders, neck, and jaw. This muscular tension quickly begins transferring to your mind, making you feel worried and uneasy. On top of this, during periods of high stress you may lose control of your breathing, taking rapid breaths, or maybe even holding your breath and then gasping for breath later. Yoga can soothe your muscles and help you learn to take control of your breathing. By taking control of your breathing, you will soothe your nervous system, and as a result, ease your body and mind.
Another benefit of adding Yoga into your routine is that it would interrupt your cycle of worrying by introducing a new practice to free your mind. Yoga is incredible for helping you alleviate your mind from worrisome thoughts. It gives you the opportunity to focus on improving yourself and letting go of all the weight you have on your shoulders. This becomes increasingly true when you begin moving into a more consistent yoga practice because the regular practice increases your mindfulness. It challenges your mind and body and forces you to give your full attention to what you are doing. Yoga doesn’t give you time for your dark, foggy thoughts.
Finally, by beginning to practice yoga, you will be doing yourself a huge favor by taking the initiative to begin demonstrating self-compassion with yourself. Nothing quite soothes the mind like doing something for yourself; more specifically, things that are healthy for yourself. There have been countless studies that have found that exercise is tremendously impactful on reducing stress and furthermore, there have been countless more showing that yoga is amazing for this as well. By getting into the rhythm of yoga, you will slowly get more used to it, and you will begin gaining acceptance for yourself as you become more in tune with your body.
Yoga is an astronomically great way to reduce stress in your life. With the help of yoga, you can ease your body and mind, interrupt cycles of worry, and begin feeling more compassion for yourself. So what are you waiting for? Pose more and stress less!
Recommended classes to help reduce stress for beginner and advanced students:
Live Streaming: Tuesday and Thursday Morning Slow Flow at 7am, Yin Yoga Wednesdays 10am and Flow & Mindfulness Saturday and Sundays 10am.
Reserve your spot here.
