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Yoga for Stress Relief |
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As a yoga teacher and medical doctor, my students and patients often share with me how stressed out they are feeling. They mention feeling overworked, under mounting pressures at work and at home, with relationships in some state of difficulty, or no time for rest, exercise or relaxation. But stress itself is not always a negative concept. I tend to define stress as anything that requires some sort of change on one’s part. That means that waking from sleep and getting out of bed is a kind of stressor, as is falling in love, or the more intense experience of losing a loved one. From a physiologic perspective, we humans have evolved a nervous system that tries to evaluate these constant changes and decide how to respond. If the change is life-threatening or dangerous, something called the stress response kicks in, and gets us ready for action by increasing our heart rate, respiratory rate, blood flow to the muscles, etc, in order to get us out of harm’s way. When changes are sensed as harmless or beneficial, a different response is activated--the relaxation response. In this case the body lowers blood pressure, heart rate, breath rate, and energy consumption. We are then able to rest, recuperate, and repair. But modern life has us a bit confused, as our nervous systems tend to react to small changes as if they were life threatening or dangerous, leaving us in an almost constant state of high alert. Here is where yoga is of great help. The yoga practice is like a friendly laboratory and refuge for the body and the mind. At times, the student encounters difficult poses in the practice, not unlike the unexpected stresses of life. They are encouraged to closely watch how the body reacts to fear, uncertainty, frustration, etc, as well as how the mind and thoughts respond. Students are instructed to remain attentive and mindful as this process unfolds. They then develop the tools to create a bit of space between the stressor and the typical stress response, such as softening the breath and letting go of the battle, perhaps allowing them to avoid a full-blown stress event. At times, the yoga practice can be incredibly gentle, encouraging a sense of physical relaxation. But surprisingly, the mind is often anything but relaxed, with memories, worries, or fantasies disrupting the quietude. Yogis discovered an antidote to this quality of the mind, sometimes referred to as monkey mind: the beneficial effect of the yogic breathing practices, or pranayama. By encouraging the mind to concentrate on various patterns of breathing, the mind, too, begins to quiet. In addition, some of the breath patterns also direct the nervous system to move into the relaxation response. Yoga, then, can help us develop stress hardiness, preparing us for significant life changes. And how wonderful that it feels so good at the end of each yoga session! Baxter Bell, MD is featured in Yoga Journal’s new DVD: Yoga for Stress. He balances his yoga teaching with a private holistic practice in medical acupuncture. To learn more, visit his websites at www.bellyoga.info and www.hillparkmedicalcenter.com. MORE INTERVIEWS
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