Yoga, Breathing Exercises and Meditation Techniques – All Good Stress Busters

Are you stressed out and on the verge of a breakdown? Hold on there and relax because here are a few ways in which you can avert disaster and remain as cool as a cucumber. We will explore various yoga poses, breathing exercises and meditation techniques that might benefit you.

Yoga Poses

Stress is a silent killer in today’s chaotic life of modern man. It is the cause of multiple ailments and conditions in people. It can accelerate blood pressure, heart diseases, fatigue, digestive issues, depression, lack of focus and anxiety. To avoid them here are a few yoga poses that could alleviate stress and promote relaxation. These are only a few that have been named. 

Yoga Poses for Stress Busting

With yoga poses for stress relief, there are plenty of benefits like low blood pressure, improved respiratory function, increased lung capacity and steady heart rates. They also augment the hormone production of the body that sets in a sense of calm and happiness in the person practicing it. Here is a list of some of the best yoga poses:

• Easy Pose (Sukhasana) with Optional Forward Fold – With this pose, the knees, ankles, hips, outer thighs and groin area are stretched. They help strengthen the back muscles and improve body posture. It is a therapeutic pose which calms the mind and alleviates anxiety and stress.
• Standing Forward Fold Pose (Uttanasana) - Uttanasana stretches the hamstrings, calves back and hips. It helps to decrease fatigue and stress, relieve insomnia and headaches. It also silences the busy mind and brings an equilibrium for the nervous system.
• Child’s pose (Balasana) – With balasana, the hips, back, thighs and ankles get stretched. This helps to refurbish the lymphatic and nervous systems. By calming the busy mind and soothing the adrenals, it helps to do away with stress and release excess pressure which ultimately does not allow pressure on the kidneys which are located below the adrenal glands.

Other poses include eagle pose (garudasana), bridge pose (setu bandha sarvangasana), extended triangle pose (utthita trikonasana), cat pose (marjaryasana), legs-up-the-wall pose (viparita karani) and corpse pose (savasana). 

Also read - International Yoga Day 2023: History, Significance, All You Need To Know

Breathing Exercises

Breathing is one of the most powerful ways of palliating stress and reducing anxiety. There are quite a few breathing exercises that could be practiced for this purpose. They are:

• Deep breathing – Lie comfortably on a bed or on the floor with a pillow under the head and knees. It can also be carried out sitting on a chair with support for the head, shoulders and neck. Breathe through the nose keeping the belly full of air. Placing one hand on the belly and the other on the chest breathe out. The process should be repeated three times.
• Breath focus – With a picture or phrase in mind and closing the eyes, breathe in and out. This should be done imagining that peace and calm are breathed in and stress and tension draining out while exhaling. It can be repeated for 10-20 minutes.
• Equal time for breathing in and out – It can be done sitting on the floor or a chair and breathing through the nose counting to five. Again breathing out through the nose counting five should be done. It should be repeated as many times as possible.

Other breathing exercises include progressive muscle relaxation and modified lion’s breath.

Meditation Techniques

Meditation can bring in a world of relief and a sense of calm and peace will prevail if done correctly. Here are a few simple meditation techniques to follow:

• Mindfulness meditation – It is a form of meditation technique that involves the focusing of the breath while being conscious of and accepting the thoughts that pass through the mind.
• Music meditation – This is quite a relaxing form of meditation where the person is needed to pay attention to all the rhythms, sounds and notes of the music. This is extremely helpful for those who find difficulty in meditating in silence.
• Body scan meditation – here the person is required to concentrate and direct all their attention to every part of the body beginning from the head and ending with the toes. This helps to distract the senses from the stress-inciting thoughts thereby relieving the person from anxiety.

Other meditative techniques that can be used are mantra meditation, walking meditation and loving-kindness meditation. 

Conclusion

With so many means and methods to destress yourself, here is to a good and healthy way of living. So get started with yoga, breathing exercises and meditation techniques.