Hatha Yoga Poses For Stress Relief
Yoga is usually mentioned as a natural remedy for stress relief. This is due mostly in part to the meditational aspect of the practice. In addition to the meditation aspect of the tradition, there are also poses that can help with stress relief. If you are new to practicing the Hatha yoga style, you may be wondering if the style has the same types of poses or which poses the style has that can help with your stress. Here are a few poses to consider for your routine stress relief.
Yoga for stress relief
The psychological benefits of Yoga are very clear. Yoga has a potential to redirect our thinking to some more positive framework. The most typical type of Yoga employed in stress management is Hatha Yoga since it is an especially powerful type of physiological and psychological purifying. In any surroundings stress is a normal occurrence, what distinguishes a prosperous person from an unsuccessful one is how we deal with that stress. Hatha Yoga, and Yoga on the whole supply us with the resources we need to cope with stress on a daily basis.
The women who practiced yoga had lower levels of psychological distress as well as less perceived stress compared to the women who did not practice yoga. Women in the yoga group also had higher levels of more positive emotions and moods. The women also experienced lower waist size and more flexibility. The researchers didn’t see a difference in blood pressure levels, mindfulness, well-being, and negative moods.
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Bridge Pose
To help with stress relief, you can start with the bridge pose. This pose needs to be done either on your knees or with your feet flat on the ground. If you have a lot of stress or tension, start with the pose on your knees. Slowly lean back until your shoulders are on the mat or floor and bend your back like the hump of a bridge. This is a modified bridge pose. If you are more flexible, move your feet out, so they are flat and create the bridge with your back again.
Cobra Pose
From bridge pose, release your back slowly out of the arch. Slowly roll over onto your knees and then lay with the front of your legs flat to the ground. You can also lay flat on your stomach on the ground or mat. From either of these poses, move your arms into a pose similar to one for push ups. Push up slowly and move so your chest is open and facing out, like a cobra. This releases stress from your chest and chest muscles as well as your back.
Corpse Pose
When you are finished with cobra pose, you can roll slowly onto your back and go into corpse pose. Lay flat on your back with your arms out to your sides. They should be out at a slight angle with your palms facing up. Your legs should be spread at a shoulder width apart. Breath slowly in this position. This is a pose that many people use to simply stay relaxed when they do not have the time to do a full yoga pose routine.
Lotus Pose
If you still need a bit of meditation at the end of your stress relief yoga routine, then try the lotus pose. You sit with your legs crossed, palms up on your knees, and back straight. Breath in and out slowly and start your meditation. This is a good way to end your routine if you are doing it in your home and out of your bed. If you are doing the poses in bed, consider ending with the corpse pose instead.
Stress demands all of our energy. When our batteries are so depleted, we can’t deal, and anything can push us over the edge. It’s like being stuck in semi-panic mode, where there is very little exhale, and the neck, head, and shoulders are likely to be tense. Yoga gives us tools to cope. When inner peace is nowhere to be found, it’s time to tune into the body.
One technique is to notice where stress or panic lands in the body, and take our mind and breath there. Eventually, we want to get into a forward bend, which increase the exhalation, leading to the relaxation response. Forward bends are also restorative and move the needle of our battery back to the black. The following forward bend sequence can help address the symptoms of stress.
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These are just a few of the more standard Hatha yoga poses that can aid in stress relief. The ideal option is to mix these Hatha yoga poses with a stress relief routine such as a bedtime ritual or meditation ritual. The combination will give you a full relaxation option and help reduce stress throughout the body and mind.
