People consider the brain the most important organ in the human body. Doctors do not declare a patient in a coma dead as long as his brain is alive. Your brain gives messages to your body – from lying down to getting up and walking. Your brain controls your chewing of food, swallowing, drinking of water and countless other activities of your body. Imagine how much stress this organ endures to complete your personal and professional work without any disturbance. And to reduce its stress level, people take many measures, but in return they get another new stress – the stress of reducing stress- “stressrelax”.

You will find it strange after reading this, but 77% of the people in India are suffering from some symptoms related to stress and anxiety.  This includes everyone from school children to retired elderly people.

Stress can occur in children when they experience something new or unexpected. For young children, stressors in the home such as domestic abuse, violence, parental separation or the death of a loved one are common causes of stress.

Taking more responsibility than your capacity also creates stress.  If you do not have enough work, activities, or change in life, then you create stress.  This is one of the reasons why youth live experiences such as discrimination, hatred, and abuse.

There are many reasons for stress in older people – dealing with a chronic illness, losing a spouse, not having a family member to take care of, etc.

What is stress?

Stress is a phenomenon of nature in which forces coming from inside or from the outside world affect the individual, either his or her emotional or physical well-being, or both. It’s a state of worry or mental tension created under tough or new situation. Stress is a natural human response that triggers us to face challenges and threats in our lives. Everyone experiences stress to some extent.

What are the causes of stress?

Stress builds up in a person’s body when he encounters with a fight or flight situation. At that time, the hypothalamus, a part of his brain, sends signals to his entire nervous system and kidneys, due to which the kidneys in the body produce hormones called adrenaline and cortisol.

How to get rid of stress?

No matter how hard you try, you cannot get rid of stress completely.  You can definitely reduce it. If someone sells you a pill to relieve stress, then avoid it because this pill cannot do the job.  Reducing stress is in your hands. If you want, you can reduce it to zero or you can increase it.

How can stress be reduced through yoga?

Hatha Yoga has yoga postures and asanas that can help in loosening the tense muscles of the human body. 

“Apart from the brain, there are many organs in our body in which stress takes up residence and with the practice of Hatha Yoga, you can completely de-stress these organs. Your neck, shoulders, back are included in it. But for the brain, You have to adopt different techniques – that is pranayam, visualization, writing, and naad yoga -” Naturopath and Hatha Yoga practitioner Ankita.

There are many ways to reduce physical stress. These include meditation, exercise, tai chi, massage, visualization, yoga, progressive muscle relaxation, and slow breathing techniques. To reduce our stress it is important that we practice relaxation techniques on a daily basis and choose a good lifestyle.

You can always connect to Yogymmumy #stressandanxiety #yogasessions and address the root cause of your stress to set it free!