Yoga: Your Path to Stress-Free Living
We have all experienced the way unrelieved tension results in both mental disorders and physical ill-health. This is not a modern phenomenon. In the centuries-old Yoga Sutras, the sage Patanjali attributed the causes of mental affliction to the ego, spiritual ignorance, desire, hatred of others, and attachment to life. He called these kleshas or “sorrows.”
Man has been able to conquer ignorance in many fields through advancement in Science and Technology, but still, his infallible and excessive reliance on technology is simply misplaced. It has triggered widespread feelings of competitiveness and envy. We are still waiting for the machine which can make people healthy holistically without creating potentially hazardous side effects. Financial tensions, emotional upheavals, environmental pollution, and, above all, a sense of being overtaken by the speed of events, have all increased the stress of daily life. All these factors strain the body, causing nervous tension, and adversely affecting the mind. This is when feelings of isolation and loneliness take over. Yoga offers a remedy for these modern challenges, providing a holistic approach to balance and well-being. By incorporating Yoga into daily life, you can address these issues and promote a healthier, more harmonious state of being.
The state of the mind and that of the body are intimately related. If the mind is relaxed, the muscles in the body will also be relaxed. Stress produces a state of physical and mental tension. Yoga, developed thousands of years ago, is recognized as a form of mind-body medicine. In yoga, physical postures and breathing exercises improve muscle strength, flexibility, blood circulation and oxygen uptake as well as hormone functions. In addition, the relaxation induced by meditation helps to stabilize the autonomic nervous system with a tendency towards parasympathetic dominance. Physiological benefits which follow, help yoga practitioners become more resilient to stressful conditions and reduce a variety of important risk factors for various diseases, especially cardiac-respiratory diseases.
Yoga is not a miracle cure that can free a person from all stress, but it can help to minimize it. The worries of modern life deplete our reserves of bio-energy, because we draw on our vital energy from the storehouse—the nerve cells. This can, ultimately, exhaust our energy reserves and lead to the collapse of mental and physical equilibrium. Yogic science believes that the nerves control the unconscious mind, and that when the nervous system is strong, a person faces stressful situations more positively.
The diaphragm, according to yogic science, is the seat of the intelligence of the heart and the window to the soul. During stressful situations, however, when you inhale and exhale, the diaphragm becomes too taut to alter its shape. Yogic science believes that the nerves control the unconscious mind, and that when the nervous system is strong through regular yoga practice, a person faces stressful situations more positively.
The practice of asanas and pranayama helps to integrate the body, breath, mind, and intellect. Slow, effortless exhalation during practice of an asana brings serenity to the body cells, relaxes the facial muscles, and releases all tension from the organs of perception: the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin. When this happens, the brain, which is in constant communication with the organs of action, becomes shunya, or void, and all thoughts are stilled. Then, invading fears and anxieties cannot penetrate to the brain. When you develop this ability, you perform your daily activities with efficiency and economy. You do not dissipate your valuable bio-energy. You enter the state of true clarity of intellect. Your mind becomes free from stress and worries. To experience these benefits firsthand and start your journey toward mental clarity and stress relief, join our online yoga classes today!
