6 Ways Yoga Relieves Stress and Makes You Happy

Stress is your body’s natural way of responding to any kind of demands.

In our everyday life, it is common that people experience situations that lead to stress. With the pressure that society brings, stress has become a part of our lives. Stress does not only pose a risk to your physical health, it can also damage your emotional and mental state as well as affect your relationship with others.

We may not be able to control the situation that brings stress; however, we have full control on how to deal with it.

One of the easiest and most affordable ways of relieving stress is through yoga.

Yoga has been proven to provide a lot of benefits. Read on to know more how yoga can help you reduce stress and live a happier life.

6 Ways Yoga Will Relieve Your Stress and Help You Live Happier and Healthier

1. Think about your breath

I bet you rarely, or probably never, seen an angry or stressed person that breaths slowly and normally.

Most of the common behavior that we show when we are in a stressful situation is heavy breathing. Rapid, shallow and heavy breathing can lead to anxiety.

Yoga is a perfect exercise that teaches you how to breathe more effectively, with the utilization of whole lung capacity and diaphragm. Breathing consciously and fully calms the entire nervous system which results in stress and anxiety reduction as well as self-awareness improvement.

Follow these steps for a basic breathing exercise:

• Lie comfortably on your back, feet flat on the floor, knees bent and palm should be placed on the abdomen.
• Breathe naturally for a few minutes then observe the quality of your breath.
• Gradually relax your breath with a slight pause after each inhales and exhale.
• As your breath becomes as relaxed and comfortable as possible, observe the movement of your body. Be aware of how breathing affects each movement.
• Continue this breathing practice in 6 to 12 breaths.

2. Strengthen yourself with awareness

Stress and anxiety can sometimes make us absent-minded. When our mind is busy focusing on the problem and thinking of solutions on how to solve this problem, our body tends to lose touch with our surroundings.

We’re so affected by stress that we’re no longer emotionally and mentally present to our loved ones.

Yoga teaches us on how to have awareness with your body. Each yoga poses makes us feel every breath and body movement. It helps our mind to focus not just on our body but also with our surroundings.

When you have a peaceful mind, you will be able to avoid stress and deal with the situation better.

3. Meditate to relax a distracted mind

Meditation has been practiced for a long period of time. It’s a process where you eliminate all the noise in your mind. This results to self-transcendence or an altered state.

There are many forms of yoga, all of which teaches on how to subdue the primitive consciousness and set the mind to concentrate. Some yoga poses are designed to put the individual to a state of relaxation and clear mind.

Allot a few minutes of your time every day to sit comfortably in a Siddha position and remove everything that’s bothering you through meditation.

Yoga takes you into the present moment. The only place where life exists.

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4. Yoga asanas helps release tension and negativity from the system

Release all the negativity and tension from your body with the use of asanas. It’s one of the most effective home remedies to relieve stress and achieve a healthy and happy mind and body.

Asana is a yoga position which helps master the body and enhance its functions. Aside from stress reduction, it also helps with endurance and strength, cleanses the organs, improves energy flow and circulation and expands joints and muscles.

5. Think about what you can do for others

Self-centeredness and the need to excel can lead to stress and anxiety. We are pressured to work hard, even sometimes pushing our body to the limit, just to reach the top.

Whilst it is important to be successful, we should not solely focus on self-benefits. Society has taught us that we need to work hand in hand to live a harmonious life.

Yoga puts us in a relaxed state of mind that it opens an opportunity for us to ponder on the things that we can do for other people. As you inhale and exhale, think of the small things that you can do to the people that you get to encounter everyday. Helping others does not need grand and fancy gestures, it just needs to be genuine and sincere.

After all, it is definitely better to give than to receive. The joy that giving brings to the giver is beyond measurement. Seeing the spark of happiness from the eyes of the person that you helped with is an instant mood-booster and stress killer.

6. Keep positive company around you

Yoga teaches us to focus on our mind and body. This in return puts us in a relaxed and positive state. When our aura is positive, it also attracts positivity from other people. Laughter is contagious. So laugh and be happy and attract positive company and positive things towards you.

We don’t need to live with stress every day. Kick stress out and invite happiness and positivity in by doing your yoga exercises every day.

Yoga means addition – addition of energy, strength and beauty to body, mind and soul – Amit Ray

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Author Bio: Alex Gendron

Alex is a passionate writer for Topic Exchange. He loves to write on home remedies, beauty, health and food which helps people in a every day life.

from Dai Manuel: Your Lifestyle Mentor http://ift.tt/2ricKn6