Application of Yoga in Meditation and Management of Stress

Meditation is a yogic practice by which mind becomes still and relaxed. We all know that our mind always remains active and never takes rest. All kinds of thoughts and emotions negatively affect it and as a result minds becomes disturbed. In order to pacify and relax the mind, it is to be stilled. This can be done by taking the mind away from the external things.

For pacifying and relaxing the mind, meditation is a very effective practice. It relaxes body and mind both and refuels them with energy. Several researches indicate that meditation improves the functioning of brain.

There are several techniques of meditation. They vary in the methodology but the goal of all techniques is same, i.e., reaching an inner calm and a higher level of awareness. All techniques of meditation involve focussing on a single point which could be breath, a mantra, a word or an object. In the beginning, focussing of the mind is difficult; therefore a beginner can start meditating for a few minutes only and later on can increase its duration.

Let us practice meditation by following the steps given below:

1. Sit in Padmasana, Sukhasana or in any meditative comfortable posture. Place your hands in Jnana mudra on your respective knees. Keep your spine erect. Close your eyes gently.
2. Breathe normally.
3. Focus your attention on the breath. Go inside yourself and observe your breathing. Concentrate on inhalation and exhalation. During the practice, your mind may wander here and there. Try to concentrate on your breath only. Breathe normally.
4. Now you can focus on the space between the eyebrows with closed eyes. Remain in this position for five minutes.
5. To come back, bring your consciousness very slowly back to the external surroundings.
6. Cup the eyes with the hands and blink the eyes for a few seconds so that sudden exposure to light does not irritate them. Slowly open your eyes and remove the hands. Slowly externalise yourself.

Meditation can be performed in different forms. For example, instead of breath, one may focus on sound also. For this, slowly produce the sound, keep on reducing its volume till it comes to a barely audible note. Then stay calm and concentrate on the tip of the nose or the space between the eyebrows with closed eyes.

Benefits

• It gives deeper relaxation.
• It lowers heart rate and blood pressure.
• It slows respiratory rate.
• It helps to reduce stress.
• It helps in managing emotions.

Yoga Practice for Stress Management

We all come across stress, anxiety, and depression; these issues have become evils in our daily life. Due to changing lifestyle, a lot has changed in human life. Many new forms of stress management techniques have arrived today. Despite this fact, the roots and practice of ancient yoga have remained consistent. Yoga has helped many people overcome various issues related to their life. It is undeniable that stress brings a lot of physical and mental issues; you become drained and exhausted. Some more common problems that arise out of stress are;

• Migraines
• Depression
• Lack of sleep
• Hypertension
• High and Low blood pressure
• Heart issues
• Weight gain
• Spondylitis

Issues are many but the solution is one Yoga! Yoga is the answer to all the above issues and much more that could disrupt your life from living normally. The technique of yoga is not magic but practice. Both men and women can avail various benefits out of Yoga and live a stress-free life. The question is, how does yoga help in getting rid of stress?

The postures, techniques, and exercises in yoga comprise of asanas, pranayamas, relaxation, meditation, and breathing exercises that help you overcome stress. Due to more number of people coming forward to experience the benefits of Yoga, a world Yoga day is celebrated on 21^st June every year. It’s a fascinating sight to notice a massive number of people joining hands to get rid of their painful issues in life.

How Can Yoga Help To Overcome Stress?

Regular practice and belief are the key points before you expect any positive result. You must believe in yourself and the fact that you will get rid of stress with the help of regular practice. Some postures in yoga help you to feel relaxed, at ease and relieved from all that has been running in your mind. Notice the children in your family or around you; they often forget their worries by playing and cracking jokes with their friends. The like-minded kids around them and the body movements while they play help them ease down the stress. That is exactly what yoga does to you!

As we grow, our responsibilities increase and we forget to be cheerful. It adds to our stress and we often fall into negative ways of overcoming stress such as alcoholism, drugs, and antidepressants. Some even take catastrophic steps. Yoga helps combat this by managing the stress for you. Let’s understand the different advantages of yoga for stress management.

Benefits of Yoga For Stress Management:

1. Union of mind, body, and soul:

A combination of breathing exercises and asana unites the mind, body, and soul. Imbalance of these three gives birth to health issues and unwanted mental stress. Health experts and yogis have confirmed that yoga has relieved people from stress to a great extent.

2. Improved sleep:

Some forms of exercises in yoga help you sleep peacefully. Most people complain of the inability to sleep properly due to various issues troubling them in and out in their life. People bring more focus in life with regular yoga practice.

3. Increased energy:

Breathing exercises are extremely important in yoga for stress management. The slow breath patterns along with inhaling and exhaling techniques bring more positive energy to your body. Scientifically, it helps the oxygen to pass through your organs by making you feel relaxed.

4. Increased concentration:

Yoga asanas relax your body by overcoming stress. We all must have noticed forgetfulness when we are worried about something that’s disturbing us. It leads to a confused state of mind. Yoga brings an improved concentration to deal with situations with a calm mind.

5. Experience deep Relaxation:

Meditation is an important factor in yoga for stress management. One of the essential things expected during stress management is the ease of mind. Yoga with meditation balances those alpha waves that are needed to relax your mind. While you do the breathing exercises, your heart rate tends to become normal and blood pressure normalizes.

6. Boost in Confidence:

Stress often breaks us and tears us apart from taking decisions in life with confidence. We start feeling confused and indecisive in everything and seek others’ support. Yoga for stress management is the best alternative for bringing back inner confidence.

7. Inner healing:

Our healing process gets shattered when we are stressed. We fail to react to situations with a calm mind and break down most of the times. Those who practice yoga postures will realize how it helps to build strength and utilize energy at the right channel during crisis or period of extreme stress.

Lastly, yoga isn’t a magic wand to eliminate stress permanently from life; stress is a parcel that you will receive every day. However, with the practice of yoga, you build a positive personality and a confident approach to handle situations in a better manner.