<< View all news stories

Stress Relief and Yoga

Part 3 in a series of informative articles from Special Tree's Physical Therapists to get you moving in 2009


By Jennifer Ratermann, DPT, CBIS
NeuroCare Center, Romulus

As the holiday season looms ahead, our minds begin to focus on the fun and excitement of get-togethers with family and friends, food and gifts. Along with all the fun comes the stress of party planning, buying gifts, disagreements with family, and sometimes even depression and anxiety. One thing that we can do to help de-stress is practice yoga.

Numerous studies have found that yoga can relieve stress and promote relaxation and has many health benefits, especially for people suffering from back pain, high blood pressure, arthritis pain, problems with cancer, and multiple sclerosis.

Practicing yoga helps to heal and bring peace of mind through the parasympathetic nervous system. Research has shown that this system is activated through the long, deep breathing that occurs while practicing yoga. The parasympathetic nervous system lowers blood pressure and decreases respiratory rate, allowing blood to travel to the different organ systems and allows for better healing. It has also been found that concentrating on breathing forces people to concentrate on the present and your body and does not allow for the mind to wander. This connection allows for better relaxation because the breathing rate is connected to the inner workings of the mind. For example, when we are sleeping, we take slow, long, deep breaths; while when we are frightened or worried, we take short, quick and shallow breaths. There has also been a study done on overall mental wellness with a comprehensive yogic breathing program. In this study, it was found that people in the group who performed yoga demonstrated a decreased level of depression, anxiety, and stress, while increasing their degree of optimism; whereas the people who did not participate in yoga, had no change in there levels of depression, anxiety, stress, or optimism.

Besides the breathing aspects, the postures, or asana, that are used during yoga also help to physically improve our health. The asana assist with keeping muscles, joints, and fascia strong. They have also been found to reduce blood pressure and stimulate the immune and glandular systems. The practice of the asana has also been found to decrease insomnia.

So as the holiday season (and all the added stress) arrives, remember that getting involved in some sort of exercise program, but especially yoga, can help to decrease the level of stress, anxiety, and depression that can come along with the holidays. If you are interested in finding a place to practice yoga, be sure to look around, most yoga places offer 1 week or 3 sessions for a free trial before having to commit to any kind of program


<< View all news stories