With our living conditions and changing world, one thing that is common, irrespective of age, everyone goes through that and it is called stress. There are no medicines which can completely nullify stress, but nevertheless one can always do activities which helps in managing the stress. Well, yoga is one of those activities which helps to manage the stress. Best we can do is to do 10 yoga poses for stress relief. Practising these 10 poses every day will absolutely change your life.
Benefits of yoga poses for stress relief
- Sound sleep.
- Helps in maintaining stability in blood pressure.
- Improves your capacity of attention at work.
- Sense of wellbeing and peacefulness.
- Helps your mind not to get easily stressed out and ability to calm yourself.
Proof Yoga helps in stress relief
According to a national survey conducted by Psychology Today, states that over 85% of people who did yoga reported that it helped them relieve stress.
Here are 10 yoga poses for stress relief
- The easy pose| Sukhasana
- Cat- Cow pose | Bitilasana Marjaryasana
- Tree pose | Vriksasana
- Standing forward bend | Uttanasana
- Extended triangle pose | Utthita Trikonasana
- Puppy Pose | Uttana Shishosana
- Legs up the wall pose | Viparita Karani
- Happy baby pose | Ananda Balasana
- Child pose | Balasana
- Corpse Pose | Shavasana
1) Sukhasana
Steps:
- If you find it difficult to interlace legs and put your heels on your lap. You can simply sit cross-legged.
- Palms on knees, facing up, thumb and index finger joined at the tips in an arc, other fingers straight out.
- Keep your spine straight
- Close eyes focus on your breathing.
- Next, sit still and calm and practise gentle, deep breathing. Imagine you are in space and the energy flows in through the top of your bead and into your body when you breathe in.
- Then slowly breathe out with your nostrils and making a humming while you exhale.
- Repeat this process till you find yourself calm and focussed
Precaution:
- If while practising any of the above and if you feel uncomfortable, then take a pause and lie down for a while.
2) Cat – Cow pose | Bitilasana Marjaryasana
Steps:
- First, come to a position same as a baby crawling that would be palms on the floor and knees on the floor.
- Be in a neutral position with your head and neck and spine aligned.
- Then we will begin with Cow Pose, so inhale when you drop your belly towards the mat. Lift your chin and chest, and gaze up toward the ceiling.
- Then, we will move to Cat Pose, you exhale and push your belly to your spine and round your back toward the ceiling. The pose should look like a cat stretching its back.
- Inhale, coming back into Cow Pose, and then exhale as you return to Cat Pose.
- Repeat 5-20 times and rest.
Precautions:
- Avoid this pose if you have any knee injury.
- A pregnant woman should also avoid this pose and it might stress the belly or practise it when supervised.
3) Tree pose | Vriksasana
Steps:
- Stand straight with both your legs well balanced.
- Raise your feet and place it on your inner thigh of another leg, above knees.
- Your whole sole area of the raised leg should be touching the inner thigh
- Maintain a balance on one leg might be difficult, try putting a right and balanced amount of weight on the body parts.
- Raise your hands above your head and let your palm face each other, and then brought close to each other, joining.
- Maintain the balance and hold the pose as long as possible, practice it every day and try keeping a goal of maintaining the pose for 1 minute.
Precautions:
- Never place your feet exactly on the side of the knees, as the pressure would damage your knee, thus it should be always placed above knees in the inner thigh area.
- If you are suffering from high blood pressure, do not keep your hand above your head, place them near your chest.
- Avoid this pose if you are suffering from insomnia or migraine.
4) Standing forward bend | Uttanasana
Steps:
- Stand straight on the ground and maintain distance between your feet.
- Raise both your arms together towards the sky with a deeply focused inhalation.
- Exhale and bend forward, letting your palm touch the floor.
- Your hips would act as a common point between the upper body and lower body, maintain balance.
- Feel your back stretching in opposite directions as you pull the head down and in and press the hips up.
- Breathe and hold for 4-8 breaths, pressing the belly into the thighs on the inhalation.
Precautions:
- You need to refrain from practising this pose if you face chronic problems or have a history of any injury in your knee joints, ankle joints, or back.
5) Extended triangle pose | Utthita Trikonasana
Steps:
- Stand on your mat with your feet apart. (4-5 feet)
- Keep your heels are aligned with each other.
- Turn your right foot out 90 degrees.
- Raise your arms to the side of your shoulder, and parallel to the ground with your palm facing down.
- Exhale and position your right hand in the same direction as your right foot. Shift your left hip back so your tailbone and pelvis tilt toward the wall or space behind your left foot.
- Turn your left palm forward, with your fingertips towards the sky.
- Rest your right hand near your ankle. Align your shoulders so your left shoulder is directly above your right shoulder.
- Hold this position for 1 minute, take rest and so the same with your left leg turning to 90 degrees this time and repeat the above-mentioned steps with your left hand.
Precautions:
- Avoid practising this pose if you are suffering from high blood pressure or headache.
6) Puppy Pose | Uttana Shishosana
Steps:
- First, come to a position same as a baby crawling that would be palms on the floor and knees on the floor.
- Note that your shoulders are aligned with your wrists and your hips are above your knees. Walk your hands forward a few inches and curl your toes under.
- Exhale and move your buttocks halfway back toward your heels.
- Keep your arms stretched and do not let your elbows touch the ground.
- Place your forehead on the floor or and let your neck relax.
- Let your arms and spine stretch by moving your hips away to feel a relaxing pull.
- Keep breathing and hold for 30 seconds to a minute and relax.
Precautions:
- Avoid this pose if you have any knee injury.
7) Legs up the wall pose | Viparita Karani
Steps:
- To perform this pose, you need to find a space near a wall.
- Sit in front of the wall and lie down and keep your knees bend.
- Keep your hands by your side and raise your legs and let it touch the wall.
- Maintain distance between your buttocks and the wall so that you can push it to stretch more.
- Make sure your back and head are resting on the floor, making a 90-degree angle.
- If needed, use your hands to support your hips and form a curve in your lower body.
- Do not put pressure on your neck.
- Close your eyes and breathe. Hold the position for at least five minutes. Relax and roll yourself on any side.
Precautions:
- To be avoided during menstruation.
- Avoid practising this pose if you have eye problems like glaucoma.
- If you notice a tingling in your feet when you practice this pose, bend your knees and touch the soles, bringing your heels close to the pelvis.
8) Happy baby pose | Ananda Balasana
Steps:
- Lie on your back.
- Bend your knees into your belly after exhaling.
- Then inhale deeply and hold your feet with your hands.
- Open your knees slightly wider than your torso and bring them up toward your armpits.
- Keep pulling your hands down gently to create resistance.
Precaution:
- A pregnant woman should avoid this pose.
- Avoid this pose if you are suffering from any kind of knee injury or neck injury.
9) Child pose | Balasana
Steps:
- Kneel on your knees and keep your knees at a distance parallel to your hips.
- Bend down and let your palm touch the floor.
- Stretch your hands as much as possible.
- Let your face position itself between your hands and touch the floor.
- Now let your buttocks touch your heels slowly.
- Keep breathing slowly, focusing on your breathing.
- Stay in the same position for 30 seconds for beginners, later you can increase the time up to 2-3 minutes.
Precautions:
- Avoid this pose if you are suffering from diarrhoea.
- If you are pregnant, then spread your knees wider and do not apply more pressure on the abdominal area.
- Avoid child pose if you have any knee injuries.
10) Corpse Pose | Shavasana
Steps:
- Lie down on your back and keep your legs straight on the floor.
- Lets your hands rest by sides of your body, palm facing up.
- Close your eyes and breathe deeply.
- This pose is to relax.
- When you are done with the pose gently lift up your body sideways and avoid jerks.
Precautions:
- If it feels uncomfortable, bend your knees and relax.
After practising these 10 poses for stress management, relax and practise deep breathing and while doing so observe and focus on your breathing. Stress has always affected our life and other life around us, it would be unfair to live a life full of stress. So here is your chance to do something better for yourself a 15-minute yoga session for yoga poses is something you can do on a daily basis. Other than this if you want to be more benefitted when you change your lifestyle and opt for yoga, there other things involved like Pranayama and Meditation for stress relief.
Know more about them and it can help you in any kind of location and managing stress would be something you will be expert at. Life is to be lived happily, so let us live that way.
