Yoga for Stress Relief: 5 Poses to Help You De-stress

Most often, you wouldn't know when you are leading a stressed life until you face any adverse situation like an increase in heart problems, anxiety, and so on. By this time, it is quite late, and you might struggle a lot if you do not act at the earliest. 

Most people aren't even aware of stress and the consequences one can face, let alone the right way to get the issues resolved. You might have heard that yoga can help a lot in relieving stress. However, are you aware of why yoga is considered a stress reliever or the poses that can truly help you?

This is why we have compiled a comprehensive guide for you. With this guide, not only will you be able to know the benefits of yoga in terms of stress relief, but you will also know the best exercise poses that will help you eliminate this evil from your life. 

How can yoga help you eliminate stress?

The first thing we will discuss here is the benefits of doing yoga to relieve stress. With this, you will understand the concept in a better way so that you won't have to worry much about leading a stressed life and suffering from the consequences. 

1. Yoga can help restore the balance between spiritual, mental, and physical health, which is crucial to letting go of stress. You will most often feel stressed when these three factors are out of balance. Therefore, you should get into a proper routine to ensure you can perform yoga poses easily and get relief from the stress clouding your thoughts. 
2. Another major way in which yoga can help you get relief from stress is through the restoration of the energy flow lines. If you check the studies, you will know that several energy lines are passing through the human body. These lines establish the aura, which is why you should get into a proper yoga routine. As the energy flow is restored, you will get relief from stress and won't have to worry about anything. 
3. You can also get relief from stress through yoga because it stimulates your body to release more norepinephrine. This neurotransmitter will increase the release of serotonin and dopamine in the blood. Since these two are anti-stress hormones, you can easily get relief from stress. 
4. Yoga is one of the best exercises to help improve blood circulation to your muscle and nerve cells. You will feel the muscles activated as you continue to get into different poses. This will instantly remove stress from your life, helping you lead a good life.
5. Meditation, one of the best forms of yoga, will help your body and mind to relax. This will further improve the mood and ensure you won't feel stressed out, not even in the slightest. In addition, it also helps improve the concentration power, ensuring you can focus on the work you do and complete the same with excellence. 

What yoga can poses help you to get relief from stress?

In this section, we will introduce you to the top yoga poses with which you can easily eliminate stress from your life. With consistent practice and mastering the art of yoga, you can easily see the changes in your lifestyle habits, addiction, depression, overthinking and over-anxious, and many more. So, without any further ado, let's look at the best yoga exercises you can include in your workout routine to make your life stress-free.

Standing forward bend

Although it is one of the most difficult yoga poses, the benefits are outstanding. Not only will it help in relieving stress, but it will also make your hips and waist more flexible. Plus, it activates multiple core and glute muscles at a time, making you feel more active and energetic for the rest of the day. To do this yoga pose, stand on the yoga mat with your feet apart from each other. 

Now, bend forward and touch the mat with your head. Support your body weight by feeling your feet with your hands. Make sure to turn your arms from the elbow joint so that the upper and lower parts of the arms are almost perpendicular to each other. 

Cat pose

Also known as marjaryasana, the cat pose is one of the best yoga poses you can practice getting relief from stress and depression. To do this, sit on the mat on your knees. Keep the calves straight and ensure the feet are parallel to one another. Now, lift your body so that your thigh, hips, and calves are at a 90-degree angle with each other. 

Now, bend forward and support your body weight by placing both palms flat on the ground or mat. Ensure the arms are straight and parallel to each other. Slightly tuck your head between the arms and hold the position for 1 to 4 minutes. After that, release the hold slowly and take 30 seconds of rest before moving to the next repetition. 

Bridge pose

One of the best yoga poses you can do to relieve stress and feel more energetic and free is the bridge pose. It will help proper muscle movement in the hip and lower back region along with the hamstring and the glute muscles. To do so, lie on your back on the mat. Now, fold your legs from the knee joint and ensure the calves are perpendicular to the ground, keep the feet flat on the mat, and spread your legs a bit wider. 

Now, hold the ankle with your hands straight. Do not bend your hand or stretch it further to reach the ankles. Lift yourself from the ground, so your head and shoulder stay glued to the mat. You must raise your body as much as possible to form a slight arc. Hold the position for two minutes and then release. 

Child pose

From reducing belly fat to facilitating digestion and relieving pain in the back, the child has many more benefits than one can imagine. Besides, it is the perfect pose for beginners. Although it might take some time to get accustomed to the posture, you won't have to face any problems. What you need to do is sit on your knees on the mat. 

Sit like a child with the buttocks touching your heels. Once done, extend the upper body in the front by pressing it against the knees. Ensure not to leave any gap between your upper and lower body as you stretch yourself in the forward direction. Keep the hands on your side and use them as support for the extension. Keep the head down, tucked in between the arms, and hold the position for five minutes.

Legs up the wall pose

Here, you need to lie flat on the yoga mat, with your eyes pointing upwards and your arms on your side in a straight manner. Ensure to keep the palms flat-faced on the carpet. Now, raise your legs simultaneously as if there is an invisible wall. Ensure the legs are perfectly straight and almost perpendicular to your body. 

At the beginning, you can use the wall as a support but eventually, you need to learn to keep the legs steady without any support. 

What things should you consider while doing yoga?

Although you now know about the effective yoga poses in relieving stress, you can only make the most out of the same if you follow the following tips. 

1. You need a proper yoga mat with a non-slip base so that it won't skid on the floor and can withstand your body weight perfectly. 
2. While doing yoga, you need to get into the right outfit. For instance, you cannot perform yoga by wearing a simple sweatshirt and sweatpants. Instead, you need the most appropriate dress that will give you maximum mobility range with ease. 
3. You also need to understand that the best time to perform yoga is early morning, right after you wake up, or before bed. This is because you feel more relaxed and energetic when you perform yoga early in the morning. On the contrary, performing yoga before sleep will help you relax and drift into a deep slumber easily. 
4. Refrain from forming any mind of additive habits like taking caffeine before or after yoga. This will cause more harm than good to your body. Plus, caffeine and other additive activities can reduce the impact of yoga on your mind and body.
5. Try to go for a mixed routine, with a couple of days of indoor yoga and the rest for outdoor yoga. Studies have proven that when you are outdoors, you feel more relaxed. Plus, nature is crucial in healing and repairing the nerve ends. 

Conclusion 

In this article, we introduced you to the benefits of performing yoga to let go of stress. In addition, you will also learn more about the yoga poses that are quite effective in letting go of the stress from every orifice of your body. Therefore, you won't have to worry about anything, whether it is your mood and concentration or the anxiety and panic attacks you used to get.