The role of yoga in

stress managment

By
Dr. Shalini
Head/ Assistant professor
Deptt. Of Philosophy
S.N.Sinha College, Jehanabad
• Today’s life, stress has become as a part and parcel of life.Its constant
presence for long duration negatively affects our day-to-day living. So
our stressed life style is become a major reason for health problems
and diseases.

• In today‘s fast life Yoga has become all the more important because
of our exposure to various stresses and hazards with very little or no
time to recuperate from its after – effects.
Contribution of yoga
• One of the greatest contribution of Yoga in modern life is its concrete
solutions to the problem of stress. Yoga equips an individual with
ready to use skills to fight stress through its holistic knowledge of
mind and body.
• In the absence of stress an individual is relaxed at body and alert at
mind.
• Yoga has almost everything on offer. Whether it is good physical
health, mental alacrity, emotional balance, freedom from stress or
good interpersonal relations.
Concept of Stress
• The concept of stress was first introduced in the life sciences by Hans
selye in 1936.
• The term stress is derived from the Latin word ‘stringere’ which
means to be drawn tight.
• Stress is a complex, dynamic process of interaction between a person
and his or her life. Stress is a normal response towards difficult
situations of life.
Cause and sources of stress
• The circumstances that cause stress are called stressor.
• A stressor can be mild or strong ( severe and chronic).
• There may be numerous stressor and it is difficult to identify them.
• Examples:- 1. Traffic jam ( mild stressor )
2. Death of someone in family ( strong stressor )
Sources:-
There are several major sources of stressor :-
1. Thoughts -(difficult, painfully, pleasent)
2. Working place related- ( exploitation by the employer, irregular working
hour, problems to transfer and promotion, relationship with colleagues ).
3. Environmental - (health altitude, tough geographical conditions,
extreme temperature, natural calamity like flood, earthquake, man
made disasters, riots, war, etc ).
4. Physiological - ( fatigue, old age, puberty).
5. Personal - (wedding, devorce, death of someone, accident ).
6. Social - ( family structure, relationship with family, tough competition,
discrimination, political turmoil).
Symptoms:-
• 1. Physiological – Headaches, Bacharach, Pain in neck, Palpitations,
Breathlessness, etc,.
• 2. Emotional – Anxiety and fear, Sadness, Irritability, Agression,
Unhappiness, etc,.
• 3. Cognitive – Memory problems, Poor concentration, Inability to
make decision, loss of sense of humour, Making hasty decisions, Lack
of logical thinking, Negative thinking, confusion, Disorientation, etc,.
• 4. Behavioural – Change activity, Difficulty communicating, Social
withdrawal, Silence, Change of sleepy patterns, etc,.
Type of stress:-
Yoga : a stress Management technique
• We can manage sress effectively by stretching our body and also by relaxing our
body and mind. So Yoga can play an important role in stress management
because yogic practices which help to strengthen and relax the body and the
mind.
• In sanskrit the term ‘yoga’ is derived from the two roots:-
• 1. The one is ‘Yujir’ which means to join, to combine. So Yoga is meant for union
where the body, senses, organs of action, unites with the body, organs of action
unite with the mind, and mind unites with the intelligence, intelligence with the
consciousness, consciousness with the soul.
• 2. The second root is ‘ Yuj Samadhi’ means yoga is Samadhi, when you reach a
higher level of consciousness, the consciousness transcends it’s own boundaries,
almost reaching to the regine of the soul. There remains parity between the
consciousness and the soul. When the disparity vanishes, ‘Samadhi’ happens.
Yoga practices:-
• 1.Aasana :-
Aasanas are very good for body and mind. During stress, the endocrine
system is the most affected system in our body. Therefore the practices
that work on our endocrine system. Some aasanas are very usefull for
stress managementx
• Uttanasan
• Adhomukhsvasana
• Paschimottanasan
• Balasana
• Shavasana
3. Yoga- nidra:-
• Yoga- nidra is a method of relaxation. Which means a sleep with
awareness. It is a yogic technique of inducing us into conscious sleep
for making our body and mind relaxed.
• In ordinary sleep, we take rest unconsciously without any control,
while in Yoga- indra, rest in taken in a state of consciousness.
4. Antar mauna:-
• Antarctic mauna is also a Yogic technique of relaxation. In sanskrit
language, antarctic means inner and mauna means silence. Thus, it is
related to maintaining inner silence.
5. Meditations:-
• Meditation is a well- known yogic practice which is suited to various
purpose. As probably you know that in meditation, we practice to
withdraw our attention from different objects or ideas of the
mundane world and focus it on a single idea/ object instrumentally
for some time.
Suggestions:-
• Recommendations and suggestions to control stress in daily life-
• 1. Acknowledgement of stress
• 2. Minor change in the life style
• 3. Effective time management
• 4. Proper diet
• 5. Rest
• 6. Self renewal
• 7. Good relationship
• 8. Fun and laughing
• 9. Exercise every day
Conclusion:-
• Strong( severe and chronic ) stress may cause several problems related to
our life. However, Yogic life- style can be a good remedy for stress.
• Yogic life style means adoption of Yogic principles in day-to-day living.
• These yogic principles are related to all aspects of living namely aahar (
food), vihaara ( relaxation and recreation) aahar (conduct and attitudes )
and vihaara ( thinking) and vyavahaara ( actions) for a healthy and happy
living one has to follow these yogic principles.
• In other words, one is to practice right yogic food, right activities for
recreation, right attitudes and emotions, right thinking and right actions.
This can make a person stress-free and overall healthy.
• For a stress- free healthy life, the specific yogic practices of aasan as and
praanayaam, yoga- nidra, antar- mauna and meditation are extremely
helpful.
Thank you