6 ways yoga can reduce stress.

Yoga promotes deep breathing. Breathing deeply is calming and nourishing for our mind and body, and may be the most effective method of reducing stress. Practicing yoga facilitates deep breathing, promoting our sense of well-being. With greater focus on our breath in the yoga room, we gradually become more aware of our breathing outside the yoga studio, too, helping us remain calm throughout our day.

Yoga releases tension. I often say in classes, what I learned from my teacher, “tension is the physical manifestation of stress in our lives.” When we get stressed out, our muscles tense and shorten, contributing to overall tightness and rigidity. Yoga stretches us out and encourages us to breath into the sensation of tension, undoing the effects of stress.

Yoga gives our heart a jumpstart. Any physical exercise is a great way to reduce stress. A vigorous vinyasa practice is as cardiovascularly demanding an activity as just about any HIIT program I’ve ever experienced. While many activities in the fitness world focus on shortening muscle length and tensing muscles to build strength, which can add to feelings of stress. In yoga holding challenging postures and rhythmic corework is incorporated to strengthen, coupled with focused breathing and deep stretches for a healthy, balanced approach to our physical exercise.

Yoga tunes us in with our bodies and makes us more aware of what our body truly needs. The practice of yoga is about connection, and through our practice we reunite with a place of deep inner wisdom. This inner knowing of when we need to take a break, or challenge ourselves on our yoga mat translates to knowing when we need to pause or progress in our lives. Gradually, we may begin to tap into understanding our natural rhythms better, knowing when is appropriate for our bodies to be active or resting, rather than adding to our stress by ignoring our needs. Additionally, yoga promotes healthy cravings. We often find after a yoga practice that we are craving healthier foods (and company). After a nourishing yoga practice and a healthy replenishing meal, there’s not much that will make us feel better except a warm hug and a good night’s sleep.

Yoga encourages self-acceptance. It’s quite stressful to constantly feel the need to strive for something better. Most gym workouts aim for self-improvement, but yoga promotes a sense of contentment with who we are and where we are in our lives. While the motivation for self-improvement is healthy for us, there are proven benefits to accepting ourselves as we are — being happy with who we are rather than worrying about who we’re not is instant stress-relief.

Yoga is meditation. Continued studies are proving the benefits of meditation on relieving anxiety and counteracting stress. Meditating trains our mind to be present, promoting our ability to concentrate and remain focused. Being able to concentrate is a big stress reducer. We’ve discovered that multi-tasking is inefficient and stressful. When our mind keeps wandering we tend to get less done. When we are present, we are on purpose. As one of the 8 limbs of yoga, if your current yoga classes aren’t incorporating meditation regularly, then start a home practice of meditating for several minutes everyday. Meditating consistently could be the most meaningful, most impactful thing you do to enhance your overall health and well-being.