STRESS RELIEVING ASANAS
The most effective way to relieve stress is through Nadi Shodhana. It is an alternate nostril breathing technique. The yogis believe that it clears and calms the mind and balances the right and left side of the brain. Breathing has a profound effect on our state of mind and this is a wonderful way to reset your mental and emotional state. The best part about this is you don’t need a lot of space to do it.
How to:
- Hold your right hand up and curl your index and middle fingers toward your palm. Place your thumb next to your right nostril and your ring finger and pinky by your left.
- Close the right nostril by pressing gently against it with your thumb, and inhale through the left nostril. The breath should be steady and even.
- Now close the left nostril and exhale through your right nostril.
- Inhale through the right, close it off, and exhale through the left.
Begin with 5-10 rounds, inhaling through the left nostril, exhaling through the right, inhaling through the right, and exhaling through the left for each round.
My favorite asanas for stress relief are forward folds. Uttanasana (standing forward fold) is a great one, or any other forward fold variation such as…
Padangustasana (forward fold with your fingers wrapped around your big toes)…
Paschimottanasana (seated forward fold)…
Janu Sirsasana (head to knee forward fold)…
And my favorite, Balasana (child’s pose).
Never underestimate the power of totally letting go. You do not have to twist yourself in to a pretzel to release stress — sometimes you just need to be gentle. Two key alignment points for forward folds: 1) Fold from the hips not the back, and 2) use your abs to fold forward, not just your arms.
Forward folds help bring about a state of Pratyahara or deep internal focus. They help calm the mind and bring your focus inward. Forward folds are also AMAZING for digestion, which is very important — especially if you are considering eating all the pie I’m planning to consume this holiday! Forward folds are a great equalizer!.
And to finish it off, Ardha Matsyendrasana (seated spinal twist) is a wonderful way to squeeze out your liver and kidney — purge all that eggnog!
NURTURE YOUR HIPS
Everyone holds tension in a different place. Shoulders and hips are very common spots for tension. One reason for our hip tension is that we sit in chairs and cars all day long. Our hips are in that same position the majority of our lives. (I vote we all get rid of our chairs!) Your body is like clay it has a memory. And areas that are stiff are going to remember that and become a hot spot for recurring injuries as well as stress. When you are stressed and you don’t take the time to deal with it, you store it somewhere — frequently places that are already stagnant like your jaw, shoulders or hips.
Yoga is a physical way of reminding yourself to emotionally let go. It’s much easier to tell your body to do something than tell your mind. With the physical practice of letting go, you are also learning to let go emotionally. The hips are also related to Muladhara chakra, which is considered our foundation — the basis for our physical self. If we are not taking care of the physical self, our basic needs, then our stress and tension will show up in our hips. Most of the time we don’t even realize we are holding on to stress like that. And it’s not until we feel significant pain in our body that we realize we are stressed and hanging on to that emotion.
During a particularly busy time at work this year I injured myself three times — once in my shoulder, once in my low back and once in my hips. It was not until I had hurt myself that I realized how much stress I was hanging on to. When I finally started to take more time to deal with the real issues at hand then my physical pain subsided. A couple of my favorite hip openers are…
Agni Stambasana (double fire log pose)…
And Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (pigeon pose). These are also great forward folds! For more hip opening poses, check out
Mini Yoga Practice: Hip Opening from
Margaret Burns Vap.
BE MINDFUL!
Enjoy the food as you are taking it in, but EAT MINDFULLY. Don’t rush. Think of each bite being filled with love from the person who made it. Take it in as Prasad — a gracious gift from the divine (and we all have this within us). I kid you not — mindfulness is all you need.
