Stress is a part of all people’s lives. During the pandemic, stress has increased for many due to concerns about illness, isolation, financial insecurity, or lack of contact such as hugging loved ones. Stress if viewed negatively, where we react to stress through mind and body harmfully, is linked to many health conditions, including heart disease, cancer, stroke, and many chronic illnesses. It is important to manage stress’ impact on your for both physical and mental health and for improved quality of life during both good or difficult times. While experiencing stress negatively, it can seem like an impossible task. We just want stress to go away, but we need to realize that we DO have control of our bodies and our minds and how we respond to stress.
Yoga can help us regain balance in our lives, cultivating calm and reducing a negative stress response. Therapeutic yoga accomplishes this by encouraging us to relax and focus on the present, notice how the body feels, and observe how the breath enters and exits the body. Our bodies need a fine-tuned balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems to maintain a healthy body and mind. The sympathetic nervous system constricts blood vessels and increases heart rate, while the parasympathetic nervous system dilates blood vessels and lowers heart rate. The sympathetic nervous system is stimulated in times of a negative stress response and is the cause of the “fight-or-flight” response. Yoga can support the inhibition of the sympathetic system, thus causing a shift to the parasympathetic system and reducing negative stress.
The New York Times article, “Want to Relax? Try Yoga” offers some tips on simple poses and breathing techniques you can try on your own. Remember to honor your medical history and listen to your body. Do not do something that yields discomfort or does not allow you to relax. A yoga session should provide variations of poses that target the same benefits. Learning to know how to adjust poses for our needs while still getting the benefits is an important goal for yoginis and we should look for instruction that offers this opportunity.
We can reduce stress from the comfort of our homes. SAM Sather, a certified yoga therapist, offers several online live yoga, mindfulness, and meditation classes, as well as weekly recorded On Demand classes. Weekly mindfulness classes are offered Mondays at 12:30 p.m.
Click on the link HERE to sign-up and go to the ‘Classes’ tab to sign-up for any sessions, including Joint Freeing Yoga, Yin Yoga & Mindful Movement & Yoga Classes.
For the latest schedule on the website, click HERE.
On Demand Line-up for October 18th – 26th & available for signing-up:
For more information about On Demand classes, visit our website page HERE or email us at info@dogwoodstudioyoga.com.