Yoga for Stress Relief | Yogabase London

The modern lifestyle has left everyone with less time for themselves, and this pace has taken a physical and mental toll. Every day is busy with waking up early, studying, helping friends, and making decisions. It can be overwhelming to handle everything in just one day!

This everyday routine has made stress and health-related issues a new normal. When dealing with stress, there are several ways you can try to manage it. You can exercise, spend time with friends, or talk to a counsellor. These are all good options to help you cope with stress.

This is where yoga for relaxation and stress relief becomes a meaningful avenue to keep things in check.

Why Yoga for Relaxation and Stress Relief?

Yoga has become extremely popular lately, with more people enjoying its physical and mental benefits. Creating a personal yoga plan can help reduce stress and improve your mindset for growth and self-improvement.

In fact, there’s no need for stress to seep in before you begin with your yoga regime. A bit of yoga each day can work wonders to how you manage each day, and that’s good news! Calmness, heightened focus, balance, and relaxation are some of the attributes that yoga brings out.

Yoga for stress relief for beginners involves more than just poses. It also includes meditation, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques like yoga nidra.

More to Yoga Than Just Stretching

Many people think that yoga revolves around stretching or twisting the body into different angles and shapes. However, it’s much easier than it looks. A lot of simple poses as well as complex ones exist in yoga, ensuring there is something for all.

Yoga is great because you don’t need any special equipment. You can do it anywhere, anytime. With yoga, you can loosen up all those tense muscles, such as the shoulders, neck, as well as the back. But, other body parts can also benefit from doing yoga exercises.

Yoga is so much more than just a physical exercise. Focus on more than just your body in each pose. Pay attention to your breathing and mental well-being. This is key to learning from each pose.

How to Use Yoga for Relaxation and Stress Relief

Breathing exercises, called pranayama, are important for managing stress. They help you relax, control your breathing, and practise deep breathing.

Proper breathing techniques can also help you in sleeping better and encouraging mindfulness. You can use these techniques during yoga or when you want to relax. They are easy to do and can help you focus on calming your mind and body.

During situations when you feel overwhelmed or uncomfortable too, these techniques prove to be extremely helpful.

Below are some popular types of pranayama.

Ujjayi respiration
Fire breath (kapalabhati)
Breath of the lion (simhasana)
Sitali respiration
Alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhana)
Humming bee breath (bhramari)

Stress Relief Yoga Poses

To relieve stress, you can try a few of these yoga poses for yourself.

Child’s Pose (Balasana)

This pose helps in creating inner focus and restoring energy. At the same time, it also helps in physical and mental relaxation. For improved comfort, you can position a pillow beneath your thighs, upper body, or forehead.

From a kneeling pose, place your knees together or just a little bit apart.
Sit back on heels.
Hinge your hips folding forward, and rest your forehead on the mat.
Stretch your arms in front or along your legs.
Absorb your torso into your thighs.
Take deep breaths and try to relax your body.
You can hold this pose for up-to 5 minutes.

Cat Cow Pose (Marjaryasana to Bitilasana)

This pose helps you to connect your breathing to your movements for a calm mind and reducing the amount of stress. As you breathe, you can keep the movement.

Start in a tabletop pose.
Position your wrists directly below your shoulders and align your knees under your hips.
While inhaling, turn your eyes to the ceiling, allowing your belly to move towards the mat, while arching your back in the process. This is the cow pose.
While exhaling, bring your chin close to your chest and bend your spine towards the ceiling, just like a cat does.
Keep flowing between these two poses for about a minute.

Corpse Pose (Savasana)

During corpse pose, you should focus on taking deep breaths while making your mind calm and letting go of tension.

Lie down flat on your back with the feet slightly wider set than the hips.
Let your toes spread over to your sides.
Place your arms next to your body at an approximate angle of 45 degrees.
Ensure you align your head, neck, and shoulders with your spine.
Breathe as deeply as you can to let your body relax.
Keep at this pose for 15-20 minutes.

The Power of Yoga

The right yoga techniques allow you to discover a lot about your body, emotions, as well as mind. With yoga, you can handle those difficult phases in life with ease, and make you focused, calm, and relaxed in the process.

Yoga benefits, such as feeling calm, focused, and energised, will slowly improve with regular practice over time.

If you practise yoga for one hour daily over a few weeks, you will notice changes in your thought process. These changes may include increased clarity, improved focus, and reduced stress levels. Yoga has the ability to positively impact your mental well-being over time.

With Yoga Base London, you can easily make yoga an integral part of your life. Our yoga studio in Camden, London focuses on helping you get the most positive benefits of yoga in a well-ventilated studio setting. With some of the best yoga professionals in the United Kingdom, you’ll be in for an amazing experience with Yoga Base London.

Also Check our blog about ” 9 Basic Yoga Poses For Beginners“