Yoga to Reduce Stress and Fatigue

Do you feel older?  When you look in the mirror are there bags under your eyes and your face just appears to be aging while you look at it?  Big changes in your appearance are usually related to stress.  Stress causes you to lose sleep, actually does damage to your DNA and causes wrinkles.  Yoga is one of the best stress reducers you can easily add to your daily routine.

Studies show that women who participate in simple yoga routines on a daily basis benefit from by reducing the conditions accelerating the aging process going on in the body.  Other benefits of yoga are better flexibility, improved balance, a reduction in back pain and better movement throughout the muscle groups. 

Now you may have visions of wrapping your leg around the back of your neck or having to perform some incredible pretzel movement in order practice yoga.  In fact, the positions described in this article are extremely easy to execute yet they do wonders to reduce stress and improve flexibility.  In fact, you won't even break a sweat. 

There are three simple positions that you can do in 10 minutes that will rejuvenate your energy levels and reduce stress.  They are:

Sitting Pose
Child's Pose
Supported Bridge Pose

Sitting Pose

Sometimes this is referred to as Bound Angle pose.  When you perform Sitting Pose your inner thighs and groin muscles are gently stretched.  This position helps to relax and promotes meditation.  It helps reduce fatigue and the symptoms of menopause. Use a firm pillow or thickly folded blanket to sit on.  This helps get your hips is a position that is more comfortable than sitting directly on the floor.

Place the pillow or blanket on the floor and sit on it.  Sit tall, your back straight, bend your knees and gently pull in your heels as close to your pelvis as you can.  This is similar to sitting "Indian syle" without crossing your legs.  The soles of your feet are touching each other.  Grasp your big toe on each foot with the first and second fingers and thumb of each hand.  Hold this position for 3 minutes. Sit tall. Close your eyes, let your face muscles relax, and focus on your breathing.

Child's Pose

This yoga position stretches hips, thighs and back muscles. Start this position by kneeling.  Sit back on your heels and spread your knees apart to about hip-width.  Bend forward with your arms stretched out and lower your upper body from the waist to your forehead toward the floor.  As you stretch, run the palms of your hands along the floor stretching as far as you can comfortably. Some people benefit by placing a blanket between the calves and hamstrings to minimize the stress on the knees.  Rest in this position for about 3 minutes.  Focus on your breath flowing in and out of your lungs.

Note: People who don't have a yoga block can substitute a thick phone book or firm pillow for the yoga block.

Supported Bridge

This is the more challenging position of the three stress reducing yoga positions.  It stretches the spine, chest, and abdomen and strengthens your lower back muscles.  You need to use a yoga block for support. 

Lie on your back with the knees bent, feet flat on the floor and arms to the sides with palms down.  Press the soles of your feet into the floor and lift your hips.  While your hips are lifted, slide the pillow or yoga block under your hips and allow your body to rest on the block.  Remain in this position for three minutes; focus on your breathing, in out, in out. To come out of the pose, press into your feet, lift your hips and remove the block. Lower your back to the floor and gently roll to your side and then up into a seated position. 
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The many benefits of yoga

So if yoga is so beneficial to children and mental health, then why isn’t it in more schools? Actually, it is. Since 2002, there has been a push to include yoga in public schools as part of the physical fitness curriculum. The goal has been to see if adding yoga to the standard recess and physical education curriculum has any positive impact on focus, attitude and behavior, and the results have shown an overwhelming increase in attentiveness in class, behavior and test scores.

Today, yoga is practiced in over 100 schools in 26 states, with other states taking notice and pushing for time in their curricula for kids to experience the benefits of yoga. Gym programs are acknowledging its benefits, and even sports teams have discovered its uses at not only strengthening their athletes, but at calming and focusing them before a game.

The mental benefits of yoga are apparent for the young, but what about for seniors? Yoga breathing exercises called pranayama, especially those that focus on rapid breathing, have been found to help counter chemical cell secretions known as prostaglandins. Doctors believe that prostaglandins can cause the brain inflammation that causes Alzheimer's.

In Japan, a study was conducted that looked at 25 individuals over a 30 day period to see if yoga had any benefit to their well-being. In this test group, 15 of the participants were senior citizens aged 65 or older. The groups were asked to perform 90 minutes worth of yoga twice a week, after which they were to provide a sample of salivary amylase to look for a significant change.

Salivary amylase is a chemical that exists in saliva that helps break down complex sugars into simple sugars. Its levels can indicate ulcers, stress and problems with the pancreas. As you become stressed out, your levels of amylase increase dramatically. For most people, an amount of 21-101 U/L is generally considered to be a decent range of amylase. In the seniors tested, the group started with an average of 111.2±42.7, while the younger group began with a range of 60.74±31.8. The groups were tested after each yoga session to see if yoga had any effect on stress levels.

After one month, the senior group dropped in their average amylase count to 83.48±39.5, while the younger group dropped to 42.39±24. In other words, the introduction of yoga to both groups served as a catalyst for the body to produce less of the salivary chemical associated with stress and stress-related problems.

This test is not an isolated incident. Tests have been run in Germany, Utah and Washington D.C. with similar results. Some of these studies went for over 90 days, but they all showed a significant reduction in stress, an increase in the ability to sleep easier and in dealing with stress-related issues, like PTSD. In fact, some of the participants in the studies reported an overall increase in their well-being by as much as 65%.
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Are Yoga and Sports the perfect combination?

For the general public, yoga is associated with meditation, chanting, deep breathing, contemplating one's navel, and other esoteric practices.  Very few people would typically associate it with sports. However, coaches and athletes are seeing many benefits that yoga can offer in the field of sports.  These benefits are well-documented and worth looking into if you are searching for ways to improve your athletic performance. It doesn't matter whether you are a professional athlete or you are into a sport for pure recreation and enjoyment.

Prowess in any sport can be improved by yoga, most especially those that require flexibility, strength, and controlled breathing.  This is pretty much any and all sports. The different poses in yoga stretch the muscles and make for greater flexibility.  By holding the different postures, the muscles become stronger and longer.  These poses work the major muscle groups in the entire body, including the back, abdomen, neck, shoulders, legs, hands and feet.  Flexible muscles and joints make any athlete less prone to injury. Less injury equals more enjoyment and a longer "career"so to speak.

Yoga poses also coordinate with controlled and deep breathing.  The lung capacity is improved, thus boosting aerobic health.  Deep breathing also improves oxygen uptake, sending life-giving oxygen to all the cells in the body. There are many studies that show the immediate effect proper breathing has on the body from reducing stress levels to improving oxygenation in the body.

One of the many benefits of yoga in sports is correcting muscular imbalance.  Muscular imbalance can happen when an athlete or sportsman uses the same set of muscles in one particular way.  A good example is golf.  Most, if not all, golfers swing the club in one direction.  The same muscle groups are used all the time.  This means certain muscles are very well developed while others are not.

Yoga stretches and strengthens all the muscle groups, relieving tension on the muscles used for the sport while working out the other muscles that are neglected when playing golf.  In addition, yoga improves balance and coordination -- characteristics that are vital in any sport.

One of the many sports that benefit from yoga is cycling.  Cyclists can spend hours on the saddle, bent over the handle bars.  Their backs and shoulders become stiff.  Arm and leg muscles also tighten from steering, controlling the bike, and pedaling.  Yoga poses for the spine and back muscles relieve tightness of the back.  Stretching helps ease stiff muscles and joints in the legs, arms, shoulders and neck.  Doing light yoga poses is not only good for a warm-down routine, they are also perfect for warming up before a ride.

Yoga promotes mindfulness, which enables athletes to have more focus and be more attentive to their game.  It strengthens the mind and body connection, which is what every athlete and player needs to stay ahead of the competition.  Whether you are a runner, basketball player, tennis player or weight lifter, the practice of yoga can benefit your sport.


So there you have it, a number of reasons why you should try yoga to improve your sports performance.
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Do you want to learn more about weight loss for women? If so, go to my website and download my free guide, how 10 Best Resources for Women's Weight Loss Report: http://rosacrumpton.com/