Avoiding Yoga Stress – 8 yoga exercises to calm you down

Avoiding yoga stress is very possible.  BUT so that you can switch off and relax in the yoga exercises, there is a lot to consider.

In the article “How to avoid stress with yoga” I introduce you to my personal favorite exercises for stress management and give you important hints for practicing at home. At the end of the article you will find a with a relaxing yoga sequence, which will allow you to practice all the yoga exercises in a relaxed manner.

Are you ready to relax? Here we go.

Stress management – what a blatant word!

I have to admit, I do not like the word “stress management”. Why? “Coping” sounds like “enduring”, “holding out” and implies a strenuous journey. Joy looks different.

Stress management also points out that stress is a normal part of our lives. The only question is how we deal with stressful situations.

Stress symptoms are u. a .:

• twitching eye, dark circles,
• Buzzing or chirping in the ear (tinnitus is caused by stress),
• Neck or shoulder pain,
• Sleep disorders,
• Head cinema and constantly circling thoughts,
• A headache …
• and at the end threatens “burnout”, the internal burning out.

But now the good news: avoiding yoga with stress is very possible.

And I go one step further and say: Who practices yoga consciously, does not suffer burnout. Do you agree with me?

Important: When choosing the asanas (yoga exercises), I have made sure that they are powerful and relaxing too equal. A certain muscle tone is important to me in yoga because it protects the joints and ligaments and stabilizes the body.

1. Shoulder opening   – reduce stress with yoga

As the first yoga exercise against stress, I would like to introduce you to a wonderful shoulder opening. Many people suffer from tension in the shoulders, which may be a problem. a. can lead to headache, shortness of breath and tiredness. Avoiding yoga stress also means relieving tension and blockages in the body. Here’s your first yoga exercise to relax:

You arrive at the quadruped stand, the knees are positioned below the hip joints, and the feet are placed ready for hip joint. Walk forward with your hands, keeping your pelvis just above your knees. Once you have reached your personal limit of stretching, the stretched arms and back form a line. Do not get sagged in the yoga exercise. Instead, lift your shoulders and consciously breathe into the flanks and body front. In addition, you can experience the quality of the slight back bends when you gently pull the shoulder blades together and become softer in the heart. In the exercise video, I’ll show you the details.

Variant with block: She is my favorite in the relaxed shoulder openings. In the quadruped stand you put the block between your hands. Now put both elbows on the block and push your head (it’s not so easy) past the block in front between the arms. In the picture you can see exactly what to do. You press the palms together and now you can wonderfully open your shoulders and find rest in the yoga exercise.

2. Looking down dog with block (Adho Mukha Svanasana) – reduce stress with yoga

The down-looking dog is a true all-rounder in the yoga practice and therefore he should not be missed in the Yoga Against Stress list. The exercise is basically a reversal posture because the heart is above the head. Inverted postures have a calming effect, because the exhalation is supported and thus the pulse can easily calm down. Your whole system shuts down and stress falls away from you. However, the down-looking dog is only relaxing when properly aligned. Here are the details of the yoga exercise against stress:

 

• Go over the push-up in the down-looking dog, because the distance between hands and feet is automatically correct.
• Earth over your hands and feet.
• Bend your legs slightly, turn your thigh slightly inwards. Stretch your back from the created expanse. Start extending yourself out of the shoulders by sliding your hands into the ground. The buttocks go towards the ceiling.

Tip: Use a block and put it down (mostly upright) under the forehead. Now you can release the weight of the head quite relaxed to the block. The gentle pressure on the forehead is wonderfully soothing. Try it! If you practice with Block, do not go out in the exercise. If you do not have a block, be creative and use a water bottle or books as a support.

3. Bridging with block (Setubandasana) – reduce stress with yoga

I chose this yoga exercise against stress because it allows you to breathe deeply. As you have already learned, deep, conscious breathing helps to reduce stress. The exercise has the quality of a passive back flexion, d. h., you do not have to work hard. It’s perfectly legit if you just make it easy on yourself.

Would you like to know my motto No. 1?

This “easy to do” banishes the stress of my life. When it gets complicated, I feel again in the situation, reflecting and looking for a simpler (easier) way. Or I test the possibility of completely omitting the complicated. Perhaps this impulse will help you to give your life a new lightness.

Back to the relaxing yoga exercise: The feet are placed hip-width in front of the buttocks. Lift the pelvis and place a block just below the sacrum. Choose the position for the block where it will not pinch you in the back. It may feel good and relaxing. The arms are conveniently located next to the body, with the elbows slightly turned inwards. This helps you to relax even in the shoulders.

By avoiding yoga stress, you succeed well, by consciously filling all the air spaces. Breathe into the flanks, into the abdomen up to the clavicles and into the back of the body. You’ll be amazed how deep you can breathe. Then begin to exhale deeply and completely. Find a breathing rhythm that will calm you down.

 

✅ Bonus sequence “Yoga to switch off”: Go from Setu Bandhasana with block in Viparita Karani with block incl. Variant with hip opening.

As I write this text, I feel that even half the shoulderstand (Viparita Karani) is definitely on the list. Viparita Karani is translated as “repentance” and calms the breath, the thoughts come to a halt and your whole body can relax.

 

 

4. Half Forward Bend (Ardha Paschimottanasana) – Yoga exercise for reassurance

Half the prevention is ideal as a yoga exercise against stress because it is also easy to practice for yoga beginners. You are sitting in Dandasana, your legs are stretched out. Now pull your right leg to you and let the right knee sink to the side. The right foot is in contact with the left thigh inside. If you can not lower your right knee (your hips are not yet open enough), use a block as a support.

Bend forward out of the pelvis. Try to keep your back as long as possible. If you have lower back pain (insert link!), Keep bending your left leg slightly to give yourself space. With prevention you practice devotion and let gravity do its work, d. h., you do not force yourself anywhere. This yoga exercise teaches you to consciously accept things as they are, and that everything in life takes time.

Is the time right for you to lead a relaxed and contented life?

Please answer with a clear “yes”!

✅ Note: Take advantage of the mantra “Las loss!” In the forward bend to deliberately exhale with yoga stress. How relaxation works with mantras, you read below in the post.

Even the famous “inner bastard” can sometimes cause great stress and push us to our limits. As we have experienced in India, you see in our first silent movie Yogavideo … only 2 minutes and it is worth it 😉

5. Swivel (Ardha Matsyendrasana) – reduce stress with yoga

 

Sit comfortably, straighten up and both legs are outstretched. Pull your right leg towards you, your hands covering your shinbone. Create length in the spine by lowering the pelvis deeper into the ground while pushing the crown of the head towards the ceiling. Hold the length and turn left now intieret to the right. Your left arm covers the right tibia and the right hand is supported behind the back on the floor.

The swivel seat is not a static yoga exercise against stress. Rather, you use the inhalation to raise yourself inside and out. With the exhalation, you turn up gently, gently and lovingly, to get closer to your own limit. Stay in this yoga exercise for up to 2 minutes, then come back to the middle and then practice the other side. The swivel seat is ideal for selectively avoiding or dissolving yoga stress. He is therefore often practiced in the yoga classes at the end in the “cool-down” phase.

Tip: Use a blanket for elevated and thus upright sitting. This avoids unnecessary tension in the hips and lower back. Yoga exercises should always be stable and relaxed at the same time. I will tell you more about this principle later.

6. Closed Bend (Baddha Konasana) while sitting – avoid stress with yoga

Baddha Konasana is a wonderful, relaxing hip opening and should not be missed in the list of yoga exercises against stress. The exercise relieves the lower back and causes an intense stretching of the back and the involved hip muscles. As with all prevention, you can be particularly good at devotion. When you read this, you feel that yoga exercises work against stress from within. The inner attitude determines how you handle stress in your life.

While you only bend one leg in the half-way forward (Yoga Exercise No. …), in this yoga exercise you pull both feet up so that the soles of your feet touch each other. Pull the buttocks apart again to ground you over the ischial bones. The prevention lives on that you go with a long back as possible from the hips out to the front. For yoga beginners, this exercise is often difficult because they are still stiff in the hips. This exercise helps to prevent or relieve back pain in the lower back. The relaxation in the yoga exercise results from a conscious long breath.

Tip 1: Use a blanket to increase your seating position.
Tip # 2: Try the following in the yoga exercise: press the soles of your feet together and push your knees apart (thought out of your hips). You should now feel an extra width in the pelvis. Does the yoga exercise help you to relax?

DVD tip: “Stress, let go. The relaxation program of Yogabasics. Buy DVDs on Amazon and practice yoga at home. 

All my experiences on the topic “avoid stress with yoga” I have packed for you in this 3-DVD box on Amazon. You will receive 6 45-minute practice sessions to relax, arrive and find inner peace. All yoga exercises are performed slowly and consciously, with breathing exercises also taught. If you want to turn off the head, this DVD box is just right for you. Order now safely and conveniently from Amazon. Incidentally, the DVDs are also ideal for yoga beginners.

 

7. Death (Savasana) – avoid stress with yoga

Did you know that some yoga teachers say Savasana is the heaviest yoga exercise ever? But what should be so hard to just lie on your back?

Savasana – probably the most important yoga exercise against stress:

• Lie on your back as comfortably as possible.
• The feet are almost mat-spread and roll outward.
• The arms are relaxed next to the body, give you space here too.
• Turn your elbows slightly inwards to relax out of your shoulders.
• The tongue lies relaxed in the mouth.
• The eyes are closed.

 

3 tips for even more relaxation in the anti-stress yoga exercise:

• Use an eye pillow or a towel and put it over your closed eyes. The gentle pressure and the darkness make it easier to relax.
• Put a pillow, pillow or rolled blanket under your knees. By the slightly bent legs you can relax better in the lower back and the stress deviates from the attitude. This tip should be followed by all people with lower back pain.
• You can also put a thin blanket under your head. In the video I show you a special technique, so that your neck finds relaxation.

 

8. Alternating breathing (Anuloma Viloma) – Avoid stress with conscious breathing

 

If there is an off button for stress, then it is certainly the alternate breathing. Before I explain the technique of this breathing exercise to you, I would like to explain the principle to you.

Yoga says: When you focus on ONE, you can not think of something else at the same time. In other words, if you concentrate on your breath, the mind will automatically calm down.

And so the Breath Yoga exercise goes against stress: You sit comfortably and upright. The right hand is in the Vishnu Mudra (see picture), the left hand is laid loose. You exhaled completely. Now you breathe in over the left nostril, over the right, then right again and left out. Practice this process like 2-5 minutes. Close your eyes and concentrate on the respiratory flow.

Alternating breathing has a strong calming effect because it balances brain activity. At this point I would like to give you a hint on the way: You do not have to know every effect and every detail of a yoga exercise. It is much more important to practice yoga exercises against stress, to feel the body and to get involved in it internally. So yoga succeeds against stress for sure.

 

Important tips to avoid stress specifically with Yoga:

• Rotational postures have a particularly soothing effect on body, mind and soul. For example, stay in the swivel seat for 2 minutes for each side. Close your eyes and let the breath be completely calm and relaxed.
• Extend the exhalation to calm the thoughts. A long exhalation sends the impulse to our brain “Everything is alright! You are allowed to relax “. A fast, irregular breath implies stress and activism.
• Prevention supports letting go. With the help of prevention you can well practice the qualities of “let go” and “let go inwardly”. Letting go is the conscious decision to give up fighting. We often find ourselves in “combat mode” in everyday life and we absolutely have to accomplish, do and do things in order to satisfy our ego. Yoga is the opposite of it: in yoga, you want to relax and just accept things as they are. Therefore, stop fighting for a few precious moments and just let go of stress with yoga.
• Relaxed practice of yoga also means for me: avoiding these mistakes in yoga exercises .
• Belly breathing helps to relax. To calm your thoughts and create a pleasant feeling of relaxation, I recommend that you consciously inhale and exhale deep into the abdomen. The abdominal breathing you practice detached from the yoga exercises.

That’s how simple the abdominal breathing works:

– Lie comfortably on your back, your hands are relaxed on the navel.
– Close your eyes and watch your breathing movement.
– Now consciously inhale into the abdomen so that it bulges. Imagine being able to breathe against the palms of your hands, which greatly facilitates inhalation.
– Breathe naturally and completely. The weight of the hands supports the exhalation. The resulting emptiness is a prerequisite for a new calm inhalation.
– Find your own natural breathing rhythm. Stay relaxed inside and out.

If you practice this simple breathing exercise for a while, you will notice how the stress drops. Many people fall asleep during exercise, so calming. Just try it. You can not go wrong here.

As I write the article “Avoiding Yoga with Stress,” I always come up with new tips and opportunities. Yoga is a wonderful holistic system to give life more peace and serenity. It makes me humble to practice, teach, and share the joy of this system.

Thank you for giving me your confidence and attention for the topic “Avoiding Yoga Stress”.

“Yoga to Shut Down” – Extra Tip 1: Relax even better with mantras

Do you already use mantras in your yoga exercises to switch off even better? The word “mantra” consists of the syllables “manas” (spirit) and “tra” (work). It can be translated as “working with the mind”. Mantras are said to have a healing, soothing effect.

 

To dissolve yoga specifically with stress, I recommend you to use the mantra “Let go”. With each inhalation, you repeat inwardly “let” and with the exhalation “go”. Inhale “let” and exhale “go”. You repeat this over and over again in the individual yoga exercises. In principle, all yoga exercises are suitable for this. But in prevention, in which you devote yourself in devotion, this mantra is a true revelation, leading you into a state of calm and inner contentment.

 

“Yoga to switch off” – extra tip 2: Relax even better with mudras

Mudras are also an interesting tool to help prevent yoga stress. Surely you know that there are many acupressure points in your fingers. You can translate “mudra” with “seal”. There are many different mudras in the yoga system that give the practice a new depth and subtlety. The Indians knew about their importance 2,000 years ago and developed certain finger postures to switch off, come to rest or to support certain healing processes in the body.

Prithvi Mudra, the mudra of the earth

 

This mudra helps with stress and fatigue. At the same time, the Mudra is granted a support of digestion and blood circulation. It’s like many things in life: faith moves mountains. And yoga also teaches us that our existence is limited, but at the same time we can shift our boundaries. Use the “Prithvi Mudra” during a meditation and see if you can switch off even better.