Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Practice Hatha Yoga, For Chronic Stress Relief, to Save Your Life

By Paul Jerard, Aura Publications

Yoga can break the cycle of continual stress. We know that chronic stress is linked to a variety of health problems and can cause death. When you are stressed out, hormones, such as - Cortisol and Adrenaline, are released into your body to give you extra strength in an emergency situation. However, long term affects of releasing cortisol and adrenaline, into your body, can result in heart disease and potential suicide.

Among the most necessary reasons, to practice Yoga, is the resulting state of inner peace during and after a session. Multi-tasking, stress, worry, and negative thoughts work against obtaining peace of mind. How can Yoga help people who are worried about their families, employment, and health care? Let's discuss the healing powers of Yoga, and how you can reap the rewards of inner peace.

If you have problems that are blended with chronic stress, it is difficult to sort out the origin of your anxiety. Most people worry when they see an impending problem. Worrying is only a natural reaction to stress overload. However, have you ever met one person who claimed that worrying solved a problem?

Problems are much easier to solve when we train our minds to focus on solutions. This is where a regular Yoga practice helps us to take control of fear and worry. It is hard to see reality when we are consumed with fear. Many times, the amount of worrying people do has nothing to do with reality. People often worry about potential problems.

On the other hand, if the problem is real, time spent practicing Yoga will allow one to find inner calm and solutions. Hatha Yoga helps people of all ages learn to cope with stress. Most beginners are attracted to the physical postures (asanas), or the flowing of physical postures, with breath, in a sequence (vinyasa).

While there are much deeper practices to be realized within Hatha Yoga, the physical postures tend to be the main attraction on this journey of self-discovery. As time passes, the practitioner becomes much more aware of pranayama (Yogic breathing), niyama, yama, and the many variations of Yogic meditation.

When we read Patanjali's "Yoga Sutras," we begin to notice that our superficial view of Yoga is much like a child's view of the world. Our view of Yoga is a fresh start. Most of us easily believe in what we see and what we feel. This is the reason why the Hatha style became so popular when it was exposed to the world. Physical benefits are easier to realize than mental, spiritual, or emotional benefits.

Therefore, a stressed-out person will find complete relief by finding a competent Yoga teacher, learning the Yogic methods for obtaining inner peace, and will be reassured when the physical and mental benefits are realized. The deeper benefits will be revealed, as the practitioner continues on the Yogic path.