Yoga: How It Helps Relieve Stress

p Running Head : YOGA AND STRESS REDUCTION

Stress Reduction : The Yoga Way

Stress Reduction : The Yoga Way

Stress is defined as the body 's reaction to the demands and pressures of the outside world (Understanding Your Sources of Stress . Everyone is exposed to stress . What varies however is the degree and intensity in which the one experiences it (Stress Overview

Stress can come from a variety of sources (these sources are referred to as stressors ) but these could be grouped under two major categories those from external exasperations and the other

, from internal irritations (Understanding Your Sources of Stress . External exasperations refer to events or circumstances that occur in an individual 's life . These may either be under his control or not Examples of such stressors are major life changes , concerns involving the family , workplace and environment as well as social and unpredictable events (Understanding Your Sources of Stress . Internal irritations on the other hand , constitute stressors which are self induced . Unrealistic expectations , attitudes , fears and uncertainties belong to this aforementioned category (Understanding Your Sources of Stress

While stress is often thought to bring about aversive health consequences a small amount of stress is seen as beneficial . Indeed small doses of stress can improve concentration , heighten awareness and even provide increased energy (Stress Overview . The same is not true however in cases wherein the individual is exposed to prolonged periods of stress . Studies show that the human body can become sensitized to stress much as it gets sensitized to allergy - inducing agents (Stress It 's Worst Than You Think . As a consequence of such sensitization process the body works overtime to respond to the smallest incidents of stress . In to understand why such sensitization process happens it is important to examine the evolution of the mechanism which is involved in the process of stress reduction . Stress in the past is usually caused by external physical threats such as the presence of predators and assailants or the effects of the onslaught of natural disasters (Stress : Unhealthy Response to the Pressures of Life . In the present , such cases present fictional scenarios

Today , humans are not just forced to contend with these external threats but with a multitude of new threats . It is often believed that our times have caused us to cut our leisure and grieving times in halves or even less (Stress : It 's Worst Than You Think . And while the body is equipped with mechanisms that will help it deal with external physical threats it is not as equally adept at handling technology - manufactured threats (Stress : Unhealthy Response to the Pressures of Life ) such as handling a major presentation or preparing for a big job interview . As such , the body reacts to these new stressors as it would react to the major stressors of the past - by going on an all - out mode of defense Thus , the constant activation of such mechanism can , instead of protecting the individual , make one more prone to health and even life - threatening problems (Stress...