8 Ways to De-Stress, Fast

By Lindsey Lewis • February 21st, 2011 • 11170 Views

Who’s not stressed? All of us—no matter how yogic or meditative or all-round relaxed—get worked up sometimes. (Except maybe my always-smiling, always pretty happy friend Swami Maheshananda Saraswati—but he’s a Swami.) Stress is one of the most pressing and prevalent health concerns in today’s busy world. We’re all working to the max, putting in longer hours than ever before, raising families, staying fit, and trying to stay connected with friends and family. It’s a lot. So here are eight de-stress tips from My Yoga Online's De-Stress Express Whole Health Program.

8 De-Stress Express Tips

1. The effects of the fight or flight response, aka stress response, don't always go away once the stressor is gone. Stress hormones can continue to be released when thinking of the stressor; tensed muscles won't release; and digestion can remain inhibited. Plus, your body treats the stress as real, even if you're simply re-living or imagining it—i.e. even if it's just in your head.

2. The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is here to help. The PNS governs actions opposite to the sympathetic nervous system—the "digest and rest" ones. It lowers breathing and heart rates, decreases blood pressure, and increases blood flow to the intestines and reproductive organs. In other words, it calms us down. We can help the PNS do its thing: Breathe deeply, exercise and do asana, eat a mindful, balanced diet, take digestive supplements (if your doc says it's okay), and do anything else that helps you calm down.

3. Try keeping track of your stress in a journal. Write down what you were doing when you felt stressed; you’ll begin to see patterns, and, once you have, can begin to take preventative or reactive steps, according to your personal needs.

4. Use your commute. Whether you’re on a bus, in your car, or on your bike, you can transform this time into a meditation by simply focusing on long, deep, breathing.

5. Eckhart Tolle, Ram Das, and tons of other spiritual leaders, are right. Stay in the now. Don’t multi-task. Do one thing, talk to one person, and take on one job at a time.

6. Remember that, as master yoga teacher Max Strom says, we can’t feel gratitude and stress at the same time. Try remembering to give thanks: For the good people in your life, for a great pair of shoes, for sunshine—for anything that you feel grateful for.

7. Walk mindfully. Your feet can be a source of stress-reduction, too. Soften your...

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Location:  Vancouver, CA

I teach Hatha, Kundalini, and soon Yin Yoga and am lucky to be part of the team here at My Yoga Online. I love teaching yoga and sharing the tons of ways it can help off the mat. Simply...