Combating Stress with Yoga and Meditation

Stress has become a universal word which is being used by just about any one, everywhere we go. In the course of this article, we will see the various causes and effects of stress and a simple, yet effective way to tackle this menace with the power of Yoga and Meditation.

The medical science describes stress as a specific response of the body to all non specific demands – physical, psychological, threatened or actual – the response being the secretion of ACTH and CORTISOL (these are two stress induced hormones). Secretion of two other hormones stimulated by stress is adrenalin and noradrenalin.

A more practical definition of stress may be put as “when the problem presented by everyday life exceeds your resources for coping with them you feel stressed”.

Reasons or causes of stress.

1.     Societal problems

2.     Family problems

3.     Work overload

4.     Political Problems

5.     Ecological and environmental factors

6.     Physical and psychological problems

7.     Problems created due to changes in moral values of the society

8.     Economic Factors

9.     Lack of Emotional Support from closed ones

10.   Information overload

11.   Time overload

12.     Financial Problems

13.    Self Ego

14.     Lack of Spirituality

Modern science, till some years ago, did not attribute stress to the creation of diseases. In the last few decades, a series of epidemiological studies and observations have proved that some very common diseases are a direct result of excessive stress. They are now grouped as psychosomatic diseases. A list of these common diseases is as follows.

1.     High Blood Pressure

2.     Angina or Chest Pain

3.     Heart Attacks

4.     Headache

5.     Migraine

6.     Backache

7.     Shoulder ache

8.     Spondylitis

9.     Allergies

10.  Asthma

11. Chronic fatigue and lethargy

12.   Anxiety

13.    Insomnia

14.  Depression

15.  Irritable bowel syndrome

16.    Menstrual irregularities in women

Do you suffer from any of them?
Be honest with yourself and try to find out the roof cause of the problems. This will help you to clearly define a solution.

Yoga and meditation are wonderful tools to combat from stress and stress related disorders.Yoga is the philosophical doctrine developed in India at 500 B.C. It brings about the right interaction, combination, co ordination of the mind and body.

According to Patanjali (the father of yoga), yoga is

·         Union between Prana (Vital Force ) and MahaShakti (Universal energy)

·         Stopping the fluctuation of consciousness (Chitta)

·         Achievement of inner equilibrium

·         It is the skill of work (Karmashu kaushalyam)

Eight limbs of Yoga according to Rishi Patanjali

• Yam –Restraint and Control
• Niyam-observation and self discipline
• Asana-Physical Postures
• Pranayam-Breathing techniques
• Pratyahar-Food habits
• Dharna-Concentration
• Dhyan-Flow of concentration, meditation
• Samadhi-state of ultimate consciousness

Scientifically proven benefits of Meditation

• Controls Blood Pressure
• Increases cardiovascular Capacity
• Increases Breathing Speed
• Controls the Temperature of the body
• Controls the rate of Metabolism in body
• Controls the levels of Cholesterol in blood
• Controls Blood Sugar

During meditation the electromagnetic waves produced by the brain are measured by Electroencephalography (EEG) machine and it shows Alpha waves. If a person is in deep stress the EEG machine records Beta and Delta waves.