Health And Fitness News 

Yoga For Anxiety And Stress

Yoga is so beneficial for people suffering stress and anxiety that it is being taken seriously by the professionals in those fields. As well as traditional therapies for anxiety such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, many professionals are now using yoga, breathing techniques, and meditation with it.

But it's not just people with clinically diagnosed anxiety that benefit from using yoga. Many people are chronic worriers. It is perhaps a side effect of perfectionism, something I well know myself! Or perhaps it's simply our fast paced lives, where there is an endless list of things to do, and so many demands for our time.

Whatever the reason, yoga is great for managing stress, and helping us train our minds to detach from the worry, the self negative thoughts, or the seemingly endless problems both in our personal sphere, and the world at large.

By concentrating on the physical poses in yoga, we in fact begin that process of detaching from our thoughts. We also become focused in the present, and more fully engaged with our bodies instead of floating around in a sometimes vicious circle in our minds (and emotions).

The breathing - focused, mindful breathing - that accompanies yoga poses is important too. It helps break us out of the fight-or-flight mode that anxiety and stress creates. Breathing out for longer on the exhale helps with this too.

And when you're stressed, it doesn't take a long yoga class to begin to relax. A simple, 10 or 15 minute session will work wonders. Give it a try today!

What Are Yoga Mudras

Yoga mudras are "body gestures" that are believed to accentuate a yoga practice. Most people think of the 4 hand gestures that are sometimes used in yoga when they think of mudras, but there are actually a lot more that don't involve the hands. There are actually about 25 mudras mentioned in 2 ancient yoga texts, and except for those 4, the rest involve the use of the face, the eyes, or the whole body.

So, what exactly do they do?

They are considered more meditative in nature. They were traditionally used to help awaken the kundalini energy, although a far more effective kundalini meditation is available here (and its free!) (just make sure you do the prerequisites first).

Other, more modern explanations of mudras include that a sort of biofeedback loop is created using the subtle energies of the meridians that end in our fingertips. The palm chakras may also play a role.

For others, there is a symbolic connection with the subconscious mind, an association between using the mudras and a signal that it is time for some inner work.