Yoga for stress management

1. Why is the Yoga considered a practical way to reduce stress?

Before answering this question, I need to say what is stress. Accumulative tension results stress. Stress is an exaggerated response to internal or external stimulus. This tension can be physical and also can be mental. Specially in the fast pace of city life, people become restless machine. They have no time to rest. Even they have no time to sit As they never sit, their mind also never sit. Mind always wonders around , gets tired and tensed. Never settle down. That creates tension. Mind even cannot released when one goes to sleep. Actually apparently the body goes to the bed to sleep, but the muscles never relax, nerves never relax, mind never relax and it happens day after day, year after year. As a result the layers of tension become thicker and thicker and covers the mind. And mind cannot breathe. The being of the mind changes slowly and turns into stressed mind.
Actually Yoga is a life style. Yoga teaches us to be in present moment. Yoga teaches us to be conscious about every action. Yoga teaches us how to be far from attachments, which is the cause of all unfulfilled desire and anger. When a person is in present moment and conscious about his all actions, he or she cannot be affected by tension. And if there is no tension, how stress can come to knock the door of our mind. It is a matter of practice and that practice can minimize our tension and stress.

2. Can you explain how specific Yoga techniques reduces stress?
Often we misunderstand Yoga as an exercise. But in fact it is something more than that. It is a philosophy. In Yoga, action without realization results nothing. So, when people come to Yoga to get relief from stress is different from using Yoga to prevent stress. Those who want to prevent tension and stress in life and want to use Yoga as a shield, need to know the basic principles and discipline of Yoga, before they start practicing it. And those who are already stressed and suffering and want to use it as an weapon in life to fight against stress, they should go under Yoga counseling first to know the stage of the stress, like psychic phase, psychosomatic phase, somatic phase, organic phase. Yoga therapist will handle the patient accordingly. As I said before - Yoga doesn't mean the postures only, it's a collective systematic postures to invigorate all the systems in our body, along with external muscles even skin and even it can change the habit. Other than asana posture, breathing has a very important role. Just as the physical body ( gross body ) is ruled by the brain, the subtle body is ruled by the mind and both the bodies are sustained by Prana or Chi. Prana thus controls both the bodies. Pranic manipulation is effected mainly by breath manipulation, which is called Pranayama, the science of breathing in Yoga. Now let's come to the relaxing part of Yoga, which is called Sabasana or Yoga Nidra in Yogic language. It's really difficult to relax or even sleep for a stressed person. In the beginning some passive relaxation will help. Gradually commanding relaxation technique, alternate stimulation and relaxation combination, stretch and relaxing technique will be applicable according to the progress of the patient. One needs to remember - once you are out of stress , doesn't mean that it will never come back. So, take Yoga as a style of your life to keep tension and stress away from yourself.

3. Is there some moves that employees can do during their lunch break or at work to relax?
Some easy stretches like Tadasana ( Standing stretching all joints , muscles and even skin), Uttanasana ( Standing forward bend ), Ardha Chandrasana (Standing back bend ), Ardha Chandrasana ( Standing side bend ), Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half twist pose ) etc. help to relax the body and mind. Along with these poses, a couple of deep breathe with short meditation and relaxation will help a lot.

4. What type of yoga do you recommend for busy people in Hong Kong, who wants to be less stressed and why?

For busy people in Hong Kong, I would specially recommend some Yoga classes like Hatha, Yoga stretch and relaxing class, Pranayama (Yoga breathing), Dhyana ( Meditation ), Yoga nidra ( Yogic relaxation ), Yoga therapy, Yin Yoga, Laughter Yoga, So Ham meditation, etc . Because these classes will help your muscles and tissues to get gentle stretch and after that proper relaxation , which will help to shuffle the joints, supply fresh blood to all parts of the body and also will help to flow the prana energy. Concentration on every breathe will help you to forget the outer world and bring you to the present moment and as a result, mind will slowly enter into the state of meditation, which is the tranquil world, free of all stresses.

Published in Hong Kong Human Resource Official Journal, September, 2012.

Breathe Breathe and Breathe

Often we get bored hearing the command from the teacher in the Yoga class. The teacher again and again repeating the same and asking to breathe, as if we are not breathing in the studio. But how can we be alive if we are not breathing? Then why the teacher asking us to breathe? Actually breathing has a very important role in the world Yoga.

Breathing is life. It is one of our most vital functions of the body and that breathing exercise promotes proper breathing. Proper breathing from a yogic point of view is to bring more oxygen to the blood and to the brain, and to control prana or the vital life energy. Pranayama - the science of breathe control which consists of a series of exercises to meet these needs and to keep the body in vibrant health.

Breathing is important for two basic reasons. First it is vital for our survival, because it is the only means of supplying our bodies and its various organs with oxygen. And secondly , it is the way to get rid of waste products and toxins from our body.

Oxygen is the most vital nutrient in our body. It is very essential for the proper and the efficient functioning of the brain, nerves, glands and other internal organs. It is more important than food we eat. Without food or water we may survive for few weeks, but without oxygen we will die within few minutes. If the brain does not get the proper supply of the essential nutrient, degradation of all the vital organs of the body will result. The brain requires more oxygen than any other organs in the body. If it doesn't get enough, the result is mental sluggishness, negative thoughts, depression and eventually vision and hearing declines. Normally because of poor life style and also for the age, the oxygen supply declines in our body. Insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain causes quick irritation, sight problems, hearing problems, heart problems, including stroke, and also for a long time- lack of oxygen has been considered a major cause of cancer.

Thousands of years ago Yogis realized the vital importance of an adequate supply of oxygen and they developed and perfected various breathing techniques. These techniques are particularly important for the people who have sedentary jobs. So, in present days it has become very applicable for those people , who spend most of the day in the office and does not work out. As their brain does not get enough supply of oxygen, it get starved and they start feeling tired, nervous, irritable, and not very productive. It slowly ruins their immune system.

Vitality and rejuvenation depends on the purified blood stream. The most effective and the quickest way to purify the blood stream is by taking in extra supply of oxygen we breathe. Oxygen burns up the waste products ( toxins ) in the body, as well as recharges the body. In fact, most of our energy requirements come, not from food, but from air we breathe. By purifying the blood stream, every part of the body benefits, as well as the mind. Your complexion will be clear and brighter while wrinkles will begin to fade away. Actually, rejuvenation will start to occur.

In Yogic science, the breathing part is called Pranayama. The word derived from two Sanskrit words - 'Prana' means life force or vital energy, while 'Ayama' means to control or to increase or to extend. Therefore in its broadest description, Pranayama would mean to control of the flow of life force or to increase the vital force in the body. Normally man goes on breathing, but when we voluntarily control the breathing, it becomes Pranayama.

But before starting Pranayama or controlled breathing, we need to know how to breathe. Normal breathing or shallow breathing is just to keep us alive. It does not exercise the lungs enough and it does not have enough effect on our body and mind. Even if you do not do any exercise, at least regular practice of fifty times long and deep breathe can give you a long and healthy life and also you can keep many diseases away from yourself. This deep breathing will help to exercise the lungs, will supply fresh oxygen to blood, which is the food of cells. As a result the active cells get rejuvenated in all over the body and it is full of vital energy or Prana. So one becomes the symbol of energy, just by giving up the bad habit of shallow breathing and breathing through mouth.

In Yogic science initially there are three kinds of breathing, normally which is called Yogic breathing. First is abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing, second is chest or thoracic breathing and third is clavicular breathing. These three types of breathing will make you aware of your breathe and also aware of the three vital parts of the body. By the exercise of these three parts, the body will slowly get ready to start Pranayama. Pranayama will not only give you a healthy lungs, but also will help the other systems of the body, like digestive system, circulatory system, excretory system, glandular system, reproductive system, including co-ordination of all organs to function well. Thus the Pranayama becomes the key of healthy life.

There are eight classical Kumbhakas (Pranayamas) according to Hatha Yoga Pradipika, an ancient yoga text --

1. Surya Bhedana -- Sun Cleaving breath
2. Ujjayi -- The Victorious breath
3. Sitkari -- Hissing breathe (cooling breath)
4. Sheetali -- Break tongue breath (icing breath)
5. Bhastrika -- Bellows breathe
6. Bhramari -- Sound of bee breath
7. Murccha – Fainting or swooning breath
8. Plavani -- Floating breath

According to the stage of one's individual practice, one should follow the instruction of his or her Guru or Pranayama guide, because lungs is a very delicate organ and one's over enthusiasm can harm the lungs, specially 'kumbhaka' or retention Pranayama. And as a result of good practice of Pranayama, mind becomes calm. Easy to concentrate. When the mind is good in concentration, automatically it will enter in to the world of meditation, followed by spirituality. So it is the finest way to live in the world at the same time keeping oneself detached from the poison of this materialistic world. One can control the worldly problems by himself instead of problems controlling him in the name of stress or tension. This is an art of living , a pleasant renunciation even staying in this world. So Pranayama can be used not only to improve health and lengthen the life span, but also to attain super-conscious states. Gurus, the ancient yoga scientists with their long experience on practicing Pranayama came to the conclusion that only breathe can control our mind and thus we can bring our mind to the present moment, which is the key to open all the mysteries of happiness rather peace.

OUM SHANTI OUM SHANTI OUM SHANTI

Teacher's Voice (published in Namaskar_Oct 2011)

What is your most challenging asana and why?
Padmasana - Lotus posture is the most challenging asana to me. In Sanskrit the word asana means to sit. I started practising asana when I was a kids and it was a fun to and at the same time challenging because my mother used to make me sit to settle me down - when I was naughty or during regular evening prayer. Padmasana is the first posture in my life. With the growth of time and age, it started blooming its petals, and it became more and more challenging to me.
What have you learned from this asana?
Like many other Indian kids, I started Padmasana out of fun during my childhood. That time it was not at all a challenging postures. It started becoming challenging when I actually started learning yogasanas. Bending the knees and dropping them on the ground, placing the heels close to the groin, keeping the spine straight , shoulders balanced but relaxed, grounding into Mother Earth, finding out the most centred balancing point of the body. This is the root of Muladhara Chakra and to generate the energy flow from that very point like the serpent standing up on its tail and opening up the Chakra one after the other - this is extremely challenging. Now in my 28 years of asana teaching life, it is another everyday challenging for me to make my students understand the beauty of a Lotus, the effect of keeping the spine straight, how it works on the knee joints and pelvis how to ground down on the hips and finding out the finer balancing point, and to explore the one lotus posture to hundreds of variations. Sitting quietly and settling down in this fast pace world is challenging and Padmasana is the tool to handle the challenging in both my student and teaching life.
What is the most challenging part of your practise?
The most challenging part of my practise is 'to be in the present moment'. I don't want to keep my Yoga practise confined to a 6" X 2" yoga mat. What you learn on the mat, if you cannot explore it off the mat, then it's useless. I understand the meaning of perseverance (practise) on the mat. The result is - success and the meaning of success changes in life, because it's relative. My challenge is to face that success. And that's what I am doing everyday.