Yoga For Migraine Headaches And Neck Pains:

A migraine is said to be the most common neurological condition and is more common than asthma, epilepsy, and diabetes combined. The yoga for migraine will improve circulation and oxygen level in the body and release stress and pressure. Because stress can be a factor for a migraine, remove stress from your life first, you can check out pranayama for stress, yoga for stress and healthy lifestyle tips for more on stress relief.

Migraine Causes:

A migraine headache can be caused due to stress, sleep disturbances, hormonal imbalances, anxiety, any change in weather. Sometimes migraine causes can even be loud noises, bright lights.

Headache VS Migraine:

• Headaches are usually all over the forehead and migraines are localised to one side of the head.
• Migraines affect vision and headaches doesn’t.
• A person affected with a migraine gets sensitive to bright lights while normal headaches are not affected by light.
• Migraines have heightened a sense of smell while headaches don’t.
• Headaches can be relieved with painkillers while migraines can’t be treated with painkillers.
• Migraines cause nausea and vomitings.

Migraine Headache Symptoms:

The migraine headache symptoms include a typical headache on only one half of the head. It can last from 2 hours to up to more than 2 days sometimes.

You will become extremely sensitive towards light or noise.

Other common symptoms include vomiting, nausea and pain aggravation due to physical activity.

7 Yoga Poses For Migraine Headaches:

Yoga for migraine is a natural way to fight it without side effects though there is intense medication like antidepressants and surgeries.

Here are the 7 yoga poses that help you get relieved from migraines, neck pains and normal headaches.

1. Upavistha Konasana (Wide Angle Forward Bend):

This asana helps you open your hips and stretch the spine in order to decompress the compressed spine. The spine carries oxygen and blood circulation better when it is in its normal shape but most us ruin its functionality with bad postures that make the spine compressed.

Upavistha Konasana Steps:

1. Sit with your legs stretched as wide out as possible in front of you. Place the palms behind with a few inches distance away from hips.
2. Try to stretch your legs wider by leaning back a little on to your palms and sliding forward. (You can place a bolster under the hips and bend your knees a little for support)
3. Inhale; raise the arms up parallel to each other.
4. Exhale; tuck your chin down towards chest bending the torso forwards.
5. Place the palms folding in front of you on the ground and let the base sink in to ground.
6. Position your neck for deep breathing and stay here for 2-3 minutes breathing soft and deep.

Release the position starting with inhalation and with chin down to chest roll up gently. Hold your knees from behind and drag them towards the body. Join legs together and stretch.

2. Balasana (Child Pose):

This yoga for migraine calms the mind and relaxes the spine to facilitate the circulation and oxygen flow fully. It releases the tension, fatigue and stress in the spine and the hips.

Balasana Steps:

1. Sit down on your knees and join the thighs, knees, big toes with hips on the heels left distant comfortably.
2. Place your palms on the floor and move the knees wide. (If your hips are not touching the heels place a bolster under the feet)
3. Inhale; raise your arms stretching the spine.
4. Exhale; bend your torso forward and rest it on the floor between the knees. Keep your palms one above the other and place on the floor above your head stretching hands fully. (If you’re not comfortably resting on to the floor place a bolster in between the knees)
5. Breath deeply for 1-2 minutes in this position. Make sure you’re not forcing the pose.

Release the pose with an inhalation raising the arms up and as you exhale lower the arms and release the pose.

3. Savasana (Corpse Pose):

This is a relaxation yoga for migraine best known as ‘alert relaxation’. It brings back the coordination of body and mind of all the actions, instructions and sensations. Alert relaxation incorporates muscle relaxation and inner stillness with high energy.

Savasana Steps:

1. Lie down on the back with legs apart and hands away from the body.
2. Roll the neck from side to side and back to front and make the body comfortable. (Place a thin pillow under the knees if needed)
3. Start to think of each body part and relax the body part consciously focusing on the breath.
4. Stay in this position and relax the whole body for 20-30 minutes. You can gently move your toes and fingers for while relaxing.

Release the pose rolling to the left side and sit up with a straight spine. Rub the palms of your hands together and slowly open your eyes.

4. Padahastasana (Forward Bend):

This yoga for migraine relieves stress and tension from the torso.

Padahastasana Steps:

1. Stand with your legs hip distance apart and both hands on your waist.
2. Inhale; elongate the spine and exhale as you bend forward from hips.
3. Inhale; extend the spine little more if you can.
4. Exhale; open the palms and touch the ground beside the foot. (Bend the knees a little to make yourself comfortable)
5. Or open the palms towards the ceiling and turn the fingers towards the toes and slide under the foot up to just below the wrist.
6. Inhale; lengthen the spine and exhale; press the toes on the palms, coming more forward.
7. Stay in this pose for 5-8 breaths.

Release the pose with inhalation, lifting the head up and release the palms and exhale lift the torso up slowly and place the palms on the waist.

5. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog Pose):

This yoga for migraine pose calms the mind, lengthens the spine and energises the body.

Adho Mukha Svanasana Steps:

1. Stand on your four limbs like a table with palms placed shoulder-width apart and toes placed hip-width apart parallelly.
2. Inhale and relax your body. Exhale; lift the hips up, stretching the hands and legs straight and form an inverted V-shape with hips pointing upwards.
3. Touch the ears to the inner arms and sink your hands into the ground.
4. Stay in this position and take deep breaths.

Release the pose getting back to table pose while exhaling.

6. Setu Bandhasana (Bridge Pose):

This yoga for migraine and headaches relieves the tension and stress in back muscles instantly. It calms the brain, reducing anxiety, stress and depression.

Setu Bandhasana Steps:

1. Lie on your back, fold your knees and place your feet hip distance apart on the floor and away from the pelvis.
2. Place your palms facing downward beside your body.
3. Inhale; slowly lift your lower back, middle back and upper back off the floor gently roll in the shoulders; touch the chest to the chin without bringing the chin down, supporting your weight with your shoulders, arms and feet. Feel your bottom firm up in this pose. Both the thighs are parallel to each other and to the floor.
4. Keep breathing easily.
5. Stay in this pose for 1-2 minutes.

Release the pose exhaling and lower the hips, lower back and upper back on to the floor gently.

7. Marjariasana (Cat stretch):

This yoga pose relaxes the mind and improves blood circulation.

Marjariasana Steps:

1. Stand on your four limbs like a table with palms placed shoulder-width apart and toes placed hip-width apart parallelly. Look straight ahead.
2. Inhale; raise your chin and tilt your head back, push your navel downwards and raise your tailbone. Compress your buttocks and feel a slight tingle. Take deep breaths.
3. Exhale; drop your chin to your chest and arch your back up as much as you can and relax the buttocks. Take deep breaths.
4. Then come back to table position. Do 2 and 3 alternately for a few minutes.

Yoga For Mindfulness And Focus:

There are many exercises to cultivate mindfulness and focus such as running, repeating movements, breathing etc. But yoga for concentration and focus gives us the best results. To maintain the concentration and focus you need to remove stress from your life first, you can check out pranayama for stress, yoga for stress and healthy lifestyle tips for more on stress relief.

The Yogic Process:

In the yogic process, the practices are of the fifth limb (Ashtanga Yoga) to achieve mindfulness and focus. The process is called Pratyahara, which is withdrawing the focus from the other senses and remain at a point.

The yogic word ‘asana’ has multiple meanings to convey the depths of experiences that we will have as we journey through a yoga practice. The very basic meaning of asana is ‘posture’; to represent the physical arrangement of the body, including the position of the eyes and toes. It also means ‘seat’, to indicate the stability that a steady and disciplined practice can create within our mental and emotional structures. The meaning that is closest to my heart is ‘attitude’, where we imbibe the esoteric significance of each posture. Most asanas are named after sages, flora, fauna and celestial bodies. When we practice an asana, and as we become flexible and strong, we can also imbibe the qualities of what the posture is named after.

The Pranayama and Yoga for concentration and focus are going to help us synchronize the mind and the body. This helps us reduce the thought jumping from one to another which make us change actions and stay steady at one point.

5 Daily Practices Of Yoga For Concentration And Focus:

1. Trataka (Concentrated Gazing):

This is a cleansing technique of yoga for concentration and focus to clear eyes and mind.

Items Required:

• Candle
• Table
• Bolster or a yoga mat

Arrangement:

• Place the bolster or the yoga mat on the floor and sit on it with a cross-legged posture.
• Place the table arm distance away.
• Light the candle and place on the table.

Procedure:

1. Focus on your breath and gaze at the flame without blinking as much possible.
2. Gradually increase the gaze at flame without blinking to 60 seconds.
3. Close your eyes and visualize the flame at the point between the eyebrows.
4. Steps 1 and 3 are a cycle, repeat the cycle for two more times.
5. After three cycles are completed, sit with eyes closed and focus on breath till it gets normal.

Benefits:

When Practiced regularly, this technique enhances single point focus.

Precautions:

Not suitable for people with psychic problems.

2. Mindfulness Meditation:

The mindfulness meditation is a simple process but not an easy one because it is involved with concentrating on the breath.

Procedure:

1. Sit on the floor with a cross-legged posture, palms resting on the thighs and spine comfortably erect. (You can start practising on a chair if sitting on the floor is not so comfortable for you)
2. Close your eyes, relax your shoulders, forehead and facial muscles.
3. Focus on the breath in stillness observing the breath as much time as you can in the beginning and gradually increase the time.
4. You can mentally count from 50 to 1 like inhale and exhale 50; inhale and exhale 49 and so on.

It is natural to miss the count as the mind wanders a lot and if it happens to, start over from 50. You are supposed the master the counting with a focus on the breath and mind.

Benefits:

With regular practice, focus and concentration will improve.

3. Vrksasana (Tree Pose):

Vrksasana is a standing yoga pose in a tree pose. You have to balance the balance the body on the single leg in this asana.

Regular practice of Vrksasana you will slowly reveal what you are capable of becoming. A tree draws stability from its roots, allowing the trunk and branches to sustain through strong winds and rain. Similarly, we can learn to weather the storms in our lives by focussing our mind on the reserve of strength and peace from deep within us.

Procedure:

1. Stand up on your feet ground to the floor.
2. Tuck the tailbone down towards the earth and pelvis towards the body like an extension through the spine.
3. Roll the shoulder back and drop back towards the hips.
4. Focus on the breath.
5. Shift all the body weight to left leg and lift the right bending the knee and place the foot on the crook of the left inner thigh (or a little lower to the crook).
6. Join the palms in namaste position and place them on the waist.
7. Set the gaze at a point and focus on the breath. Gradually increase to 10 breaths.
8. Repeat the same on the other side.

Benefits:

Improves balance, stability and concentration.

4. Garudasana (Eagle Pose):

The garudasana is also a standing yoga pose on a single leg.

Garudasana Steps:

1. Stand up on your feet ground to the floor.
2. Tuck the tailbone down towards the earth and pelvis towards the body like an extension through the spine.
3. Roll the shoulder back and drop back towards the hips.
4. Focus on the breath.
5. Inhale; bend the knees, sinking the hips little down, exhale; bend the elbows and place them on the hips.
6. Inhale; lift the right foot and cross over on to the left leg shifting the body weight to the left leg. Hook the right foot around the left calf touching the toes to the calf.
7. Then lift the arms and cross the right elbow over the left elbow. Hook the elbows and move down towards the chest. Open the palms and join together.
8. Keep your eyes fixed at a point and hold the pose counting breaths for as much time possible. Gradually increase to 10 breaths.
9. Repeat the same on the other side.

Benefits:

Improves focus, strength, balance and concentration.

5. Chanting Mantra For Concentration And Focus:

Chanting eventually makes us meditate. Meditation requires focus, which is difficult to achieve. But, when you chant with concentration, the mind gets focused.

Bija Mantra is one of the types of mantra in which a particular single syllable is repeated to activate a particular chakra.

Scientists say that when a mantra is chanted rhythmically, it creates a neuro-linguistic effect. Such an effect occurs even if the meaning of the mantra is not known.

But knowing the meaning of what you are chanting tunes your mind towards reaching your goal.

Take Away:

Regularly practicing these yoga for concentration and focus will help you master anything you want in life. You can start practicing the techniques with little adjustments in the beginning and try to get the perfect posture and procedure gradually.

Everyday Pranayama For Stress Relief:

Pranayam means the expansion of life energy. Since the vehicle of life energy is breath, these practices are roughly translated as breathing practices. Hence the following pranayama for stress relief; relieves from stress by concentrating on breathing.

Along with pranayama for stress, you can also follow the healthy lifestyle tips and yoga for stress. Sometimes, bad posture also causes stress, understand the importance of good posture and start working on good posture. And too much stress may lead to headaches and migraines, check out yoga for migraine to get rid of headaches.

There are many important breathing practices which have their own specific function within the general function of bringing about purification of the nerves (Nadi Shuddhi / Nadi Shodhana). Common pranayamas mentioned in the yogic texts are Bhastrika, Kapalbhati, Nadi Shodhana, Sheetali, Sheetkari, and Bhramari.

What is Pranayama?

Pranayama is the science of breathing in yoga. Pranayama for stress relieves stress by integrating the disturbed organs with smooth oxygen flow throughout the body.

The oxygen flowing in the body integrates the brain, nerves, glands and internal organs. Pranayama helps integrate the parts of the body effectively when the integration gets disturbed by external differences. These external differences unable to cope up by us cause stress.

Why Pranayama?

Pranayama is basically exercising breathe to coordinate the system of the body.

Prana + Ayama = (Respiration/life/energy) + (lengthen/expand/restraint)

Beyond Exercise And Diet: Breathe more. Worry less.

Breathing is one of the most fundamental physiological processes and is possibly the most important one. This is why every traditional approach to health from yoga to Chinese medicine stresses the importance of breathing right. 

Yogic science, on the other hand, has no bad side-effects and it works on the deep–lying causes and cures from within.

4 Types Of Pranayama For Stress Relief:

These 4 types of pranayama are the pranayama for stress. Follow these pranayama techniques daily to remove stress from your life.

1. Nadi Shodhana Pranayama / Nadishuddhi pranayama
2. Sitali pranayama
3. Surya Bedhana pranayama
4. Bhramari pranayama

Nadishuddhi Pranayama | Nadi Shodhana Pranayama:

The Nadi Shodhana pranayama or Nadi Shuddhi pranayama helps you relax your mind, increase calmness and concentration and hence stress management.

As the name suggests it works on the nadis, the nerves and mental problems are also problems of the nervous system.

In this pranayama, we breathe through alternate nostrils in a particular ratio. The two nostrils are related to two important nadis (nerves channels) and these two nadis, in turn, are connected to the two hemispheres of the brain — left channel is connected to the right hemisphere of the brain and the right channel is connected to the left hemisphere of the brain.

By breathing in a controlled manner in the practice of Nadi Shodhan, we work towards creating a balance in both the hemispheres of the brain. This balance leads to immense calm in the mental sphere of an individual thereby curing various mental disorders like nervousness, anxiety, fear and depression.

Nadi Shodhana Pranayama Steps:

1. Sit with your spine and head comfortably straight, relax your shoulders and close your eyes.
2. Keep your palms facing sky resting on your thighs.
3. Take your right hand to your nose bending elbow comfortably. Place the hand with thumb and ring finger bent to touch the nostrils.
4. Start with exhaling from the left nostril. Close the right nostril first with the ring finger and little finger and exhale completely. After exhalation, inhale deeply through the same nostril.
5. Now release the right nostril and close left at the same time without losing breath. Then exhale completely through the left nostril and inhale deeply from the same.
6. Steps 4 and 5 are one cycle. Repeat cycles for 5 minutes.

Sitali pranayama:

It cools the whole system reducing the thirst and any burning sensation if present, soothing the eyes and ears. You can do this pranayama, if your body type is hot, to reduce the level of metabolism to a soothing level.

Sitali Pranayama Steps:

1. Sit with your spine and head comfortably straight, relax your shoulders and close your eyes.
2. Keep your palms facing the sky resting on your thighs.

   

3. Make your lips into O shape. Roll the tongue as shown in the picture and draw the air in through the rolled tongue with sound till the lungs are completely filled.
4. After full Inhalation, hold your breath. Now slowly exhale through the nose.
5. This is done with Inhalation through tongue and exhalation through nostrils. Repeat for 5 minutes.

Surya Bedhana Pranayama:

This pranayama increases the heat in the system unlike Sitali pranayama increasing digestion and metabolism. it cleans sinuses, removes phlegm. You can do this pranayama if your body type is cold to fasten the body processes and reduce the stress occurring with slow metabolism.

Surya Bedhana Pranayama Steps:

1. Sit with your spine and head comfortably straight, relax your shoulders and close your eyes.
2. Set yourself to Jalandhara Bandha (lower your head and touch the chin in the notch between your collar bones). This is an optional step if you’re unable to do it.
3. Take your right hand to your nose bending elbow comfortably. Place the hand with thumb and ring finger bent to touch the nostrils.
4. Start with exhaling from the left nostril. Close the right nostril first with the ring finger and little finger and exhale completely.
5. After complete exhalation, open the right nostril gently and close the right at the same time without losing the breath.
6. Now inhale deeply through your Right nostril and hold for a moment.
7. Steps 4 and 6 are one cycle. Repeat cycles for 5 minutes

Note:

You can either do Sitali pranayama or Suryabedhana pranayama according to your body type.

Bhramari Pranayama:

This pranayama improves sleep and hence reduces stress, anxiety, anger, and tension.

Bhramari is a large black bee. We have to make a sound like a black bee in this process of pranayama.

Bhramari Pranayama Steps:

1. Sit with your spine and head comfortably straight, relax your shoulders and close your eyes.
2. Take a deep breath through both nostrils and fill lungs completely
3. Exhale slowly with a humming sound like a bee.
4. Repeat for 5 minutes.

Note:

The inhalation and exhalation should be deep and complete to take the pranayama benefits completely.

Apart from the above 4 daily practices of pranayama for stress, you can try this every time you find yourself stressing out or breathing fast and shallow.

The following steps will help you when you’ll not be able to do pranayama in some situation:

1. Breathe in deeply through your nose and into your stomach (your stomach should rise and fall more than your chest).
2. Hold your breath for a few seconds.
3. Breathe out slowly until you’re able to get all the air out. Repeat.

Stress can also be an outcome of muscular uneasiness with bad posture so you’ve to look after the importance of good posture and learn to maintain good posture.

Take Away:

If you’re stressed about what you are doing, you’ve got two options to make your choice:

1. Quit doing what stresses you, if that is not what you actually want to do.
2. And if what you’re doing means the most to you, make your body and mind such that it goes through the situation (that causes stress) effortlessly by practicing the above-mentioned pranayama for stress relief regularly.

Everyday Yoga To Release Stress:

Stress is basically the muscular uneasiness which turns into chronic (been there long-term) pain and aches. Here are 5 daily yoga for stress release poses for you. Sometimes, bad posture of the body will also have an impact on stress. You also need to focus on the importance of good posture and practice the posture correction techniques.

We have to learn how to reduce stress by following healthy lifestyle tips and workout on our body with pranayama and yoga. Here is yoga for stress and anxiety relief for different parts of the body. Sometimes too much stress may lead to headaches and migraines, check out yoga for migraine to get rid of headaches.

Stress is possibly the biggest issue we face today and unfortunately we’re doing nothing about it. Even if your training and nutrition is spot on, stress can undo all the good work and screw your health by creating hormonal imbalances which lead to fat storage, sleep deprivation or low immunity, which create more imbalances, so on and so forth.

Yoga For Stress Relief:

The end of a long day is sometimes signalled by minor aches and pains in the body, ranging from headaches to stiff backs. The process of winding down for bed should include a few postures that will detoxify the body and release stiffness from your muscles and joints.

A relaxed body ensures deep and restful sleep. This goes hand in hand with the reason we should not go to sleep immediately after a meal – the body allocates sleep time to the rejuvenation of the organ systems and not towards active digestion. The sooner we take charge of how well we sleep, the more illnesses we prevent in the future.

Stress Effects:

How stress affects the body:

1. Raises blood pressure and pulse rate
2. Makes breathing faster, and often shallower
3. Tenses muscles (may even lead to muscular spasms)
4. Impairs the digestive and immune systems
5. Causes fatigue, skin irritations, headaches, excessive sweating, nightmares, among other symptoms
6. Impacts sleep, may cause insomnia

How stress affects the mind and behaviour:

1. Fosters worrying, indecision, negativity, restlessness
2. Muddles thinking, impairs judgement
3. Triggers irritability, anger, depression, apathy, alienation, forgetfulness
4. Alters appetite (eating more/less)
5. Loss of sex drive
6. Can make one more accident-prone
7. Increased smoking, drinking

Check out these 5 yoga poses to reduce stress and anxiety in your life. It is best to perform the yoga on an empty stomach or atleast 3 hours from eating.

1. Garudasana (Eagle Pose):

Makes your ability to focus on the single point better which is a very good yoga for stress management and relaxation. 

It relaxes shoulders and hips, which accumulate emotional tension.

Garudasana Steps:

• Start with tadasana(mountain pose- stand straight with legs shoulder wide and arms fall freely on the sides).
• Take one of your legs around the other as shown in the picture. You have to balance your body with one leg.
• Make your arms twisted with palms facing each other as shown in the picture.
• Focus on a point at a distance.
• While releasing, open the arms slowly first then turn the overlapped leg out.
• Practice this asana for 2-3 times each side.

Precaution:

If there is an injury in the knee, ankle or shoulder and pregnant women should not attempt this pose.

2. Uttanasana (Standing forward fold):

Practising uttanasana quiets a busy mind, balances the nervous system spreading calm and peace.

Uttanasana Steps:

• Start with Mountain Pose relaxing, exhale and bend the upper body forward from the hips, not the waist.
• Without straining the body continue to bend stretching hips till your hands touch your feet.
• Place the palms by the side of your feet as much possible and touch your forehead to your knees.
• Take deep and slow breaths and relax your body.

Precautions:

People with any spine injury, pain in ankles or hip joints, knee problems, sciatica, heart problems, severe back pain or an abdominal hernia should avoid this pose.

3. Shashankasana / Balasana (Child pose) To Calm The System And Reduce Stress:

Releases the pressure from adrenal glands. Sharanagat Mudra / Shashankasana / Balasana is a simple and non-invasive posture that relaxes the back and restores blood supply to a tired brain.

The posture is best practiced at the end of the day to release stiffness in the muscles that support the spine and hips. 

The pressure of the legs against the abdomen massages the internal organs and boosts digestion. Increased blood flow to the head relieves a headache and burning sensation in the eyes.

he pressure of the legs against the abdomen massages the internal organs and boosts digestion. Increased blood flow to the head relieves a headache and burning sensation in the eyes.

Shashankasana Steps:

• Start with Vajrasana with the eyes closed and relax the whole body.
• Inhale raising the arms straight and shoulder width wide above the head, exhale slowly bend forward from the pelvic region.
• Rest the hands, forehead, and elbows and retain the position as long as you’re comfortable.
• Release with exhalation and slowly lift the forehead, arms to the vertical position, lower the arms resting the palms on the thighs.
• Do it 3 times increasing the duration gradually to 5 minutes.

Precautions:

People suffering from vertigo, high blood pressure, knee problems or slipped disc and pregnant women should avoid doing balasana.

4. Vajrasana (Thunderbolt pose) Yoga Pose For Stress:

This pose calms the mind and body very effectively and is also good for the digestive system.

Vajrasana Steps:

• Kneel with the knees closer and big toes touching each other.
• Place your buttocks in the space between both of your heels separated but big toes touching.
• The spine and head should be straight and relaxed.
• Breath normally closing your eyes and relax the whole body.

Precautions:

If there is an injury in the knee, ankle or shoulder should not attempt this pose.

5. Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclined bound angle pose):

This pose opens up the hips, inner thighs and groin and release tension and stress in there.

Supta Baddha Konasana Steps:

• Start with Dandasana, with your legs extended in front of you and bend your knees with soles touching each other towards your pelvis.
• Lean backward with support on elbows to the floor.
• Gently adjust your buttocks and spine along the floor maintaining the natural curve of the lower back.
• Let your arms relax with your palms facing up.
• Release the pose drawing your knees together and roll to your right side and rise with hands pressing yourself to the seated position.

Precautions:

If you have a groin, knee, lower back, shoulder, or hip injury and pregnant women should avoid this pose.

6. Trikonasana (Triangle Pose):

The Trikonasana, or triangle pose, stimulates the function of the entire body and gives a lateral (side) stretch to the spine. It helps reduce blood pressure, stress, and anxiety.

Practice this asana every day and you’ll gain strength in the ankles, thighs, knees, hips, calves, and hamstrings. All standing poses build the cardiovascular system, so the more you do it, the better your stamina.

Trikonasana Steps:

1. Stand with your feet three to four feet apart, arms by your side. (If you’ve never done it before, use the wall for support.)
2. Open the right foot to 90 degrees and turn the left foot slightly in, towards the right.
3. Inhale; raise both your arms out to the side, palms facing down.
4. Exhale; extend the torso towards the right, bending from the hip joint, not the waist.
5. Start the movement by strengthening the left leg and grounding the heel firmly to the floor. If you’re new to this, feel free to bend the knee ever so slightly. Rotate the torso to the right, keep both the sides equally long and ground the right leg.
6. Rest the right hand on your shin, ankle, or the floor outside the right foot. Using a yoga block to place the hand helps here. Stretch the left arm towards the ceiling, making sure that both the shoulders are in line. Keep your head in line with the spine gazing towards the right big toe.
7. As you get used to this, aim to look at the ceiling. Hold this position, and breathe deeply for five breaths or for 30 seconds.
8. Inhale to lift up, pressing right foot firmly on the floor. Repeat the same on the left side. You can do this on both sides, three or four times.

The aim is never to overdo it but to engage regularly so that you get stronger and more stable over time.

The next time you find yourself stressing out, snap out of it and try to talk some sense into yourself. While stressors and stressful situations are unavoidable, reacting to those stressors is a choice we make. And trust me when I say all we need to do is to choose not to react negatively during such situations.

Take Away:

If you’re stressed about what you are doing, you’ve got two options to make your choice:

1. Quit doing what stresses you, if that is not what you actually want to do.
2. And if what you’re doing means the most to you, make your body and mind such that it goes through the situation (that causes stress) effortlessly by practising the above-mentioned everyday yoga for stress, pranayama for stress relief regularly.