Category: Uncategorized

5 ways to feel less stressful this new year: 2020 alignment

Hi everyone! There was a reason I didn’t call out 2020 Resolution and instead calling it 2020 Alignment.

This is on purpose! Since I believe that once you are aligned, resolutions aren’t really needed. You automatically do what is the best for you. And what more! This alignment with your own physical, mental and emotional self, does wonders to you by drastically reducing the bad stress that you experience and dramatically increases your productivity.

Let’s take 2020 as a year to chill out a bit more and connect a lot more 🙂 We have a list of 5 simple, daily things that you can do this year to beat that stress and kickstart your year on a fantastic note!

1. Express Gratitude

Thankful people are often happy ones! And ain’t that what we strive for? Gratitude is an appreciation for what one recieves, tangible or intangible. Being grateful opens you to numerous possibilities and opportunities because you are receptive to what is on offer and make the best out of it. Multiple studies show that gratitude helps you feel more positive and improves your physical, mental and emotional health. It reduces your stress levels drastically and improves your ability to deal with adversity. Practicing gratitude in daily life aligns you to your better self and trust me nothing can be more powerful than being aligned!!!

So, get it on with a journal and start practicing gratitude on a daily basis!

2. Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness is a powerful way to align. Its a moment by moment awareness of your thoughts, feelings, emotions and everything around with a gentle, nurturing spirit. Mindfulness can turn off the fight and flight response of your nervous system by activating the parasympathetic nervous system. This in turn switches off that bad stress you have been piling on and enables you to stay focused and relaxed.

3. Practice slow yoga

I specifically mentioned slow yoga since there are umpteen number of set ups out there who do some form of yoga or the other. I personally believe, in the original, age old definition of yoga as a union! Union of mind, body and thoughts. So, a slow session of yoga with lot of emphasis on breath sync can do wonders to the stress that might be daunting you by slowing down the breath and releasing some of those happy chemicals in your brain.

4. Rationalize your To- Do list

Take a step back and look at your To-Do list. Is it too long or too over promising? Ah! Take a hang of your daily schedule and set in only as much as you an handle. Putting too much on the table on a regular can spin you around. Of course there will be days which would be crazy, and that OK. Make it a conscious choice of creating your priority list and work on it. And boy! do keep time for your rest as well there. Your body will thank you for this.

5. Make time for some hobbies/leisure activities

And make it a part of your priority list!!

When you do something you enjoy and which is out of your regular work routine, you not just use your grey cells and body, but you also fuel your creativity. And being happy makes you stay calm and helps you in managing the other aspects of your life much better. So next time, before you say that your life is too hectic to make space for anything other than work, check your priority list and ensure that you feature on the top of it!

These were extremely doable things that can be made a part of your daily life and help keep that bad stress miles away.

Yoga for stress management

“If only stress could burn calories, there would be so many supermodels around.”

The way stress perpetrates our lives, is unprecedented. A recent well-being survey, 2019 by Cigna highlights that nearly 82% of the Indian population suffers from stress! And this is not good stress that we are talking about. This is stress that negatively affects the physical and mental well-being of a person.

Knowingly or unknowingly, stress affects us much more than we expect. Its only when the accumulated stress starts manifesting through some physical ailment or a major drop in productivity, that we take cognizance of it. While talking of mental health, it’s important to understand that it’s not a standalone thing that we are talking about. Its about a holistic take on health since there exists a close connection between our physical and mental health.

One of the most effective ways to manage the counter effects of stress is through yoga! It wonderfully combines both physical and mental fitness with a non-biased awareness. One of the most fundamental principles of yoga is that the body and mind are one and connected. Stress in one part will affect the other and vice versa.

According to yoga, each physical state or asana, creates a certain mental state and each mental state assumes a certain physical state. In this article, to keep things simple, I would share 5 simple asanas which are great for physical fitness and for beating that bad stress away.

1. Standing forward bend (Uttanasana)

Standing forward bend (Uttanasana)

This is an excellent stretch pose for the hips, hamstrings and the calves. This pose also strengthens the knees and thighs and helps heal and rejuvenate the body. This asana incorporates active exhalation and hence is an excellent pose to calm the mind and relieve stress. To get more from this pose, one can have the arms clasped behind the back. This helps in opening the chest and reversing the tightness in the shoulders.

2. Eagle pose (Garudasana)

Eagle pose (Garudasana)

This pose requires balancing of the limbs and focusing on a single point, thereby encouraging controlled breathing and hence lowering of stress. The intertwining of arms and legs in the pose frees up the tightness in shoulders and hips, thereby making the body relaxed and stress free.

3. Child pose (Balasana)

Child pose (Balasana)

This is a resting pose that quiets the mind and eases stress. This asana soothes the adrenal glands which accumulate a lot of pressure when we are stressed out. This restorative pose is an excellent to calm the nervous and the lymphatic system.

4. Reclined bound angle pose (Supta Baddhakonasana)

Reclined bound angle pose (Supta Baddhakonasana)

This pose helps in opening the hips, inner thighs, and groins. These are the spots where we hold tension and stress. A highly relaxing pose, this can melt away your daily worries as you lie on the ground.

5. Cat cow pose (Bitilasana Marjaryasana)

Cat cow pose (Bitilasana Marjaryasana)

This mix of pose is done alternately and is a wonderful way to relax and massage the back and spine. These two asanas when done together, creates emotional balance, relieves stress and calms the mind.

So, next time when you feel your stress buttons are being pressed, just get on your mat and do these simple poses to ward off the unwanted stress away.  And what can be better, if you combine these with simple breathing exercises (pranayams) to feel energized and happy!