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The Yoga Minibook For Stress ReliefScroll down this page to read more about The Yoga Minibook For Stress Relief, the Back Cover Description, Table of Contents, Excerpts and Yoga Poses. ABOUT THE YOGA MINIBOOK FOR STRESS RELIEFYou can find The Yoga Minibook For Stress Relief, and the rest of Elaine’s yoga minibooks series including The Yoga Minibook For Weight Loss, The Yoga Minibook For Longevity, and The Yoga Minibook For Energy and Strength (Fireside Simon & Schuster), in your local bookstores or simply order here! These personalized yoga books target specific health and wellness goals. Whether you’re looking to lose weight, find the fountain of youth, reduce stress or increase your vitality, there’s a Yoga Minibook for you! THE YOGA MINIBOOK FOR STRESS RELIEF: A Specialized Program for a Calmer, Relaxed You by Elaine Gavalas Publisher: Fireside Simon & Schuster, 2003 Tradepaper: 0-7432-2701-8 Every kind of exercise promises stress relief, but only yoga provides a holistic anxiety-busting combination of physical exercise, breathing techniques, and meditation. Like the other books in the series, this volume begins with an introduction to the practice of yoga and then presents methods specific to stress relief, such as calming asanas, meditation, and breathing techniques. With chapters on restorative yoga and yoga to relieve depression and anxiety, readers have all the ingredients to create a routine tailored to their needs. BACK COVER DESCRIPTIONTake a deep breath and say goodbye to stress. There’s no getting around it-at work, at home, or while commuting from one to the other, stress is always there. Whether you are anxious about your health, your safety, or your relationships, daily stressors can feel overwhelming. Why let stress control your life when you can send it packing? In as little as 10 minutes a day, this targeted yoga program relieves tension effectively and restores the sense of balance that stress so often disrupts. Step-by-step illustrated instructions guide you through calming asanas, breathing exercise, and meditations specifically selected to: Combat anxiety, depression and stress related illness Soothe muscles and lower blood pressure Relieve tension and renew your body, mind and spirit Provide rest, relaxation and tranquil sleep Improve your flexibility and cardiovascular fitness Ideal as the start, midday break, or calming cap to your day, this unique yoga program will renew your body, mind and spirit, and bring you the inner peace and poise you crave. TABLE OF CONTENTSChapter 1: Understanding Yoga Chapter 2: Before You Begin Chapter 3: Yoga Relaxation and Breathing Chapter 4: Yoga Meditation and Mantra Chapter 5: Yoga Movement Meditation Chapter 6: Restorative Yoga Chapter 7: Yoga for Emotional Wellness EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 1Would you like to feel more relaxed and enjoy peace of mind? Global upheaval, along with the pressures of two career families, longer work hours, the shifting employment landscape, financial concerns, death, illness or divorce, have led to a worldwide stress epidemic. What can you do about your own stress? You hold the answers to that question in your hands. I’ve written Yoga For Stress Relief for everyone who suffers from stress-related problems such as anxiety, depression, tension, insomnia, and high blood pressure. The yoga program described in this book addresses stress relief in an unique way that merges and integrates your body, mind and spirit. By following this program you can relieve and prevent the accumulation of stress. You can also promote relaxation with tension-relieving yoga poses, breathing and meditation, all while you develop a fit and beautiful physique. Yoga For Stress Relief is a lifestyle program that will help youbcounter stress naturally and safely, and restore balance in your body and life. Exercise fads continue to come and go, but after more than five thousand years, the practice of yoga is still with us - and more popular than ever. Although there are many kinds of exercise programs, only Yoga For Stress Relief offers an holistic anxiety-busting combination of yoga stretching exercises (asanas), deep breathing exercises (pranayama), and meditation techniques. The practice of yoga offers a positive change in lifestyle, where stress relief, emotional wellness and cardiovascular finess are a natural by-product of enjoyable exercise. After taking the necessary precautions and familiarizing yourself with the basic yoga movements in Chapter 2, you’ll kick off with my stress relief program in Chapter 3. It begins with the Three Yoga Steps To Relaxation, which involve recognizing the stress, releasing the tension, and breathing deeply. Practicing yoga relaxation, breathing and meditation shuts down the fight or flight stress response and triggers the parasympathetic nervous system’s relaxation response. Chapter 3 explains in detail how to practice the first and second steps, recognizing stress and releasing tension. It also provides an introduction to the third step, breathing deeply with yoga breathing exercises. You’ll expand practice of the final step with the meditation and mantra exercises in Chapter 4. The Yoga Movement Meditation Workouts in chapter 5 incorporate the three yoga steps of relaxation with vinyasa (a continuous flow of yoga poses) and meditation practice. This powerfully effective combination of yoga and meditation makes the most of your workout time, and is a superlative way to alleviate stress and improve your cardiovascular fitness, flexibility and strength. Don’t despair if time is short. You can rest, relax and revitalize in just minutes with the Restorative Yoga Workout in Chapter 6. Practicing these gentle, nurturing and healing yoga poses will soothe your body, mind and spirit. Restorative yoga is a stress relief workout that’s physically, emotionally and spiritually good for you. You’ll also find valuable ways to unwind and relax with the soothing scents of ayurvedic aromatherapy before, during and after your yoga practice. The rigors of coping in today’s world can overload our nervous systems. Signs of overload - including heightened anxiety, depression, irritability, fatigue, and insomnia - are all too common. The healing asanas in Chapter 7 will help you beat the blues, alleviate anxiety, and bring sweet dreams. I’ve found that combining yoga with self-massage can be a powerful way to help restore the body’s natural balance, increase well-being and relieve stress and tension. Throughout this book you’ll find self-massage techniques, such as do-In and self-acupressure, incorporated into yoga postures. Together they’re a dynamic healing duo. Do-In and self-acupressure are Asian self-massage healing techniques which have been practiced for thousands of years. They both employ touching, tapping, rubbing, stretching, and applying pressure to move the vital life force, called chi (or prana in the yoga tradition). These techniques clear energy blockages, increase circulation and harmonize the body. Self-massage - specifically pressing and stretching the acupressure points along meridian pathways through which chi flows - balances this vital energy. For many reasons, such as illness, aging, and trauma, tension accumulates around the acupressure points, thereby obstructing Chi from flowing properly through the body. Integrating self-massage into yoga poses helps to release this tension so that Chi circulates freely. This not only relieves tension and prevents it from building up, but it stimulates self-healing and promotes radiant health. Over the years, I’ve studied and practiced many hatha yoga styles such as Integral, Iyengar, ashtanga vinyasa, kundalini, mantra, raja and tantra, and have been especially interested in yoga’s therapeutic applications. I’ve observed individuals and groups practicing yoga and its power to help them relieve stress and lose weight, while they increase their energy, strength and longevity. I’ve had an opportunity to apply yoga techniques to help people achieve their wellness goals, and observed spectacular results. I’ve written my yoga book series, the first four being, Yoga For Stress Relief, Yoga For Weight Loss, Yoga For Longevity, and Yoga For Energy and Strength, as self-help guides in response to people’s many wellness, fitness, and diet problems, questions and concerns. My greatest wish is to share with you the many wonderful benefits yoga practice has given to me and the individuals I’ve assisted over the years. Whether you’re looking to relieve stress, lose weight, boost your energy, or find the fountain of youth, I’ve created a yoga book for you. But before we dive in, a little background. YOGA POSESPOSE FROM CHAPTER 2 - YOGA OBSERVATION What It Does: Yoga Observation practices svadhyaya (the understanding of Self), which is part of niyama, one of the eight limbs of yoga described in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (see Chapter 1). Yoga Observation is the first step to Yoga Relaxation; it entails recognizing stress. How To Do It: 1. Sit straight in a chair with your legs together and feet flat on the floor. Alternatively, you can sit on the floor in a seated meditation pose, such as Easy Pose or Half-Lotus Pose, or lie down in Supported Relaxation Pose. Be sure that you’re comfortable and relaxed in whichever position you choose. 2. Be the observer, looking for stress within your body. Notice without judgment. How does the stress feel? Are you clenching your jaw? Do you have a knot in your stomach? Are you holding your breath? Is your breathing shallow and fast? When you recognize that you’re holding tension, fatigue or pain in a particular area, try to relax that area. 3. Calmly take note of the flow of your thoughts. Is your mind restless? Do you have negative thoughts and suggestions? Quiet your mind by focusing on your breath. Center your attention on the tip of your nose. Observe the coolness of the air as it flows into the nostrils, and the warmth of the air as it flows out. Focus your attention on your breath. If your mind wanders, simply bring it back to the breath as it flows in and out of your nostrils. Be in the moment. 4. Now replace your negative thoughts with positive suggestions, such as uplifting words, affirmations, thoughts and prayers. Breathe in love, light, energy and healing to every cell of your body. Breathe out all negativity, darkness, tension and fatigue. Rest your body and mind for as long as you like. |
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