Coping with Stress

Coping with Stress 

Breathing Stretching Exercise: Conventional yogic breathing exercises help us
overcome anxiety and stress.

Besides, it also –
• steadies the mind in concentration
• improves digestion
• increases appetite
• reduces the risk of coronary diseases.

The way to perform a breathing exercise is as follows: Sit cross-legged. Close the right
nostril with the right thumb and inhale very, very slowly through the left nostril. Then with the
little and ring fingers of the right hands close the left nostril. Retain breath as long as you
can. Then exhale very slowly after removing the thumb. This stage constitutes one
process. Again inhale through the right nostril, retain the breath and exhale through the left
nostril. This ends the process. One can do 20 in the morning and 20 in the evening.

This relaxation technique will help you deal with high levels of stress. This exercise can be
done anywhere - even at your desk.

• Sit on a chair (armless is preferable) with your right hand hanging by your side and
your left hand resting on your left thigh.

• Sit upright, with a straight spine. Imagine that you have a piece of string attached to
the crown of your head that is pulling you gently up, and extending your spine.

• Close your eyes and slowly breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Breathe using your diaphragm (letting your stomach out on the in breath). Do this
for a minute or so until you are happy that your breathing is deep and regular.

• Next, concentrate on your heart. The blood in the heart is pumped first toward the
upper right of the body. Follow, in your mind, the image of the blood flowing from the
heart, towards the shoulder, down the right arm to the fingertips. When it gets to the
fingertips it turns, goes back up the arm and continues its journey around the body.

• Focus on the fingertips. You should feel a gentle tingling sensation. This is not magic;
it is just that your concentration is now on your fingers - not your problems. The
more relaxed the muscles are, then the quicker the tingling sensation and the stronger
it is. When you have repeated this exercise several times you can put yourself
in a focused and relaxed state very quickly.

• Once you have reached a satisfactory level of relaxation and clarity of thought, count
down slowly from ten to zero. At zero take a final full breath in and out, open your
eyes, and do what you need to do.

You can stay in this state for as long as you want or need to. As a preparation for action,
clearing the mind and stepping away from the speed and confusion of our daily lives, this
exercise is ideal.