Incorporating Yoga into Daily Routine Can Help Relieve Stress

Incorporating yoga into daily routine can help relieve stress
By CONNIE MIDEY
Gannett News Service
Monday, November 29, 2004

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/2004/November/29/HElist2.htm

This is multitasking to relax instead of frazzle us: doing yoga while
showering, standing in a checkout line at the store or reaching for the
telephone.

"Yoga has so many benefits in terms of stress relief and flexibility,"
Michele Stanten, fitness director for Prevention magazine, says from
Emmaus, Pa. "It can energize us, get our circulation going, and decrease
levels of the stress hormone cortisol."

If finding time for a class or even a structured workout session at home
seems impossible, Stanten suggests incorporating these simple,
one-minute-or-less yoga poses in your daily activities.

• In the shower: belly breaths. In the warm, moist air of the shower,
close your eyes, put your hands on your belly and inhale. Your belly
should push your hands outward. Then exhale, contracting your bellybutton
toward your spine to force air out of your belly and lungs. Say "love,"
"amen" or "om" as you exhale.

• In line: modified tree pose. If you’re worried about getting funny
looks, you may want to do only the first part, which is assuming a
simplified mountain pose.

Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Lift the balls of your feet and
spread your toes, then gently set them back on the floor and balance your
weight evenly. Tip your tailbone toward the floor. Pull your shoulder
blades back and straight across and relax them slightly downward. Let your
arms hang. Hold your head so the underside of your chin is parallel to the
floor, keeping your mouth, throat and eyes relaxed.

If you’re feeling brave, hold onto the shopping cart or a sturdy shelf and
move into the modified tree pose. Rest the sole of your right foot against
the inner thigh of your left leg or, less conspicuously, against the
inside of your left ankle. Repeat, resting left sole against right thigh
or ankle.

• On the telephone: six-second tranquilizer. Let the phone ring two to
three times while you close your eyes and picture yourself in a relaxing
spot. Sit up tall, take a nice deep breath, relax and smile. Then reach
for the phone and say hello to the person waiting patiently on the other
end of the line. Yoga teachers call this "mouth yoga," Stanten says.