Yoga - the best remedy for stress!
When she gets into trouble with her son Roman, 5, in the morning, Doris, 36, feels her tenseness and how this inner tension in the back is felt. Especially if Roman still does not want to get up after the third try and she has to get to the office on time.
A herniated disc has the bank clerk and mother twice behind. She signs up for the yoga class to strengthen her back and get away from the stress of everyday life. She goes with her three or four times. Then she goes on holiday, breaks the course - and never goes back. She is convinced that her yoga would do her good. She is also satisfied with the teacher. Nevertheless: "Sport has something to do with sweating for me", she says. Yoga lacks the effort.
Relaxation through yoga: It is the most beautiful outdoors
"That's how many things are," says Dr. Anna Paul, Head of Mind / Body Medicine in the field of Naturopathy and Integrative Medicine at the Essen-Mitte Clinics. She also conducts stress management seminars and knows: "For people who are in stress, yoga is a real challenge."
Jogging or aerobics, however, usually work without problems. She also knows why: "Stress is a stimulus to the body, and the stress hormone epinephrine increases, the heartbeat speeds up and breathing slows down, and jogging or aerobics counteract this heightened level of excitement," she explains.
With yoga you have to go down and that is difficult for many beginners. But why should you go to yoga when it's more comfortable after a stressful day in the office to lace up your jogging shoes and start running? "While jogging relieves stress and tension, it's only yoga that trains you to relax," Dr. Paul. And that's exactly what is important to cope with situations where you can not move or run away.
Like Doris, when her son does not want to get up again. Although yoga will not get the child out of bed faster, it can help the mother stay calm in such situations, which in turn benefits her tense back.
Martina picked up the energy for her mammoth work days in the morning at Yoga on the Alster
Martina, 40, knows this serenity. In her PR job in Hamburg she worked in stressful phases for several weeks until 22 or 23 o'clock in the evening. She is convinced that she would not have been able to do this without yoga: "Stress resistance and resilience are simply higher," she says.
At 7 o'clock in the morning she strapped her yoga mat onto the backpack and started for the Alster. Once there, she sought a jetty to do her exercises. She is absolutely convinced of the positive effect, now teaches yoga herself and takes care of the press work of the Sivananda Yoga Centers, which have been teaching classical yoga for more than 50 years. "In yoga, I can really reduce stress, while I just cover it with television or a glass of wine in the evening, "she says.
Whether mountain scenery or course space - the stress hormone cortisol is definitely lowered in yoga
How does this effect come about? "It's like putting a switch in your head," says yoga expert dr. Anna Paul. "The combination of posture, stretching and breathing exercises normalize breathing, blood pressure and heart rate."
This is also confirmed by a study carried out at the Institute of Integrative Medicine. Paul works. Sixteen stressed women spent 90 minutes twice a week for 90 minutes on an Iyengar yoga class each week. Iyengar Yoga is a demanding yoga variation that uses auxiliary equipment such as straps, pads and padding. In addition to the 16 course participants, there were 8 more women on the waiting list.
The participants said after the three months that they feel less stressed. The blood values confirmed her perception: The stress hormone cortisol had dropped significantly. Compared to the waiting group, fears, depression, and headache and backache were also reduced.
All well and good, but what do you do when you have no peace for yoga? The most important thing, according to Dr. Paul, himself an active yogi for 40 years: "Do not stop when it's boring." The relaxation effect is sometimes not immediately noticeable, because the inner rest is in the foreground. "Yoga is not aspirin, it takes patience to get the positive effects."
Birgit, 44, can only confirm that. She works in the management of a media agency and was initially impressed by the idea that she could at least temporarily switch off her thoughts through yoga exercises. The practice then looked different: "Through the peace in the room, my thoughts turned wildly through my head," she tells.The long, calm sitting and the controlled, slow movements were difficult. Nevertheless, she stayed with her because she realized after the first few hours that she was really awake and energetic afterwards. She needed about three months of yoga practice, then managed to shake off her troubled thoughts in the first few minutes of the lesson.
Dr. Allen, who is initially too excited about the yoga class, advises Dr. Paul, before the course again to be active and, for example, for half an hour to jog. She is sure: "Yoga is just right for restless people. Because unlike meditation, they can move during the lesson. "
