Anyone do Yoga for stress relief?

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Loves418
Loves418 Posts: 330 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Sadly with my dad being so ill I am beyond stressed these days. A friend told me to try yoga she swears its brings down stress. I have never ever tried it (except for the plank in 30 day shred lol) Anyone have a beginners DVD they used? Do you feel it helped you reduce stress?

Thanks for any input

Replies

  • annamolly22
    annamolly22 Posts: 22
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    I'm very sorry your dad is so ill. I understand how that can really put a lot of stress on you. I used to do yoga a lot and found it very stress reducing. I don't anymore, but my fiance does and he uses a DVD called "Yoga For Stress Relief and Flexibility". I think Element is the company that makes it.
  • Katgan
    Katgan Posts: 22 Member
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    I started doing yoga over 10 years ago to help with stress.

    Be careful when starting out because you can injure yourself if you don't use proper form and push yourself too far. Find a good instructor, not just a yoga aerobics class. I prefer Iyengar yoga.
  • scribe313
    scribe313 Posts: 103 Member
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    I use the yoga tape in the p90x program. I can only do the first 40 minutes but it does seem to help lower my blood pressure. The other poster was right though, go slow when you begin so you don't hurt yourself.
  • ChromophoreKid
    ChromophoreKid Posts: 4 Member
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    Yoga can provide amazing stress relief! I did it by myself about a year ago, and now I'm taking a class at my college.

    The main things to keep in mind to get the most relaxing benefits are:
    -Don't strain yourself. Ease into each move.
    -Don't compare yourself to other people, whether it be in a class or from a video. Work at your own ability.
    -Believe that it will help you out. If you go into it with skepticism, it won't do anything. Keep an open mind and positive outlook.

    Also, if you don't want to spend the cash on a DVD, there are some great instant stream videos on yogajournal.com. That's what used when I practiced on my own. They're really well done and high quality.

    Best of luck!
  • Jenny_MSW
    Jenny_MSW Posts: 109 Member
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    If you have on-demand though your cable provider, there is probably a yoga workout you can try on there. Meditation is amazing and also controlled deep breathing. I teach deep breathing exercises with most of my clients as one coping skill for managing symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression...the list goes on. Basically every emotion has a physical response that corresponds with it. If you can have control over your body, your emotions will follow. Deep breathing is a wonderful thing you can do no matter where you are.
  • amouz76
    amouz76 Posts: 1
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    My dad was also diagnosed with an illness about six months ago and the anxiety and depression was so overwhelming that I finally gave in and tried yoga. I tried Yoga for Stress Relief and Flexibility by Element and the results were amazing. I felt an immediate difference the next day. The DVD is awesome and the instructor Ashley Turner is very good. I've since purchased her Power Yoga and Yoga for Weightloss DVDs, which I also love. Overall, yoga has made me more calm, improved my sleep and eased my depression. Now. I feel better equipped to help my dad through his illness. Wishing you and your dad the best.
  • JennyZD
    JennyZD Posts: 176 Member
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    Actually when my dad passed away last year I found that yoga was what helped me the most but I highly encourage you to go to a yoga studio and not DVDs because the meditation and self awareness portion in the meditation part is what really helps-- it's therapeutic.
  • Xaspar
    Xaspar Posts: 726 Member
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    Rodney Yee has a good beginners level DVD (AM/PM yoga) that has definitely helped me with stress in the past. I love yoga and wish I made more time in my schedule to do it more often.
  • thatgirl125
    thatgirl125 Posts: 294 Member
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    If you have on-demand though your cable provider, there is probably a yoga workout you can try on there. Meditation is amazing and also controlled deep breathing. I teach deep breathing exercises with most of my clients as one coping skill for managing symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression...the list goes on. Basically every emotion has a physical response that corresponds with it. If you can have control over your body, your emotions will follow. Deep breathing is a wonderful thing you can do no matter where you are.

    meditation exercises and deep breathing is great from stress and anxiety! A few semesters ago I took a stress management class for one of my college courses and we did many meditation techniques and I used to get really bad anxiety attacks and am in general a stressed person and those help with me. When I start to feel anxious or anything I just start to breath deeply and what not. Or if I feel I am taking way too much on just taking 20 minutes out of my day to do a meditation exercise works wonders!
  • SyntonicGarden
    SyntonicGarden Posts: 944 Member
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    Hubby and I both do yoga to keep stress at bay. If you can find a beginner class with an instructor, it might be a good idea to get a few classes in just make sure that you're taking the poses the right way. It might be easier at first to do a position incorrectly, but in the long run, you might be setting yourself up for an injury.

    One other thing to consider: Yoga is like ice cream. It comes in many different flavors and not every flavor is for every person and not every flavor is for every need. Some days, I breeze through an Ashtanga class. Others, I barely get through a restorative yoga class.

    Yogajournal.com has a great article that gives a little more insight on the different styles. http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/165

    Good luck! I hope you find some relief!

    Namaste! :)

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