Five Important Health Reasons to Reduce Stress

My Yoga Online has added a new health and wellness article by Kreg Weiss, Five Reasons to Reduce Stress. With people needing to work more, save more, and find more time just to manage schedules, stress is becoming a chronic ailment for most people. Without recognizing the effects of stress and not having a stress management plan in place, this negative energy can produce physiology and psychological health hazards. Here is our top reasons why it is so important to reduce and management stress.

1) Prolonged Stress Weakens the Immune System

Studies have shown that prolonged stress presents strain on the cellular functions that support the immune system. Stress causes hormone imbalances, poor sleep patterns, and wears down on organs. Suppressed immune function readily leads to increased sickness and reduced ability to combat ailments.

2) Stress Promotes Unwanted Weight Gain

Some resources suggest that increased hormone cortisol levels related to stress cause weight gain. No studies have concluded that this increased cortisol level does increase weight gain and studies suggest that the increased levels of cortisol in short to medium stress periods are insufficient for creating weight gain. However, chronic prolonged periods of stress (in terms of years) still present some possible argument towards a correlation between weight gain and stress. There is however still a strong correlation between stress and weight gain. This correlation suggests that ongoing stress patterns generate poor nutrition habits, increased use of food as a support system, and improper meal schedules.

3) Stress Hinders Proper Sleep

Studies have shown that elevations in stress-related hormones increase the prevalence of insomnia. This increase in sleep disorders was shown to be even more prevalent as people age as the sensitivity to stress-related hormones increases as we get older. Studies have also shown that people who focus on the emotions and anxiety stemming from stress more often suffered from shortened sleep and encountered more sleep deprivation issues.

4) Stress Creates Musculoskeletal and Physiological Imbalances

Stress is a highly tacking process that depletes energy from bodily systems affecting work and activity performance. Stress is often a culprit for generating muscle tension throughout the body. This muscle tension is most commonly experienced in the spine with discomfort radiating through the neck, back, and shoulders. Neck tension is often diagnosed as the origin of many headaches. Stress also greatly affects digestive function, reproductive organ health, and hormone balance. One can see how readily stress generates hormone and energy imbalances especially for those who have skin disorders like acne and eczema.

5) Stress Reduces Quality of Life and Social Relationships

Most people have difficulty managing stress and associate themselves with the factors causing this stress. Without managing stress, this negative energy manifests into emotions and physical reactions. As social beings, others encountering someone else’s stress manifestations will either facilitate these stress reactions further (like attracts like) making the environment even worse. Or, those who are sensitive to others’ stress responses will choose to remove themselves from this social environment. Stress can adversely affect our relationships with others causing us to lose healthy relationships and foster further negative social relationships.

The first element in managing stress is to become sensitive to the physical responses that stress creates. Emotions and physical sensations (tension, lack of breath, headaches, low energy) are clear signs that we can monitor and use as tools to help us make changes when needed. When stress responses are apparent, we can stop, breath, and observe. How relevant and true is my allowance for this stress to enter and act on my mind and body? I may not be able to remove myself from the external stressors, but I can dissociate myself from these factors causing stress and not become bound to them. As we become more accustomed to recognizing stress, we can then engage in stress management activities like exercise, yoga, meditation, Yoga Nidra and relaxation programs offering great physical and mental benefits.

Related Article:
Yoga: Cure for Modern Day Stress

5 Quick Eating Tips for Weight Loss

Part of an overall health and wellness program is managing body weight and maintaining a healthy percentage of total lean body mass. To optimize your healthy body weight composition, we have some simple, yet effective eating tips that will enhance your wellness strategies.

1) A calorie is a calorie! Even though some foods are 'empty' calories offering little nutritional value, all foods contain calories, so manage your intake regardless of the quality of the food you eat:
• Use smaller dishes to eat from so you avoid overloading your meals with excess calories
• Drink water or herbal tea before a meal to help decrease the amount of time it takes to feel full
• Load up on fiber rich foods like vegetables and whole grains as fiber also increases the feeling of fullness more readily

2) Eat smaller and more frequent meals Spreading out your food intake over several meals instead of the traditional three will allow you to manage digestive hormone cycles and maintain energy levels more effectively:
• Eat your larger, more dense meals at breakfast and lunch, then tapper your meals at the end of the day with fewer carbohydrates (if you are going to eat a dessert, eat it midday so you have all day to burn it off!)
• Snacks are critical as part of this multi-meal strategy. Snacks should be nutrient dense and clean.

3) Never leave the house without food-PERIOD! Going hungry while out and about will likely force you to eat a less-than-nutritious quick fix. Plan ahead and always keep and nutrient dense snack with you.

4) Avoid the 'calorie' reduced processed foods Products promoted as low in calories or low in fat often offer little value in supporting your weight management efforts:
• Products that are 'low fat' are often filled with chemicals to enhance the flavor missing from the fat and these fats are often replaced with processed sugars-remember, fat is not always a bad thing
• Products that are 'low in calories' are often super small in serving sizes that are unrealistic (that's how the calories are reduced) or the calorie producing elements like fat and sugars are replaced with chemicals that are equally, or more, unhealthy

5) Increase your fiber intake with fresh fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains Fiber actually reduces the amount of fat and other food elements being absorbed by surrounding the food particles. The result is a portion of food is not digested and eliminated. Always optin for the salad instead of the fries. Order that sandwich with whole grain bread. Switch the potatoes for yams. Add some spinach to your pasta. Get creative with your fiber.

Have joy in eating and do it well. Dieting and calorie restriction is not effective and should be avoided. Eat for energy and invest in eating clean. Read food labels and educate yourself on healthy food options for every type of meal and snacks.

Happy Eating,
Kreg Weiss
My Yoga Online

Recommended Reading: Top Foods to Heal, Nourish, and Balance

Top Yoga Poses for Lower Body Strength

Practicing Yoga offers a great deal of benefits including the strengthening and toning of muscles. This strengthening and toning supports joint structures, promotes injury prevention, improves physical performance, and enhances body weight management. This strengthening is more appropriately classified as endurance, the degree and length of time in which a muscle can sustain a contraction, since most Yoga poses involve 'holding' the position versus the action of loading the joint through repetitions.

The following yoga postures are asanas that can be easily performed at a various intensities by beginner and advanced yoga participants and present direct endurance and toning benefits to the lower body:

Virabhadrasana A (Warrior 1 Yoga Pose): due to the isolated forward knee bend, this standing yoga pose directly targets the quadriceps (thigh) muscles and the gluteal muscles of the same limb.

Virabhadrasana B (Warrior 2 Yoga Pose): similar to Warrior 1, the flexion of the knee and hip deeply condition the quadriceps and gluteal muscles. Due to the groin opening position, additional muscular contraction of the abductors and external rotators are needed to maintain proper knee alignment over the forward heel.

Chandrasana (Elevated Crescent Yoga Pose): this standing high lunge Yoga pose presents similar toning benefits and alignment components as Warrior 1. Since the back heel is lifted off the ground, you are now balancing on the back toe mounds and additional conditioning is directed into the forward and back limbs. Any addition of proprioceptive/balancing work adds a greater element with conditioning efforts.

Utkatasana (Chair/Fierce Warrior Yoga Pose): there are a wide array of Chair pose variations from closed knee, open knee, and twisting forms. The basic performance of flexing both knees and hips generates direct muscular toning of quadriceps and gluteal tissues. Play with different degrees of knee and hip flexion as deeper bending motions increases the degree of conditioning - take note that bending the knees deeper lower than 90 degrees begins to add potential for tissue damage and injury.

Virabhadrasana C (Warrior 3 Balancing Yoga Pose): a personal favorite for overall conditioning and development of flexbility, this balancing Yoga pose directly targets the gluteal muscles of the leg that is extended in the air. To fully benefit on the conditioning of these gluteal muscles, emphasis the extension coming up and out from the hip all the way through to the heel.

Setu Bandhasana (Spinal Lift/Bridge Pose): this classic yoga back bend is typically viewed as an asana for strengthening the back, but the use of gluteal, upper hamstrings, and quadriceps presents wonderful toning of the lower limbs. With practice and mental isolation, you can deactivate the hamstrings and utilize more of the gluteal muscles to generate the pelvic lift.

Marjariasana (Balancing Cat Pose): the balancing variation of this yoga pose (one leg lifting as the opposite hand also lifts forward) is another great posture that not only benefits the core and back tissues, but also greatly tones the gluteal muscles of the extending leg. Hold this posture for many breaths and again focus, like Warrior 3 Balance, on the gluteal isolation and heel reach to fully target the buttock muscles.

Purvottasana (Table/Slide Yoga Pose): this classic back arch on the hands and feet presents similar gluteal muscle isolation and toning as our Spinal Lift. Explore both the knee bend and full leg extension variations and note the changes in muscle loading due to lever/limb length changes - what lower body muscles become more dominant from one variation to the other?

Garudasana (Eagle Yoga Pose): often participants focus solely on the leg-binding aspect of this pose resulting in less appreciation and application of the strengthening benefits. With a proper knee bend and alignment, the supporting limb receives a great muscular loading on the quadriceps and hip. Adjust your weight off the toes and into the supporting heel-this will direct the toning benefits into the thigh more effectively and reduce potential sheer forces out of the supporting knee. Like Warrior 3, the balancing component adds to the limb conditioning substantially.

Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (Standing 1 Leg Extension Exit): following this standing leg hold, we can release the big toe and hold the leg forward feeling the immediate effects of gravity. The primary muscles holding the leg in the air against gravity are the hip flexors (psoas, iliacus, and rectus formis). The secondary muscular toning we experience is via the extension of the knee which is performed by the quadriceps. Depending on the degree of muscular development, we can clearly see the bands of quadriceps firing in this pose to maintain the knee extension.

By understanding how we can manipulate gravity, body position, and joint alignment, we can effectively work and condition lower body muscle groups. From this foundation of select Yoga poses, we can apply further variations to further deepen the benefits of strength, endurance, and muscular health in our Yoga practice.

Namaste,
Kreg Weiss
My Yoga Online