9/11 Anxiety and Yoga

by Baxter

Some years ago, when Nina and I were working on a series of yoga classes for stress management, I read the book The Relaxation Response by Dr. Herbert Benson, and an interesting finding from the work he did has stuck with me. He noted that his blood pressure patients who meditated regularly not only saw improvements in their blood pressure readings, but they also had certain substances in the blood stream that increased or decreased.  One of those substances was lactate, or lactic acid, which is a byproduct of cells using sugar or glucose for fuel. It had already been noted back in the 60s that folks with anxiety disorders often had elevated levels of lactate in their bloodstream compared to individuals without anxiety. Since meditation seemed to lower lactate levels, it seemed like a great potential treatment.

More recently, an article in Scientific American looked at lactate and other markers in the body that could account for why some folks develop panic disorders, an extreme form of anxiety. Studies done in the last two years point to the pH in the brain as a possible causative factor in the experience of fear, and by extension, anxiety. It seems a more acidic pH in the brain is associated with more active trigger of the fear centers in the brain. In fact, there are receptors at individual synapses, the spaces between to nerve cells, that respond to elevated levels of acid. In the area of the brain strongly associated with the emotion of fear, the amygdala, this increase in local pH can trigger fear responses.

They also noted that carbon dioxide levels, when increased in the blood stream and the brain, lead to greater acidity. And other studies have demonstrated that patients with panic disorders are more likely to have an event if they inhale a higher concentration of CO2, compared to non-anxious individuals. These researchers also addressed the lactic acid phenomena that Dr. Benson noted years before: patients with panic disorder tend to generate excess lactic acid in their brains. We all generate lactic acid in our brains as sugars are burned as fuel, but in people with panic attacks, even normal mental activity to lead to an accumulation of lactic acid in the brain.

So if an increase in pH in the brain could be a trigger for anxiety and panic attacks, either due to a real or simply a perceived danger, whether due to CO2 build up or lactic acid build up in certain areas of the brain, how could yoga diffuse this situation? Well, way back in the 60s it was already observed that the “relaxation response” that arose from simple meditation practice could lower the pH in the blood stream. This might indicate that it could be lowered in the brain, too. So I’d give high marks to establishing a regular meditation practice, even if only for ten minutes at a time. Secondly, certain pranayama practices could theoretically lower blood CO2 levels slowly and gradually, especially those that favor a longer exhale over inhale ratio.  hat sounds like it would be worth a trial as well. And finally, the authors of the study noted that: “one of the many beneficial effects of aerobic exercise training (like running or cycling) is that metabolically active tissues (including the brain) become more efficient at consuming–removing—lactic acid.”  And although not all yoga asana practices are aerobic, some are to a certain degree. So, physiologically, your asana practice, especially if it is more vigorous, could be the third prong in your yoga tools approach to anxiety, panic attacks and fear.

Here is a link to the 2010 SA article here so you can get more details on the work I’ve alluded to: scientificamerican.com. And may you and yours be safe and anxiety free this 9/11 anniversary. 

Restorative Yoga: An Introduction

by Nina

Last fall I did a series of posts on yoga and stress. Working from my first major post on the topic (see Relaxation Response and Yoga), which listed the various types of poses and practices that are helpful for stress, I added posts that expanded on each of the items I listed, except one: restorative yoga. My reason for skipping over the topic of restorative yoga was simple: I didn’t have any good photographs of restorative yoga poses that I could use with my post! But last week for Baxter’s post on digestion (see Mini Restorative Practice for Digestion), I finally had a chance to take a few photos of three of the classic, most frequently practiced restorative poses. And I woke up this morning realizing that it was finally time to address this topic.

Restorative yoga is a form of yoga that was specially designed to provide deep rest and relaxation. In restorative yoga, you use props to support yourself in the shape of a classic yoga pose, including forward bends, backbends, side stretches, twists, and inversions. For example, in Child’s Pose, rather than folding forward all the way on to the floor, you use a bolster or stack of folded blankets to support your entire front body.

The props you use in restorative yoga not only make the pose more comfortable but they take the effort out of the pose. Rather than using your muscles to hold you in the shape of a pose as you would normally, the props hold you in the pose so you can simply let your muscles relax. With your muscles completely relaxed, you can then turn your attention inward, focusing on your breath, physical sensations, or any other object of meditation, which allows the relaxation response to switch on.

Restorative yoga is perfect for those days when you depleted, sick, stressed out, low on energy or are just in the mood for a soothing practice. For people who can’t practice inversions for stress reduction, restorative yoga poses are an excellent alternative. For example, Reclined Cobbler’s pose with props is the perfect choice for a 10 to 20 minute stress reduction practice.

Are you looking at this photograph and wondering why you would want to go through all the trouble of getting all those props together when you can just lie down in Savasana (Corpse pose)? Well, I’m writing today to answer that very question.

First of all, like active yoga poses, the type of restorative pose you do can have a strong effect on your moods and emotions. And because you typically stay in a restorative yoga pose for longer periods of time, the emotional effect can be even stronger. For example, the forward bend of Child’s pose is normally quieting (as a forward bends for people who can practice them comfortably), and the restorative version is even more quieting. Active backbends can be simulating and uplifting, and while the restorative versions are not stimulating (all the effort is taken out of them), a restorative backbend can also be uplifting, providing an anti-depressant effect. (See Yoga and Your Emotions for information on the emotional effects of poses.)

And, secondly, in Savasana your body is in an anatomically neutral position, so no muscles are being released or stretched. In a restorative pose, however, you still receive many of the benefits of the pose itself. For example, in a restorative backbend, you are opening your chest and stretching many of the muscles that become tight after driving long distances or sitting hunched forward at a desk all day. Passively stretching your muscles as your relax increases your feeling of relaxation, as some of the stress you have been holding in your body is gently released. And because you are completely comfortable and relaxed, you can stay in the pose for much longer amounts of time. So restorative poses are actually a good way to work on flexibility, as well as relaxation.

But the best way for you to understand the benefits of restorative yoga is to experience them. So if you’ve never tried restorative yoga, experiment by trying either one of the poses I’ve shown today (or any other you’ve seen before). As always, you can just do a single pose or you can do short or full-length sequence (see Mini Restorative Practice for a short sequence). If you’re feeling hyper from stress or anxiety, you may find it difficult to lie down in a restorative pose. In this case, I recommend doing either an active yoga practice or some other form of exercise first before the restorative pose.

Your Key to Your Nervous System: Your Breath

by Nina

Have you ever wondered why you tend to yawn when you’re sleepy? Well, a yawn is a great big inhalation. And because your heart rate tends to speed up on your inhalation, that yawn in the middle of that boring lecture or business meeting is little message to your nervous system: wake up! On the other hand, when you are upset about something, you tend to sigh. That sigh—try one!—is an extra long exhalation. Because your heart rate tends to slow on your exhalation, that sigh while you are feeling emotional turmoil or are just stuck in traffic is a little message to your nervous system: take it easy, buddy, slow down a bit.

Your autonomic nervous system is the part of your nervous system that controls the functions of your body, such as digestion, heartbeat, blood pressure, and breathing, that are “involuntary,” meaning the functions that you don’t have to think about. The autonomic nervous system is also the part of your nervous system that sends you into stress mode (fight or flight) and that triggers the relaxation response. And while you cannot tell your nervous system directly to slow your heart beat, digest your food more quickly (that would be nice, wouldn’t it?), or to start relaxing right this minute, you can control your breath.

Think about it: even though you breathe without thinking about it, you can intentionally hold your breath, speed up your breath, slow down your breath, breathe through one nostril instead of the other, and so on. And this ability to alter your breathing is what gives you the key to your nervous system, providing you with some control over its “involuntary” functions.

Tide Under First Bridge by Brad Gibson

In my post on the stress response (see "Chronic Stress: An Introduction"), I mentioned that in stress mode your body uses more oxygen (for fighting or fleeing) while in relaxation mode your body needs less oxygen (for resting and digesting). It turns out that by intentionally taking in more oxygen (either by speeding up your breath or by lengthening your inhalation) you can stimulate your nervous system and that by taking in less oxygen (by slowing your breath or lengthening your exhalation), you can calm yourself down. It’s that simple. (See "Stress Test" for my example of using breath practice to stay calm during oral surgery.)

Yogic breath practices have evolved over thousands of years as yogis experimented on themselves and passed on their discoveries their students. And while some schools of yoga teach yogic breath practices (pranayama) to beginners, the type of yoga that I’m trained in, Iyengar style, considers breath practices to be so powerful that pranayama is introduced very gradually.

We’ll be introducing some simple breath practices in the coming weeks, but until then start by tuning into your breath throughout the day. When you’re standing in a long line at the post office, fighting the crowds at the grocery store, or are stuck in traffic, are you taking quick breaths, deep breaths or sighing? When you’re taking a hot bubble bath, petting your dog, or chatting with your partner after a good dinner, are you taking slow breaths, shallow breaths, or—oops!—yawning?

Just in Time for the Holidays: Inverted Poses

by Nina

In my original post about the relaxation response and yoga (see here), I mentioned that inverted yoga poses are one of the many ways you can trigger the relaxation response. Inverted poses are my personal go-to stress busters of choice, and if I could get my hands on Paul Weston (see here), I’d certainly teach him one or more of these amazing poses. So today I’m going to explain what I mean by “inverted poses,” and I’ll also provide some scientific background on them because understanding why these poses work can help you get the most out of them. Okay, here goes:

Any yoga pose where your heart is above your head is considered to be an inversion. Inverted yoga poses include full inversions, such as Headstand and Shoulderstand, where your heart is directly over your head and the rest of your body is also fully inverted. Also included as inverted poses are partial inversions, such as Downward-Facing Dog pose and Standing Forward Bend, where your heart is less directly over your head and your legs are either not fully and not at all inverted.

Standing Forward Bend from Yoga: The Poetry of the Body

The reason these poses trigger the relaxation response turns to be related to the mechanisms that control your heart rate and blood pressure. The nerves that control your heart rate and blood pressure are regulated through pressure sensors called baroreceptors. Your baroreceptors are located in the wall of each internal carotid artery at your carotid sinus (the arteries on each side of your neck that carry blood from your heart to your brain) and in the wall of your aortic arch (just above your heart). These baroreceptors detect any changes in your blood pressure, stretching when blood pressure is high and shrinking when blood pressure is low.

If your baroreceptors detect a fall in your blood pressure, they send signals via your nerves to increase your heart rate, constrict your blood vessels to raise your blood pressure, and switch your nervous system to fight or flight mode. Likewise, if your baroreceptors detect abnormally elevated blood pressure, they send signals to slow your heart rate, relax your blood vessels to lower your blood pressure, and switch your nervous system to relaxation mode.

In an inverted pose, your heart is higher than your head, the opposite of its position when you are upright. With your heart higher than your head, gravity causes more blood to flow in the direction of your head, creating more pressure than usual on your carotid sinus and aortic arch. As the arterial pressure is increased, your baroreceptors are stretched and signals are transmitted to your central nervous system as if your blood pressure was high throughout your body. Feedback signals are then sent back to your body to reduce the arterial pressure, slowing your heart rate, relaxing your blood vessels, and releasing hormones that decrease adrenaline production. This automatically switches your body to relaxation mode.

In addition, inverted or partially inverted poses where your neck is flexed (that is, your chin is pointing toward your chest), as in Shoulderstand, Plow pose, or Bridge pose, puts additional pressure on your carotid sinus (the arteries on each side of your neck that carry blood from your heart to your brain). This added stimulation of your baroreceptors may enhance the calming effects of the inversion.

How simple is that? As long as you are warm, quiet, and comfortable in the inverted pose, all you have to do is let pose work its magic! Naturally, supported versions of the poses (such as Shoulderstand with a chair or Bridge pose on blankets) are more relaxing than straight versions of poses in which you must support yourself, so if you’re practicing inversions for stress reduction, choose the supported versions.

In the coming weeks, I’ll provide details about the various inverted poses, but until then, the following is classic sequence of calming inversions. You can do any or all of these poses, but if you do more than one, I recommend doing them in the order shown below.

1.    Downward-Facing Dog pose, with your head resting on a block or folded blankets (1 to 3 minutes)
2.    Standing Forward Bend, with your head resting on a block or with folded arms and head resting on a chair seat (1 to 3 minutes)
3.    Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottansansa), with your head resting on the ground, a block, or the seat of a chair (1 to 3 minutes)
4.    Headstand (3 to 10 minutes)
5.    Shoulderstand, with a chair (3 to 10 minutes)
6.    Half Plow pose, with your legs supported by a chair seat (1 to 3 minutes)
7.    Supported Bridge pose, with your shoulders and head resting on the floor, your torso and legs supported by blankets or bolsters (5 to 15 minutes or longer)
8.    Legs up the Wall pose (Viparita Karani) with your pelvis supported with a bolster or blankets (5 to 15 minutes)

I’ve taught this sequence many times, and there are always people in each class who have difficulty with one or more of these poses. So I always teach a non-classic pose as well, Easy Inverted Pose (see here), because this is one pose almost everyone can do. Use this as a substitute for Shoulderstand, Plow pose, Bridge pose, or Legs Up the Wall pose, or just use it on its own.

Caution: Inverted poses may be unsafe for those with certain medical conditions (see here).

SAVASANA (CORPSE POSE)

by Nina

Of all the hundreds (or thousands?) of yoga poses, there is a single pose that has been called the best antidote to the stresses of western civilization. And anyone can do the pose, regardless of age, physical condition, or yoga experience, because all it requires is the ability to lie down and be still. This is Savasana (Corpse pose). And while  Savasana is often taught as the last pose in yoga class, you can do it on its own, at any time you need. All that’s required is a firm surface to lie on and 10 to 20 minutes, and you’ve got a surprisingly effective anti-stress medicine that has absolutely no side effects and if you become addicted, well, that’s a good thing.

Now you may be wondering, how can just lying down on your bedroom floor trigger the relaxation response? And how is this position that you take all the time in bed, on the grass under a blue sky, or on the warm sand of a beach qualify as a yoga pose?

Savasana triggers the relaxation response (see here) because you bring your attention to your body and your mind while you lie on the floor instead of just daydreaming or spacing out. And it qualifies as a yoga pose, because to practice Savasana properly, you:

• align your body

• remain still
• use a mental focus
• maintain your awareness as you come out of the pose

Here are details about these four aspects of Savasana:

Alignment. The first thing to do when you lie down in Savasana is to arrange your body—and that means every single part of you, including your arms, your legs, your torso and even your head—in a neutral position. This neutral position ensures you’re as comfortable as possible so you can relax completely without physical distractions (like having your legs go to sleep or getting a crick in your neck).

Lie down on your back on a firm surface, with your spine in its healthy, natural curves. If your head isn’t comfortable resting flat on the floor, place a folded blanket or firm pillow underneath it (but keep your shoulders touching the floor). Make sure you are dressed warmly; if necessary cover yourself with a blanket.

Place your legs eight to ten inches apart, turn your arms out so your palms face up and your hands are six to eight inches from the body, and position your head perfectly between your two shoulders, with your eyes about equal distance from the ceiling. None of us are completely symmetrical, but you can adjust your body so it’s as symmetrical as possible and the weight is even on both sides of your body. Now your alignment is close to what medical books call “anatomical neutral,” the position your body naturally assumes when no muscles are being activated. And when you are in this neutral position, you can begin to relax your body completely.

When your body is entirely supported by the floor, you no longer need to contract your muscles to hold yourself upright (or partly upright). You can simply let your body to completely drop with the force of gravity, so all your muscles can soften and melt, releasing their hold. 

For those of you who find you can’t lie comfortably in the classic position, don’t worry. You can use props to make yourself more comfortable (for example, if you are having back problems, you can rest your calves on the seat of a chair) and you can even lie in a different position (for example, if you are pregnant, you can lie on your side or if you’re anxious you can lie on your belly). I’ll describe these alternate versions in a future post.

Stillness. After positioning your body so you're aligned as symmetrically as possible, make a commitment to remain still. When your body becomes motionless, external stimulation is reduced to a minimum, allowing your nervous system to cool down and your mind to quiet. Normally when you rest on your bed or couch, you shift around unconsciously, fidgeting or wiggling around to find a more comfortable position. You probably even change from one position to another when you’re sleeping (if you’ve ever shared a bed with someone else, you know what we mean). In Savasana, keeping your body still allows you to relax completely because there is no need to contract of any muscles at all except those needed to breathe. In fact, we’re so used to contracting our muscles, even when resting, it may take some time for you to let go completely.

After you have stilled your body, you’ll continue to receive messages from your ears, nose, tongue, skin, and eyes. Even in a quiet room, there’s still a lot to hear, smell, taste, and feel, and you’ll continue to perceive the light (or lack of it) in the room even with your eyes closed. All these sensory impressions send stimulating messages to your brain. So after quieting your body, consciously relax your sense organs, letting your tongue rest on the floor of your mouth, allowing your eyes to soften back toward your skull and gazing with closed eyes under your cheekbones, and withdraw your awareness from the rest of your senses. With the withdrawal of your senses, your physical relaxation will increase.

Out onto Mary's Lake by Brad Gibson

Focus for the Mind. If your thoughts are busying while you're in Savasana—whether you're trying to decide if you should watch Law and Order to CSI: Miami tonight or considering something more momentous—you won't be able to relax completely or trigger the relaxation response. So after you've aligned and quieted your body, turn your awareness inward. Typically the focus for your mind in Savasana is your breath, the gradual relaxation of specific parts of your body (sometimes called a body scan), or a peaceful image (for example, you might imagine your mind is the surface of a lake whose ripples are slowly subsiding). Rather than simply letting your thoughts wander as they would if you were lying on the grass in your backyard, intentionally keep your mind focused on your object of choice. When you notice your attention wandering, gently return it to that object. For example, if your breath is your focus for your practice, continue to watch your breath for the entire practice, and each time you notice your mind wandering, gently bring it back to your breath again.

Maintaining a mental focus is how you stay alert in the pose, allowing you to reap the benefits of conscious relaxation, rather than simply falling asleep. It helps you stay aware in the pose by keeping your mind anchored in your body, rather than drifting off into fantasy. And it helps you stay present in the pose by keeping your thoughts in the moment, rather than dwelling in the past or racing into the future. 

When you abide in the present moment you naturally become more aware of your own thoughts. As an impartial witness to your own experience, observe each thought as it passes through your mind without becoming involved in any of the storylines.  Alert and aware, serene and detached, watch your thoughts—what’s on TV, should I cook ratatouille or paella, did I remember to feed the goldfish—as they come and go, come and go. There will be time for all that later. Then, like a pond that has been stirred up with a stick, allow your mind to settle down gradually until the waters are serene and clear.

Coming Out. Stay in the pose for at least 10 minutes (it takes 7 or 8 minutes to trigger the relaxation response). When you are ready to come out, take a couple of deep soft breaths, then slowly bend your knees and place the soles of your feet on the ground. Next, slowly turn over onto your right side and rest there for a couple of breaths. Then slowly use your hands to push yourself up to a seated position, allowing your head to release downward until you are completely upright. Finally, when you are seated upright, slowly lift your head. (And, yes, do it all slowly.)

Conscious Relaxation vs. Sleep

by Nina

Did you ever wake up in the middle of the night with your heart racing, short of breath, mouth dry, and thoughts racing? Maybe you just had a nightmare. Or maybe your mind was spinning, worrying about some difficulty at home or at work, or even about a disaster somewhere else in the world. Then you know intuitively that sleep is not necessarily “relaxing.”
 

Dr. Herbert Bensen, who originally discovered the relaxation response (see here for information), tells us that sleep, although necessary for our physical and emotional wellbeing, is a very different state than conscious relaxation. He identified the following four basic differences:

1. Dreams can actually cause stress through nightmares and anxiety dreams. During conscious relaxation on the other hand, your production of stress hormones gradually decreases, and other symptoms of stress, including both the physical and emotional sensations, subside.

2. During conscious relaxation, oxygen consumption decreases 10 to 20 percent during the first 3 minutes of practice while during sleep it decreases only 8 percent after about 4 or 5 hours. This reduced need for oxygen reflects the fact that during conscious relaxation your body is in rest and digest mode, not in stress mode where you are preparing to run or fight.

3.    During conscious relaxation, there is a marked decrease in blood lactate, a substance associated with anxiety attacks. Blood-lactate levels fall rapidly within the first 10 minutes of conscious relaxation, while sleep has no effect on blood-lactate levels. As you relax, your thoughts stop racing and your mind quiets while your body is resting and digesting.

4.    Alpha waves (slow brain waves) increase in intensity and frequency during conscious relaxation, but are not commonly found during sleep. Dr. Roger Cole, a sleep researcher and long-time yoga teacher, says that during rest or meditation our brain waves may slow to the alpha rhythm (8-12 cycles per second), during which we remain quietly aware of ourselves and our surroundings, without a lot of self-directed mental processing. Sometimes they may slow even further to the theta rhythm (4-7 cycles per second), during which we may get a “floating” feeling, dreamlike mental imagery, and withdrawal from the outside world. There is still much that is unknown about these unique states, but what is known is that regular practice of conscious relaxation helps foster ongoing feelings of serenity, contentment, and even happiness.

Now you can see why taking a nap or sleeping in on Sunday morning just won’t produce the same results as yoga. On the other hand, practicing conscious relaxation on a regular basis will not only provide you with immediate relief, it can also reduce your overall stress levels, so you can maintain your health and face the difficulties that life presents with greater equanimity. To be honest, I don’t practice conscious relaxation just because I’m hoping that it will reduce my chances of getting heart disease or having a stroke in the future (although that’s definitely a bonus), I do it because it makes my life better, right here, right now.

Naushon Meadow by Brad Gibson

Furthermore, as anti-intuitive as it might seem, relaxing while you are awake can even help you sleep better. When you are under great stress, it is difficult to fall asleep. Or, if you can fall asleep (because you are so tired) you often can’t stay asleep. To sleep well, your nervous system needs to be relaxed (if you are in a state of stress, you will be wakeful and alert, watching for danger) and your mind needs to be quiet (if your thoughts are racing, reviewing the past or worrying about the future, you will have a hard time settling down). But conscious relaxation, especially practiced before bed, will relax your nervous system and quiet your mind. And any of the methods I listed in my Monday post will produce these results. See here for further information.

THE RELAXATION RESPONSE AND YOGA

by Nina

Last week I wrote about the stress response, and how dangerous chronic stress is for your physical and emotional wellbeing (and possibly your longevity). So at this point you might be wondering: wouldn’t it be nice if there were an easy way for you to switch off your stress? I mean, something quicker and less expensive than a month in Tahiti or a week in a spa.

Well, it turns out there is. Remember, between stressful situations, your body needs to rest, recover, and acquire new energy. So your nervous system responds by:

• lowering your blood pressure
• reducing your heart rate, diverting blood back to the skin and gastrointestinal tract
• contracting your pupils and bronchioles
• stimulating your salivary gland secretion, accelerating digestion, and promoting normal movement of food through the gut

Dr. Herbert Benson coined the term “the relaxation response,” to describe this phenomenon, and he discusses it in detail in his book The Relaxation Response (which I highly recommend). I’ve also heard the term “rest and digest” to describe this state, when your body is recovering and restoring itself, and I find this is a helpful way to think about it, as the opposite of “fight or flight.”

Of course when you are stressed out, you can’t just tell yourself to relax. (I remember when I was suffering terribly from chronic stress, a therapist told me to “stop worrying.” I said, “Are you kidding?” and, duh, never went back.) But this is where yoga performs so brilliantly. Because, as Dr. Benson discovered, to trigger the relaxation response all that is required is:

1. A quiet environment

2. A focus for your mind, such as a sound, word, phrase, physical sensation (breath or body part), or fixed gaze at an object

3. Passive (non-judgmental) attitude

4. A comfortable position

5. 10 to 20 minutes

A Garden Path by Joan Webster

If this makes you immediately think of meditation, you’re right about that. But yoga has bunch of different options that you can use to trigger the relaxation response:

1. Meditation. See here for information on how to meditate.
2. Breath practices (pranayama). See here for information your nervous system and your breath.
3. Restorative poses with a focus for the mind (such as your breath or the relaxation of your muscles).
4. Corpse pose (Savasana) with a focus for the mind (such as your breath, the relaxation of your muscles, or peaceful imagery). See here for information.
5. Yoga nidra (yogic sleep), a long, structured form of Savasana. See here for information about yoga nidra and here for a mini version of yoga nidra that you can stream or download.

Eventually, after his initial studies, Dr. Benson removed two items from the list: a comfortable position and a quiet environment. He soon realized that a mind-body practice, such as the yoga asana practice, can be a “moving meditation,” as long as there is a focus for your mind (such as the physical sensations of your body in the pose) and a passive attitude (refraining from judging yourself in the pose, such as how you look or whether you’re doing it “right”). See "What is Mindfulness?"

Finally, studies by Dr. Roger Cole proved that inverted and semi-inverted poses, where your heart is higher than your head, trigger the relaxation response through the mechanisms that control your blood pressure. This is why supported inversions, such Legs Up the Wall pose and Easy Inverted Pose (legs on a chair), are so effective. I’ll write soon specifically on inversions and how they work (see "Just in Time for the Holidays: Inverted Poses").

And in weeks to come, we’ll provide further information about all seven of these options for triggering the relaxation response: meditation, breath practice, restorative yoga, Savasana, Yoga Nidra, mindful yoga practices, and inverted poses.

By now you may be saying to yourself that while these practices definitely seem like a bargain compared to vacations and spas (free to be exact), they seem like a bit of work. Can’t I just skip all this “practicing” stuff and get a bit of shuteye instead? Sorry, but it turns out the state of conscious relaxation you achieve by triggering the relaxation response is very different than sleep, and I’ll be discussing that difference in my next post (though, of course, a good night’s sleep is also important for your physical and emotional health). See here for a comparison between conscious relaxation and sleep.

What about turning on the TV or reading a good book? Activities, such as TV and reading, while good distractions, aren’t necessarily relaxing. Hey, suspense, though good for a plot, can be very stressful, and I not only cry at the movies, but sometimes during sad parts of a novel! I’m not saying you should never watch TV or read, just that these activities can’t take the place of the conscious relaxation that yoga provides. So as Baxter said last week, "Got 10 minutes?"

And now, dear readers, I’d like to ask you for your help. What are your favorite yoga stress management techniques? What do you find the most useful? And have I overlooked anything? Also, if you’d like to vote on which yoga stress management techniques you’d like to hear about first, let me know. Leave your answers in a comment to this post or email them to me (see Contact Us on the right side of the blog).