How Stress Affects Your Body

Stress gives you immediate signs that it is around. It can cause emotional distress through depression and anxiety. It can also spread throughout your body and far past your emotions. In fact, you may start feeling different issues in your body. You may even notice certain issues that are more long-term problems from ongoing stress in your life. Here are some ways that stress affects your entire body and what to do to reduce these issues.

Tension and Pain

One of the most common ways that stress can affect your entire body is by causing tension. This tension can be in your muscles, your neck, and even in your nasal passages. The tension can lead to pain as well. This pain can be in the form of severe headaches or body aches that require medication to heal. If you have ongoing stress and tension, you may find yourself experiencing issues related to inflammation and even serious body issues like Fibromyalgia.

Eating Disorders

When some people are stressed they may experience eating issues that lead to severe disorders. You may find yourself eating too much or too little. You may even find yourself experiencing so much stress that you can't keep food down. This can lead to an emotional and mental connection that drives you towards anorexia or other related issues. Ideally, you want to find an outlet for your eating when stress is concerned. Getting the stress out in some other way is the ideal option to avoid the two extremes of eating disorders.

Heart Issues

You may think that the eating disorder issue or tension and pain is not something to worry about it because of how you deal with stress. One thing that you may not think of though is how stress affects your heart. You can find yourself screaming or so frustrated that your blood pressure rises. When this happens you can experience shortness of breath and even stroke or heart attack if it is ongoing and happens often. This is a severe stress related issue that should be held above the others as a focus and important cause to reduce your stress.

You will find that as you remove stress from your daily life, you will start to find the long term effects will reduce. To remove them completely, you will need to focus on each aspect and work to make sure that your stress does not get to a level that the long-term issues rise again. Regular exercise routine, meditation, and healthy eating can all help with this.

Yoga Poses to Try For Stress

Yoga can help with a number of body issues including weight loss, flexibility, and stress. Stress may be the one thing that you don't think of when you think of different yoga poses and what they can actually do for you. The truth is, there are poses that can directly help your stress. If you know these poses, you can find time and work your way through them each day to help reduce your stress and the related issues stress causes. Here are a few of those poses and a quick guide on how to do them.

Corpse Pose

The corpse pose is likely the easiest pose in yoga to do and it offers the most benefit if you are trying to remove stress from your body prior to sleep. The pose can be done on the floor or on the bed. Simply lie on your back, with your neck supported by a towel or neck roll. Place your arms out to your sides at a 40 degree angle, palms up. Your legs should also be out at an angle, about a shoulder width apart, with the soles of your feet facing outward. Allow your body to fully relax. There should be no tension and no attempt to keep tension. Hold this pose for around two minutes while you breathe in and out at a slow steady pace.

Legs Up the Wall Pose

The legs up the wall pose is exactly what it sounds like. You place your legs against the wall with the soles of your feet facing the ceiling. Your butt should be against the wall as if you are sitting. Place your arms as you would for the corpse pose and begin to breathe at a steady, but slow, pace.  This can be done on the floor or in bed using your headboard or wall as the wall for your legs.

Head to Knee Pose

The head to knee pose is done with the legs stretched out in front of you. Simply bend at the waist bringing your head to your knee. Do this in a slow relaxed manner. You do not want to strain yourself if you are not used to this stretch. This is designed to not only remove stress, but to also squeeze toxins from your system and out of your body.

Easy Pose

The easy pose is the most common pose in yoga. This pose is also called the cross legged or lotus position. Sit up straight with your legs in the lotus position or crossed. Place your hands, palms up, on your knees and begin to breath slowly at a steady pace. This pose is common for early morning or afternoon stress release and can help reduce blood pressure and tension.

You can do these poses in rotation or try them as a standalone pose to help with immediate stress in the body. Each pose should be held for at least thirty seconds and up to two minutes depending on your breathing techniques and your flexibility.

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Always consult your physician before beginning any exercise program. This general information is not intended to diagnose any medical condition or to replace your healthcare professional. Consult with your healthcare professional to design an appropriate exercise prescription.

If you’re finding yourself stressed, overwhelmed, or anxious call or email me for a free, no obligation, consultation. Remember, you deserve to have the life you want! heather@setsailtherapy.com 317-648-9295.