Yoga, which derives its name from the word, "yoke"-to bring together-does just that, bringing together the mind, body and spirit. But whether you use yoga for spiritual transformation or for stress management and physical well-being, the benefits are numerous.

Health Benefits of Yoga:

■Stress reduction. With its quiet, precise movements, yoga draws your focus away from your busy, chaotic day and toward calm as you move your body through poses that require balance and concentration.

■Increased fitness. As you learn and refine new poses, you may enjoy improved balance, flexibility, range of motion and strength. And this means you're less likely to injure yourself in other physical endeavors or in your daily activities.

■Management of chronic health conditions. Yoga might help with a variety of health conditions, such as cancer, depression, pain, anxiety and insomnia, by helping with sleep problems, fatigue and mood. Yoga also can help reduce heart rate and blood pressure.

■Weight loss. If you're overweight or have binge-eating disorder, yoga may help you make the healthy lifestyle changes necessary to gain control of your eating and drop those extra pounds.

And more benefits:

·                        reduced stress

·                        sound sleep

·                        reduced cortisol levels

·                        improvement of many medical conditions

·                        allergy and asthma symptom relief

·                        lower blood pressure

·                        smoking cessation help

·                        lower heart rate

·                        spiritual growth

·                        sense of well-being

·                        reduced anxiety and muscle tension

·                        increased strength and flexibility

·                        slowed aging process

The practice of Yoga is well-demonstrated to reduce the physical effects of stress on the body, and has even been found to lower cortisol levels. People find that they feel more relaxed after practicing Yoga. The asana, or physical postures of yoga are helpful for reducing muscular tension, which reduces stress.  Yoga includes not only the asana most often thought of when considering Yoga. Most Yoga classes end with savasana, or a pose of relaxation. Some classes include a guided relaxation where the teacher leads students through a progressive relaxation of the body, which reduces the experience of stress.

Yoga also includes meditation and breathing practices as well as a set of ethical precepts and observances (yamas and niyamas). These other elements also have beneficial stress-reducing qualities. When we are experiencing stress, our breathing tends to become shallow and rapid. Shallow and rapid breath further heightens the body's stress response, and we can become caught up in an ineffective breathing pattern that only causes more stress. Many yoga techniques emphasize slowing and deepening the breath, which activates the body's parasympathetic system, or relaxation response. Just by changing our pattern of breathing, we can significantly affect our body's experience of and response to stress. This may be one of the most profound lessons from yoga practice.

Yoga Poses for stress: http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/finder/therapeutic_focus/t_stress

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