Breathe Deeply

Right now you're performing one of the best stress relievers around and you probably don't even know it: breathing. Breathing, particularly deep breathing is a built in stress reliever that can have a profound impact on our physiology and our health. Breathing exercises called pranayama are a regular part of yoga practice. For thousands of years, yoga practitioners have used pranayama, which literally means control of the life force, as a tool to affect both the mind and body.

Breathing exercises can be used to train the body's reaction to stressful situations and dampen the production of harmful stress hormones. However, you don't have to be in downward dog to benefit from deep breathing. If you're feeling that stress is starting to affect your attitude and day, try to take five minutes to breathe slowly and deeply focus solely on the sound of your breath coming and going. Five minutes may seem like a real sacrifice in the middle of a stressful day, but you'll feel more balanced and ready to face the next several hours. Try it... you may be pleasantly surprised! 

Source: http://www.npr.org/

 Or

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/06/131734718/just-breathe-body-has-a-built-in-stress-reliever&sc=nl&cc=es-20101212

When performing yoga you "kneed" to protect your joints.

Yoga has been practiced for more than 5,000 years, and today over 11 million Americans incorporate yoga into their exercise program. It is no wonder so many people love practicing yoga; the benefits include increased flexibility, strength better posture and stress relief.

Despite the positive health benefits of practicing yoga, it can still cause injury in beginners and experienced yogis alike. In a recent interview in the UK's Daily Telegraph, Dr. Ashok Rajgopal, an orthopedic surgeon in India, claims that the extreme stretching exercises at the heart of yoga can cause severe stress on the body's joints and can lead to arthritis. Dr. Rajgopal says he has performed knee replacement surgery on a number of leading yoga gurus. His warnings are a serious challenge to those who say yoga, which is now a multi-billion dollar global industry, can ward off the effects of aging and leave devotees feeling fitter, stronger and at peace with the world.

"Extreme postures like acute deep knee bends, particularly for people who are not used to doing these postures, it is definitely harmful to them in terms of the abnormal stresses, and damage to cartilages. In that respect it is harmful," explains Dr. Rajgopal. One of the postures he cites as more difficult, and requiring caution include the 'vajrasana' posture, also known as the 'thunderbolt,' where the practitioner kneels with heels tucked under buttocks, while he or she performs a 'pranayama' a breathing routine.

Experts suggest that individuals must build up to the level where they can perform these more advanced postures without harming their joints.

Bottom Line: Yoga can still be a great exercise and stress reliever when practiced appropriately. Start small, both in poses and in classes. Small movements allow you to slolwly build strength and flexibility and smaller classes allow you to receive more attention from the instructor. He or she can see your movements and correct postures if needed.

Source: The Telegraph, December, 31 2010