Relaxation Strategies:
Benefits of Yoga and Meditation in Relation to Stress
Katherine I. Sharp
Nova Southeastern University

Relaxation Strategies Stress is a condition in response to a physical threat or psychological distress that triggers the body’s adaptive stress response which involves the physiological arousal of various body systems that may suffer from negative consequences depending on the duration and course of the stress reaction. The result of such a response to stress is physiological support for the body’s fight-or-flight response that includes an increase in heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, and serum cholesterol (Greenberg, 2013). As a part of the adaptive response to stress, various body systems such as the autonomic, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and immune systems may be affected (McEwen, Stellar, 1993). Research has shown that chronic stress is related to an increased risk of the development of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, coronary heart disease, tension headaches, migraine headaches, backache, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and ulcers. “Given the negative impact of stress at intrapersonal and somatic level, it is important for healthcare professionals to master a repertoire of stress management techniques” (Varvogli, 2011, p. 75).
Yoga
Yoga is an old Indian practice that fosters mental and physical awareness creating a mind-body connection that allows one to engage in conscious breathing coupled with physical postures. Yoga is a meditative practice that allows one to overcome the perceived limitations of oneself (Choudhury, 2007; Iyengar, 2001). Commonly practiced in the Western world, Hatha yoga is one of the many branches of yoga that unites the body and mind through the use of physical postures and movements (asanas), breathing practices (pranayama), and meditation (Collins, 1998). Pranayama focuses on prolongation of inhalation, breath retention, and exhalation which unifies the body, breath, and awareness of the conscious mind while engaging in postures that clear the energy channels of the body and balance the body energy system. Yoga is viewed as a holistic stress management mechanism that produces a physiological reaction in the body reducing the stress response (Woodyard, 2011). There are four basic principles that underlie the teachings and practices of yoga’s healing system: the first is the human body is a holistic entity comprised of interrelated dimensions and the health or illness of any one dimension affects the other dimensions, the second is all individuals are unique and therefore each individual practice must be tailored to individual needs, the third is yoga is self-empowering and each individual is his own healer, and the fourth is that the state of an individuals mind is critical to healing (Woodyard, 2011). Positive mind-states result in faster healing whereas healing may be prolonged with negative mind-states. It is believed that certain yoga practices may improve physical and mental health through down-regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system (SNS), both of which are triggered in response to a stressor leading to detrimental physical and psychological effects as a result of cortisol and other stress-related hormones. In 2010, Ross and Thomas compared the health benefits of yoga and exercise. Ross and Thomas compared the effects of yoga and exercise in both healthy and diseased populations. Periods of prolonged stress that result in repeated activation of the HPA axis and SNS can “lead to dysregulation of the system and ultimately diseases such as obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, depression, substance abuse, and cardiovascular disease” (Ross, Thomas, 2010, p. 3). Studies show that yoga decreases levels of salivary cortisol, blood glucose, and 24-hour urine norepinephrine and epinephrine levels. Yoga significantly decreases heart rate and systolic and diastolic blood (Selvamurthy, Sridharan, Ray, et al., 2007). “Ross and Thomas found that yoga may be as effective or better than exercise at improving a variety of health-related outcome measures including blood glucose, blood lipids, salivary cortisol, and oxidative stress” (2010, p. 8).
Effects of Yoga Yoga serves many different functions both mentally and physically including activating the nervous system, cleansing the body, and improving one’s intelligence. Studies have documented a relationship between deep breathing techniques and the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system showing significant decreases in respiration rate and oxygen consumption. (Greenberg, 2013). Various studies of yoga practices indicate other health benefits such as improved cognition and immunity and reduction in strains such as tension headaches and backaches in relation to stress. Concentration and Memory. A study conducted in 2012 assessed the effects of yoga module on concentration and memory among adolescent students categorized into high stress students and low stress students on the basis of scores obtained from Stress Battery. Stress was used as an independent variable for the purpose of classification. Both the experimental and control group were given a pre-test to assess their short-term memory. The experimental group were administered a yoga module that consisted of asanas, pranayamas, meditation, and prayer for seven weeks. Both groups were given post-tests to evaluate their memory and concentration. “The results show that the students, who practiced the yoga module yielded higher concentration levels and exhibited better short term memory” (Kauts, 2012). Yoga has shown to improve cognitive ability through the practice of deep breathing by enhancing the processing of sensory information at the thalamic level and increasing mental alertness (Telles, Joseph, Venkatesh, Desiraju, 1992). Tension Headache. Stress plays a key role in triggering tension headache caused by muscle tension (bracing) that may affect the forehead, jaw, or neck (Greenberg, 2013). Headache is a frequent complaint among stress-related strains. “Tension headache is a type of primary headache, which is a bilateral pressure like tightening or non-pulsating headache lasting from 30 minutes to 7 days” (Menon, 2013). Yoga has been very effective in reducing tension headache because of its physical, mental, and spiritual healing. A study evaluating the effects of yoga on tension headache comparing the results of electromyography biofeedback and shavasana (patient lies down in supine position with eyes closed) showed that yoga was beneficial in treatment of tension headache over other conventional therapies. Other studies have shown that yoga reduces sympathetic nervous system activity by lowering heart rate and increasing breathe volume. Since the effect of stress from tension headache is mainly found in the neck muscles, stretching of the neck muscles by practicing yoga reduced the pain and stiffness found in the neck (Streeter, Jensen, Perimutter, Cabral, et al., 2007). Perceived Stress and Back Pain. Back pain is one of society’s most common medical problems that affects people’s abilities to do physical and cognitive work. People who suffer from stress experience back ache more frequently because of bracing which causes muscle to lose its elasticity and may lead to spasms and back pain (Greenberg, 58). Stress and back pain are two major factors associated with absence from work costing billions in the work industry. “The Health and Safety Executive reported that in 2011, 10.8 million working days were lost due to work-related stress, and 7.6 million working days were lost due to musculoskeletal disorders, of which 40% were related to back pain” (Hartfield, Burton, Rycroft-Malone, Clarke, Havenhand, Khalsa, Edwards, 2012, p. 607). Research has shown that few interventions in the workplace have been effective in reducing stress and back pain, however, stress management programs and cognitive behavioral therapy are shown to be most effective in reducing work-related stress. Physical activity programs in the workplace are best for preventing low back pain and have also shown to have a positive effect on mental and physical health of employees. (Hartfield et al., 2012). Yoga is one form of physical activity that is being used in workplace settings to improve overall well-being of employees by enhancing mindfulness and mind-body awareness. A study conducted to determine the effectiveness of a yoga based intervention for reducing perceived stress and back pain at work and found that workplace yoga intervention can reduce perceived stress and improve psychological improvement (Hartfield et al., 2012). In this particular study, participants from the same work place were recruited and randomized into a yoga group who received one fifty minute session of Dru Yoga each week for eight weeks along with a twenty minute home video and a control group who received no intervention. The sessions included activation exercises, energy block release movements, postures and relaxation. Dru Yoga was chosen because it is a safe and therapeutic form of yoga that can be practiced by most people because of its graceful movements, directed breathing, and relaxation techniques. Researchers found that in comparison to the control group, the yoga group reported significant reductions in perceived stress and back pain, and a considerable improvement in psychological well-being. The yoga group scored significantly lower for back pain, sadness and hostility, and higher for feeling self-assured, attentive and serene (Hartfield et al., 2012). Overall, yoga can be used as an intervention in the work place and is a positive, cost-effective strategy used to reduce stress and back pain, as well as improve employee health.
Discussion and Conclusion Yoga teaches individuals to relax, slow the breath and focus on the present, shifting the balance from the sympathetic nervous system and the flight-or-flight response to the parasympathetic nervous system and the relaxation response (McCall, 2007). Instead of the body’s stress response, the relaxation response is calming and restorative by lowering breathing and heart rate, decreasing blood pressure, lowering cortisol levels, and increasing blood flow to the body’s intestines and organs. Psychologically, yoga achieves calmness of the mind and creates a sense of well-being, improved self-confidence, improved efficiency, increased attentiveness, lowered irritability, and an optimistic outlook on life (Arora, 2008). Yoga generates balanced energy by inhibiting the sympathetic area of the hypothalamus which is important to the function of the immune system. This inhibition optimizes the body’s sympathetic responses to stressful stimuli and restores autonomic regulatory reflex mechanisms associated with stress (Woodyard 2011). Yoga inhibits the areas of the brain in response to fear and aggressiveness which instead stimulates brain areas that respond to relaxation and pleasure. Improved flexibility is one of the many benefits of yoga because of its ability to reduce aches and pains, including headache and back pain. Yoga results in a gradual loosening of the muscles and connective tissues surrounding the bones and joints which reduces the amount of pain stress can have on the body. Yoga helps to build muscle mass and maintain muscle strength, which protects from conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis and back pain: all of which can develop from chronic stress (Desikachar, Bragdon, Bossart, 2005). Joints are taken through their full range of motion during yoga resulting in oxygen and blood flow to the area furthermore preventing conditions that deal with chronic pain. “Yoga increases blood flow and levels of hemoglobin and red blood cells which allows for more oxygen to reach the body cells, enhancing their function” (McCall, 2007). Various studies have shown that yoga improves the maximum uptake and utilization of oxygen while increasing endurance. Excessive stress negatively affects overall academic performance. Research has shown that high levels of stress can lead to inability to focus attention and arriving at a solution too quickly (Janis, 1982). When stress is perceived negatively or becomes excessive, students experience physical and psychological impairment (Murphy, Archer, 1996). Stress interferes with the effective use of skills and affects the performance of students because stress overloads mental and physical resources. It may be concluded that with the intervention of yoga, academic performance improves by achieving an optimal stress level. In conclusion, prolonged stress has a negative impact on the immune system and increases susceptibility to disease. Practicing yoga and meditation manages both acute and chronic stress leading to an increased quality of life. It is argued that a purely medical approach in managing stress is far less effective in healing the emotional, intellectual, and personality layers of the human (Woodyard 2011). Yoga is a holistic model of health and healing with a connection between a person’s overall physical and mental health and the inner peace of the individual. Yoga fosters self-awareness and is therefore a promising approach for dealing with the stress response.

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