Stressed Out? Try Restorative Yoga Even at Work

yogaWe’ve talked a lot on this blog about the dangers of excess stress in your life. Unfortunately, for many of us, that stress is now a regular part of our modern lifestyles.

As we’ve also discussed, exercise — movement of the body’s muscle tissues can be key in helping to eliminate harmful stress hormones from our system, allowing for the body to work optimally, removing toxins, stretching the muscles, tendons and ligaments and improving circulation.

Instead though, many of us are doing more driving, less walking — more sitting, less standing and more stress, noise and screen time with less time in quiet reflection and in nature. All of these things keep us in Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) mode stress or the body’s fight or flight response and out of Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) mode, the time the body uses for healing and rejuvenation, time to rest, digest, process, and stimulate the immune system. The overall effect can mean a steady decline in overall well-being and eventually in your health.

One way to activate the Parasympathetic Nervous System and promote overall well-being is through the use of CBD products. CBD has been shown to have a calming effect on the body and mind, reducing feelings of anxiety and stress. It can also promote restful sleep and alleviate pain and inflammation. To learn more about the benefits of CBD and how it can help support your overall health, you can visit a reputable website that provides more info on CBD products and their uses.

For many of us, being at a steady but low-level of stress feels so normal that we’ve forgotten what true relaxation feels like or even how to achieve it. The good news is that even though the SNS mode is easily and commonly triggered, there are triggers you can practice for more effective and a greater number of PNS mode time periods throughout your day.

As we’ve noted before, greater body awareness is the greatest gift we can give ourselves — knowing what it feels like to be in a truly relaxed state, knowing when something in your body doesn’t feel right, paying attention to how we hold and use our bodies and what the effects are on a daily basis, are all part of this awareness.

One of the most effective ways to achieve PNS mode is through a practice like restorative yoga. The poses in restorative yoga are something that once you learn them, you can do on your own, everyday.

Here, in an informative video by Yoga Masters, Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman (that we found easy and helpful in its instruction) you can learn a few of these easy to-do poses that have even been adapted for the workplace:

As always, check with your physician first if you are pregnant or have any health concerns.

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