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Yoga For Stress - What Kind Works Best?
Ever hear someone offering advice to people who admit to feeling stressed. More often than not you'll hear them say "You should do yoga!"
Most of us know that yoga is good for stress, right? But there are a couple of catches. If someone is stressed how can they find the time to do yoga? And if they do manage to find the time, how can they do yoga in a way that doesn't stress them out even further.
I've seen many stressed out Type A's over the years grunting and groaning their way through an asana sequence as they make every effort to get each posture just right and get their head at least as close to their toes as that big guy on the mat next to them.
It's likely that this kind of approach to yoga might create more stress than it relieves. But first things first - how to find the time.
Here, you just have to bite the bullet and make an initial commitment for one class per week to start with. Hey, it's only an hour and it might help save your life down the road so just do it.
But what kind of yoga class are you looking for? You might get the impression from the Type A story above that I'd suggest a nice gentle roll around on the floor while the soothing music plays and the smell of burning incense wafts around the room like the teacher's melodic voice. But no.. I would not wish that experience upon you.
Nor would I want you going off to Atilla the Hun either - the kind of teacher who wants you to hurt and sweat profusely to pay for all your past sins and admonishes you severely when one muscle group gets out of line.
No... you need something in between these extremes if you want to get a handle on stress from your yoga experience.
Ideally, your teacher will be trained in a mind-body approach to yoga. Your class will be more than just a physical experience and you will guided inwardly as well as outwardly. However the inner guidance will be open ended and simply take you home to yourself and won't impose any of the teachers hangups or lifestyle choices upon you. This takes skill and more than a YMCA weekend certification for the yoga teacher. If in doubt interview both the teacher and several of his or her students to find out if the class meets these criteria.
Once you've found your niche, settle in and go for the ride making a commitment to at least 8 consecutive classes. If it's the right kind of class with a good teacher you should find the stress beginning to loosen it's grip and your co-workers beginning to notice your emerging mellowness.
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