Stress Management

Stress has become a universal word which is being used by just about any one, every where we go.

The medical science describes stress as a specific response of the body to all non specific demands – physical, psychological, threatened or actual – the response being the secretion of ACTH and CORTISOL (these are two stress induced hormones). Secretion of two other hormones stimulated by stress is adrenalin and non adrenalin.
A more practical definition of stress may be put as “when the problem presented by everyday life exceeds your resources for coping with them you feel stressed”.

Reasons or causes of Stress

Society problems.
Family problems.
Work overload.
Political Problems
Ecological and Envienronmental Factors.
Physical and psychological problems.
Problems created due to changes in moral values of the society.
Economic Factors.
Lack of Emotional Support from closed ones.
Information overload.
Time overload.
Financial Problems.
Self Ego.
Lack of Spirituality.

Modern science, till some years ago, did not attribute stress to the creation of diseases. In the last few decades, a series of epidemiological studies and observations have proved that some very common diseases are a direct result of excessive stress. They are now grouped as psychosomatic diseases. A list of these common diseases is as follows.

High Blood Pressure.
Angina or Chest Pain.
Heart Attacks.
Headache.
Migraine
Backache.
Shoulder ache.
Spondilitis.
Allergies.
Asthma.
Chronic fatigue and lethargy.
Anxiety
Insomnia
Depression
Irritable bowel syndrome.
Menstrual irregularities in female.

Do you suffer from any of them?
Be honest with yourself and try to find out the roof cause of the problems. This will help you to clearly define a solution.

Yoga and meditation are wonderful tools to combat from stress and stress related disorders.Yoga is the philosophical doctrine developed in India at 500 B.C. It brings about the right interaction, combination, co ordination of the mind and body.

According to Patanjali (the father of yoga) yoga is
· Union between Prana (Vital Force ) and MahaShakti (Universal energy)
· Stopping the fluctuation of consciousness (Chitta)
· Achievement of inner equilibrium
· It is the skill of work (Karmashu kaushalyam)

Eight steps of Yoga according to Rishi Patanjali

Yam –Restraint and Control
Niyam-observation and self discipline
Asana-Physical Postures
Pranayam-Breathing techniques
Pratyahar-Food habits
Dharna-Concentration
Dhyan-Flow of concentration, meditation
Samadhi-state of ultimate consciousness

Scientific proven benefits of Meditation

Controls Blood Pressure
Increases cardiovascular Capacity
Increases Breathing Speed
Controls the Temperature of the body
Controls the rate of Metabolism in body
Controls the levels of Cholesterol in blood
Controls Blood Sugar

During meditation the electromagnetic waves produced by the brain are measured by Electroencephalography (EEG) machine and it shows Alpha waves. If a person is in deep stress the EEG machine records Beta and Delta waves.