6 Ways Yoga Can Relieve Seasonal Stress

Stop and breathe. Simply taking a moment to consciously breathe can alter your nervous system. Try to breath into your belly which will help to release the diaphragm.  You can do this any time any where any time during the holiday season when you are feeling tense or anxious.   (The hard part is often remembering to do it!).  Here are six common breathing mistakes and how to spot habits that aren't maximizing the benefits of the 'life force' - oxygen in the body.  

Enter the yoga pose called "Instant Maui"  This marvelous creation is Judith Lasater's - the preeminent restorative yoga teacher in the US.   You lie on the floor on your back and place your calves on the seat of a chair.  You may need to raise the level of the chair if your calves are not parallel to the floor.  You can do this with blankets or towels.   The thighs should be perpendicular to the floor so that you have 90% angles at your hips and knees.  You can place a blanket or soft pillow under your head and, if you have one, a sandbag over your shins.  And a blanket over all of you. The restorative pose got its moniker because it "instantly transports you to Maui."   Well, it does feel pretty good.   

Listen to music.   I'd avoid the carols that pervade the stores and go for something different, different melodies that will catch your attention. Classical or opera can alter your brain waves (See Oliver Saks terrific new book, Musicophilia :Tales of Music and the Brain). Really listen to the music and don't just play music as background noise.   Be mindful and try to limit the multitasking.  See if you notice your breath altering to match the rhythm of the music. (This is why you might want to try calmer music).  

Put your legs up the wall.  This yoga pose, also known as Vaparita Karani, is terrific to do after shopping.  The action of inverting the legs improves the circulation.  Don't worry if you're hamstrings are too tight that you can't get your butt to the wall.  Just move your butt away from the wall.   Also, if you don't have a yoga bolster, you can use stacked towels or even have the whole torso flat on the floor and still benefit from the pose.  Yoga Journal offers a picture and complete instructions.  

Enjoy a guided meditation.  At busy times like these, meditation can be challenging as lists of things to do dance as rambunctiously as sugar-plums in a child's head on the night before Christmas.  One solution is to try a guided meditation which can help you keep your focus.  Here's awhole page of free guided meditation that range from five mintues to an hour and guided by Tara Brach of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington. 

Place a roll under your upper back. This is a modification of savasana or corpse pose, which you can read about here.   The roll (which can be a blanket or a towel) goes under your back at the base of your scapula.    The purpose is to counteract the forward curvature of the upper back and to open the front torso for the breath to move freely in and out of the body. The diameter of the roll depends on what you can tolerate.  If the pain of unfolding your back muscles is too intense, try a smaller roll.