Feeling Overwhelmed? Guest Post by Susan White

How to Integrate Yoga into Your Stressful Life by Susan White

There are many ways to stay fit and healthy, but one that is becoming more and more popular with each passing day is yoga. This ancient art from the Eastern world is now taking the entire globe by storm with its reputation for being an efficient workout option and reliable stress buster. From stay at home moms who have to cope with the hassles of running a home and looking after their kids to the high powered executive who runs from one meeting to another, yoga is a powerful tool that helps you stay healthy and fit.

Many people however, find that it’s hard to fit in yoga into their busy lives even though they know of its virtues and advantages. I didn’t take to yoga until my life became so stressful that I just had to find a way to relax and rejuvenate myself before I was committed to a mental asylum. A close friend had just been diagnosed with cancer and was not expected to live for long; my brother chose to get engaged and married within the span of a month; I was going through a painful separation from my boyfriend of five years; and deadlines were becoming too difficult to meet with all these issues jostling for space in my mind. I was going nuts trying to deal with all of this when a friend introduced me to yoga. I insisted that I had no time for exercise, but after just one session with my instructor, I was a firm believer.

The key to fitting yoga into your busy life is to identify its important benefits and focus on them. I found out that:

• Slow breathing helps: Yoga is all about using your body’s own energy to rejuvenate itself. Sometimes, when I’m really stressed out and frustrated beyond explanation, I just sit cross legged and close my eyes. I free my mind of everything, work, family, problems and even myself. I think of nothing, and take slow, deep breaths. When I breathe in and out from the depth of my stomach for five minutes, I find a remarkable difference in my disposition. If you’re a beginner, freeing your mind of all your thoughts could be difficult, but the more you try to focus, the more you get the hang of it.  

• Taking small yoga breaks was a genius idea: Just as I take bathroom breaks and coffee breaks, I began to include a few yoga breaks during each day. All you need is 10 minutes, at least twice or three times a day. A few simple asanas or postures and I would feel my energy surging back no matter how drained or tired I was. Even a few simple stretches as you get up from your desk helps your posture and prevents chronic ailments like slipped discs and carpal tunnel syndrome.

• Starting and ending my day with yoga boosted my confidence and energy levels: My hectic schedule often left me with hardly any time for yoga, so I would wake up 30 minutes earlier and spend time alone with just my yoga mat for company, going through my breathing and other routines. I also make it a point to spend 15 minutes before I go to bed, unwinding using yoga. When you start and end the day with yoga, you feel more energetic during the day and more relaxed at night.

I hate to use clichés, but there’s one that fits this occasion like a glove – where there’s a will, there’s a way; so find the will to fit yoga into your busy life, and the way will soon follow.

By-line:
This post is written by Susan White, who writes on the topic of Becoming a Radiologist Technician . She welcomes your comments at her email id: susan.white33@gmail.com .