8 Simple Yoga Poses that Flush Stress Hormones from the Body!

Stress often creeps into our lives, even when we’re trying our hardest to keep it out. Balancing work, bills, family members, friends, romantic relationships and other obligations can be difficult, and at times it can become overwhelming. Constant stress can affect your mood, thoughts, work performance, emotions and relationships, and you may not even realize it’s happening.

When you encounter a perceived threat, a tiny region at the base of your brain – the hypothalamus – sets of an alarm system in your body. Through the combination of nerve and hormonal signals, the adrenal grands are prompted to release a surge of hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, attempts to aid the body by suppressing the digestive system, the reproductive system and the growth process – functions that wouldn’t be needed in a fight or flight situation.

The body’s stress response usually returns to normal when the perceived threat has passed and you allow yourself to calm, but when stressors are constantly present, that fight or flight reaction remains. The overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones can disrupt almost all of the body’s processes, putting you at risk for numerous health problems including anxiety, depression, digestive problems, headaches, heart disease, sleep problems, weight gain, and concentration impairment.

Finding your own way to unwind and de-stress is the key to keeping negative energy out of your life. Many people have found solace in yoga, using its relaxation techniques to calm their mind and find their balance. Try these eight easy yoga poses to help flush stress hormones from your body.

1. Child’s Pose

Kneel on a yoga mat with your legs together, sitting back on your heels
Hinge forward until your chest rests on your thighs and your forehead is on the floor
Curl your shoulder forward and let your hands rest with your palms up, next to your feet
Hold for five breaths

This pose calms by allowing the resting posture to quiet the mind and ease stress. Child’s pose benefits the nervous system and lymphatic system.

2. Bridge Pose

Lie on your back, bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor, hip width apart
Slide your arms alongside your body with your palms facing down
Press your feet into the floor, inhale, lift hips while rolling your spine off of the floor
Press into your arms and shoulders to lift your chest and engage your legs to lift the hips higher
Hold for 4-8 breaths, then release on an exhale, slowing rolling your spine back to the the floor

This pose calms by providing gentle stretching of the back and legs. Bridge Pose reduces anxiety, fatigue, backaches, headaches and insomnia.

3. Standing Forward Bend

From standing position, exhale forward and bend your knees enough to bring your palms flat to the floor with your head pressed against your legs
Feel your spine stretch in opposite directions and your head is pulled down and in
Press your hips up and straighten the legs for a deeper stretch
Hold for 4-8 breaths, then bend the knees, inhale and lift back into standing position

This pose calms by stretching the hamstrings, thighs and hips. Standing forward bend is thought to relieve stress, fatigue and mild depression.

4. Legs-Up-The-Wall Pose

Sit with your hips against the wall and roll onto your back, taking your legs up the wall
Your bottom should be pressed as close to the wall as possible
Hold for 5 minutes

This pose calms by reducing stress and renewing blood and lymph drainage back into the heart area.

5. Cat Pose

Begin on all fours, exhale and draw your belly to your spine
Round your back toward the ceiling
Release the crown of your head toward the floor, don’t force your chin to your chest

This pose calms by soothing and stretching the lower back, relieving stress and massaging the spine.

6. Eagle Pose

Begin standing, bend your knees and balance on your right foot
Cross your left thigh over the right thigh, then hook the top of your left foot behind your right calf
Balance for one breath, then extend your arms straight in front of your body and drop your left arm under your right arm
Bend your elbows and wrap your arms and hands, pressing your palms together
Square your hips and chest to the wall and draw your belly in and up
Hold for up to 1 minute, then gently unwind arms and legs and repeat on the opposite side

This pose calms by warding off stress through improved focus and balance. The Eagle pose is an empowerment pose that releases tension in the shoulders, legs and back.

7. Head-to-Knee Forward Bend

Begin seated with your legs extended, then bend your left leg, bringing the sold of the foot to the upper inside of the right thigh
Place both hands on either side of the right leg and inhale, turning toward the extended leg
Exhale and fold forward, hold for 5 breaths then repeat on the opposite side

This pose calms by relaxing the mind to relieve anxiety, fatigue, headaches, depression and insomnia.

8. Extended Triangle Pose

Start standing, exhale, spread legs 4 feet from each other and stretch arms out sideways with palms facing down
Turn your right feet out at a 90-degree angle, turn your left foot in toward the right
Tighten your thigh muscles and turn your right thigh outward, then bend the body from the hips toward the right leg
Twist your body to the left, keeping both sides long, then push your left hip slightly forward
Keep your right hand on your ankles, shin or the floor while stretching your left arm up toward the sky
Keep your head straight or turned slightly to the left, hold this position for 30 seconds

This pose calms by stretching the entire body to relieve stress, improve digestion and lessen the symptoms of anxiety.

h/t: healthy food house

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