The practice has been proven to help you relax and unwind, even on the most anxiety-filled days. The deep breathing we practice in yoga helps calm you, lowering blood pressure, decreasing your heart rate, and focusing your thoughts and attention. The gentle asanas allow you to tune into your body, stretch and strengthen your muscles, release tension, and ease pain.

Yoga also has been shown to decrease the levels of cortisol, or the stress hormone, in the body. It can improve your sleep, digestion, immune system—all of which are impacted by stress.

It can ease depression , sadness, and mood swings by restoring dopamine and serotonin in the brain. Yoga also tones the vagus nerve —otherwise known as the well-being nerve—which, according to research, allows people to more easily shift from a stressed to a relaxed state.

There are many countless, even! benefits of yoga. We asked Jang to share some of her favorite yoga poses for stress relief for a serene at-home practice even in times of chaos. Feeling some stress and tightness around your glute muscles?

Jang recommends practicing this posture. While she chooses to practice this pose with a strap, she says you can opt to come into the shape without props, as well.

Start out by lying on your back, and letting the arms and legs drop open. Close your eyes and take slow deep breaths through the nose—allow your whole body to become soft and heavy.

Consciously release and relax any areas that have tension or tightness. Release all control of the breath, the mind, and the body. Let your body move deeper and deeper into a state of total relaxation. Stay this way for five to 15 minutes. Sit your hips back toward your heels and stretch your arms out in front of you.

Lengthen your neck and spine by drawing your ribs away from your tailbone, and the top of your head away from your shoulders. Keep your arms out in front of you and rest your forehead on your mat or pillow. Stay in that position for at least 10 deep breaths.

This pose can help counteract the negative effects of sitting too long through focused breathing and extension and flexion of the spine. To start out, position yourself on your hands and knees, with your wrists lined up under your shoulders, and your knees directly below your hips.

Point your fingertips towards the top of your mat. Your shins and knees should be hip-width apart. Center your head in a neutral position and turn your gaze downward.

Move into Cow Pose: As you inhale, drop your stomach towards the mat. Lift your head, relax your shoulders away from your ears, and look straight ahead. While exhaling, come into Cat Pose. Draw your stomach to your spine and round your back towards the ceiling. If you have a neck injury, keep your head in line with your torso throughout the Cat-Cow exercise.

Move towards the closest wall with your mat. Position yourself a few inches away from a wall and sit sideways. On the exhale, swing your hips 90 degrees to bring your legs up the wall. Allow your shoulders and head to rest lightly on the floor, relax your arms at your sides, and close your eyes.

Keep your legs firm against the wall, but don't force anything in this pose. If it feels uncomfortable on your lower back, you can prop your lower back up with a blanket or move a few more inches away from the wall.

Related: 5 Reasons You Should Be Doing Yoga. Weekdays - a. to p. Saturdays - a. Sundays - Closed. Select Health may link to other websites for your convenience. Select Health does not expressly or implicitly recommend or endorse the views, opinions, specific services, or products referenced at other websites linked to the Select Health site, unless explicitly stated.

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Some people feel self-conscious doing some of the poses. This is normal. Over time, your confidence will increase. If you want to enjoy yoga benefits on a limited budget, it is possible to learn from a book or video. Another option is to look for a studio that offers donation-based classes. Online yoga classes may also be more financially accessible.

If you can, though, try taking a class in person. Yoga classes can be wonderful for beginners. You are surrounded by people of all levels of expertise and ability, and you will have someone talking you through the process and helping you to learn the correct form.

Aside from taking a class, there are several useful apps that can help you with yoga. Many provide tips to help you learn everything you need to know to make the practice a regular part of your life, enabling you to enjoy yoga's benefits for years to come.

The list of yoga benefits is long. One of the most notable is using yoga for stress relief. That said, this practice isn't for everyone.

So, if the physical practice isn't possible or enjoyable for you, you may want to consider other options for boosting your mental and physical health. That are many mental health strategies focused on self-improvement and many options for reducing stress.

Find what works for your mind and body and do that. Li AW, Goldsmith CA. The effects of yoga on anxiety and stress. Altern Med Rev. Bahçecioğlu Turan G, Tan M. The effect of yoga on respiratory functions, symptom control and life quality of asthma patients: A randomized controlled study.

Complement Ther Clin Pract. Bock BC, Fava JL, Gaskins R, et al. Yoga as a complementary treatment for smoking cessation in women. J Womens Health Larchmt.

Riley KE, Park CL. How does yoga reduce stress? A systematic review of mechanisms of change and guide to future inquiry. Health Psychol Rev. doi: Brown RP, Gerbarg PL.

Sudarshan Kriya yogic breathing in the treatment of stress, anxiety, and depression: Part II—Clinical applications and guidelines. J Alt Compliment Med. Granath J, Ingvarsson S, Von Thiele U, Lundberg U.

Stress management: a randomized study of cognitive behavioural therapy and yoga. Cogn Behav Ther. West J, Otte C, Geher K, Johnson J, Mohr DC. Effects of Hatha yoga and African dance on perceived stress, affect, and salivary cortisol.

Ann Behav Med. By Elizabeth Scott, PhD Elizabeth Scott, PhD is an author, workshop leader, educator, and award-winning blogger on stress management, positive psychology, relationships, and emotional wellbeing. Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising.

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Bend your knees and fold forward from your hips. Let the crown of your head hang toward the ground and be heavy.

Bend your elbows and grasp each elbow with the opposite hand. Hold here for 10 seconds to a minute, going deeper into the pose with each exhalation. How it helps relieve stress: Stress and anxiety in most people are concentrated in their lower back, neck, or shoulders, Jain says. By doing this pose, you let go of that weight in the upper body.

One caveat: People with a herniated disk or high blood pressure should avoid this pose. Sit on the floor with your legs extended in front of you.

Bend your right knee and place your right foot against your left thigh. Sitting tall, extend both arms over your head as you stretch up. Exhale and bend forward from your hips over the left leg, keeping your neck elongated and shoulders relaxed. As you inhale, extend your spine longer, and as you exhale, fold over your leg more.

Hold for 10 to 60 seconds. Release and repeat with the opposite leg extended. This pose works against that. Lie face up on the floor with your arms extended to the sides at shoulder height, palms facing up. Bring your knees to your chest and slowly drop them to the right. Keeping your left shoulder on the floor, turn your head to the left and hold for 10 to 30 seconds.

Release your knees to center and repeat to the other side. How it helps relieve stress: This gentle spinal twist massages your abdomen to relieve digestive discomfort , Jain says. It also helps release tension in your spine. Many people think they have to do yoga for an hour or many days a week to get the benefits.

Find more easy yoga poses, stretches, and low-impact workouts for all levels here. Shohani M, Badfar G, Nasirkandy MP, et al.

The effect of yoga on stress, anxiety, and depression in women. Int J Prev Med. Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising. Use profiles to select personalised advertising.

Create profiles to personalise content. Use profiles to select personalised content. Measure advertising performance. Measure content performance. Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources. Develop and improve services.

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Karen Asp, MA, CPT, VLCE. Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines. Medically reviewed by Samina Ahmed Jauregui, PsyD. Samina Ahmed Jauregui is a specialty trained sleep psychologist with expertise in non-pharmaceutical, behavioral treatment of sleep disorders.

Other areas of mental health expertise include chronic illness management, pain management, and mood and anxiety difficulties that impact physical health and wellness.

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