Best Yoga Poses To Relieve Stress

Stress and anxiety deplete all our energy.  Feeling nervous, increased heart rate, rapid breathing, feeling exhausted, troubled concentrating, etc., are the symptoms of stress and anxiety. Practicing yoga can help enhance mental health, facilitate relaxation, and decrease irritability. 

Essentially, it is a mind-body practice to control the stress response that induces physiological changes in your body. One of the best ways to effectively relieve stress and anxiety is to adopt appropriate poses of yoga to relax. This is because yoga poses to relieve stress release physical blockages such as muscle knots which help alleviate mental tension. 

Are you fascinated to relieve stress with yoga? If yes then continue reading the below sections:

Best Yoga Poses To Relieve Stress And Anxiety

Here’s the detail of 4 best yoga poses to relieve stress:

1. The Forward Fold:

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Forward fold is one of the best yoga poses for stress relief for beginners. You can practice it in either standing or seated to relieve stress with yoga.

How To Do Forward Fold Yoga Pose?

• Begin with breathing deeply. Firstly, slow your breath and peacefully take certain long inhales and exhales. 
• If you want to practice this pose in a seated position, you need to sit on the floor with your legs extended. Now slightly bend in your knees. 
• Gradually as you keep breathing deeply, take your hands in front of you.
• When you lower down your chest towards your thighs, slowly relax your neck and hand.
• Gradually drop your head beneath your heart. This step slows down your heart rate and calms your mind. So, for those people concerned with stress issues due to increased heart rate, this pose of yoga to relax is more suitable.

Note: You can forward fold from a standing position. For that, either allow your arms to swing or hold opposite elbows for attaining a position called ‘rag doll’.

Benefits Of Forward Fold Pose:

• Stretches the whole backside of the body from head to heels
• Relieves the nervous system and boost introspection
• Boosts circulation to the pelvic organs

2. Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana):

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It is now straightforward to relieve stress with yoga with the help of the ‘Prasarita Padottanasana’ yoga pose.  Out of the various yoga poses for stress relief for beginners, this one is easy to practice.

How to do the Prasarita Padottanasana yoga pose?

• Place your feet parallel to each other, and then put your hands over your hips. 
• Inhale, lift your chest, and through an exhale, you need to bend forward from your hip joints to attain a forward bend position. 
• Put your hands (shoulder-distance apart) on the floor and with fingers aligned with your toes.
• Slowly release your head on the way to the floor. 
• Bear this pose for 10 breaths. 
• Inhale, lay flat back, and align your hands to your hips
• Drop the muscles of your buttocks to stay still.
• Touch your feet together with your hands and walk at the front of your mat to attain Child’s Pose. Now take your knees towards the floor and sit on your heels.
• Finally, fold forward by placing your head on the floor.

This is one of the recommended yoga poses for stress relief for beginners and advanced yoga practitioners. The reason is it has the benefits of a forward bend with the comfort of the head touching a prop, which also releases some of the pressure in the head.

Benefits Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana):

• Since the head would touch a prop, this yoga poses releases pressure in the head
• Improves hip joint flexibility
• Works as a semi inversion
• The symmetrical shape of your body attained during this pose keeps your sacroiliac joint, pelvis, and spine quiet and neutral. 
• The active rooting of legs and feet make sure your upper body becomes receptive

3. Thunderbolt Pose (Vajrasana) With Eagle (Garudasana) Arms:

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Thunderbolt Pose (Vajrasana) with Eagle (Garudasana) arms is one of the most suitable yoga poses for stress relief for beginners. Practicing this pose of yoga to relax the mind and body involves twisting and stretching. This pose lets you create a broad back which is the opposite of the process that takes place when we are in stress mode. 

How To Do Thunderbolt Pose (Vajrasana) With Eagle (Garudasana) Arms?

• Bow and sit back on your heels. 
• To attain the position of Eagle arms, you need to bend your elbows and take the right elbow towards the left. Make sure the backs of your hands are facing one another. 
• Now pass your right hand in front of your left hand. Bring the palms together, and thumbs must point toward your nose’s tips.
• Hold this pose of Yoga to relax stress for 5 breaths. Finally, reverse your arms and again hold them for 5 breaths.

Thunderbolt Pose (Vajrasana) With Eagle (Garudasana) Arms Benefits:

• Tones the pelvic muscles and improves posture
• It encourages deep breathing to relieve stress with yoga. 
• The process of wrapping of arms in front aids opening of the back of the lungs. Thus, this is one of the best yoga poses for stress relief for beginners because it increases the capability to y breathe deeply.
• Increases mental focus and balance

4. Plow Pose (Halasana):

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Plow Pose (Halasana) is one of the ideal yoga poses to relieve stress because it releases shoulders, head, neck, and hamstrings. Both for beginners and advanced users, it is a recommended pose of yoga to relax. This is because it alleviates the stress-induced mental barriers and thus enhances the physical and mental well-being of the users. Here’s more detail on the benefits of Plow Pose.

How To Do The Plow Pose (Halasana)? 

• Firstly, lie down with your head over the mat. 
• Now swing your legs back and on your head. Subsequently, place your toes on the floor. 
• Hold on to this pose for 10 breaths. 
• You now need to slowly roll out of this pose and keep your head back.

Benefits Of Plow Pose (Halasana)

• This yoga pose is therapeutic for insomnia and body aches 
• When stretching muscles, it also excites the thyroid gland
• Divert the blood circulation from the body’s lower extremities to the upper extremities
• Improves flexibility of joints and muscles 

Best Yoga mat to buy for relieving stress and anxiety:

Safety and comfort are prime aspects to consider when you perform any pose of yoga to relax your stress. A quality yoga mat helps the users to comfortably and effectively practice various yoga poses to relieve stress. 

Different yoga poses for stress relief for beginners as well as advanced users can be effectively accomplished using a suitable yoga mat.

Here’s the detail of the best yoga mat you can try in Australia to practice the desired pose and relieve stress with yoga:

Ludere Play Mats

Don’t get befuddled just yet. The Ludere playmats are perfect for new mommies who don’t want the hassle of multiple mats in the same house. 

These mats are soft and ideal for both baby and mama bear. 

Take a look at these Ludere mats 

Affordable Yoga Mat For Beginner

Check out this affordable Yoga mat that can be used for multiple other things besides yoga. It’s made with amazing materials and comes with a bag as well as a strap.

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Yoga Mat Cum Massager

If you’ve been looking for a Yoga mat with acupressure points built-in, you’re in luck. This amazing mat is perfect for you.

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Conclusions

If you want to relieve stress with yoga; you can consider any of the discussed yoga poses because they efficiently alleviate anxiety and stress. Along with alleviating these two parameters, these yoga poses to relieve stress also convey plenty of other health benefits. 

When practised for a few minutes every day on your preferred yoga mat, these yoga poses significantly improve your mental well-being.