Simple yoga for times of stress

Your yoga practice doesnt have to be complicated or take a long time in order to be effective. Some of our wonderful yoga teachers share their top tools for staying grounded and easing stress and overwhelm in everyday life.

“A daily meditation” Andrea Kwiatkowski          

My top tips for keeping stress at bay are firstly, do a 12 minute meditation every day. I find if I do that early on in the day, I can really put things into perspective. Secondly, go outside. Get some fresh air. Move around a bit. Lastly, practise a gratitude diary. At the end of each day, think about three things, three people, three situations that you’re really grateful for in your life. This can help put everything into perspective

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“Legs up against the wall”, Laura Gilmore

One of the best things to do is simply to lie and put your legs up the wall, or you could even put your legs onto a bed. Just get your bottom close to the bed or the wall or whatever it is that you’re using. Bend the legs if you’re going on the bed, and otherwise just reach them up. If you have got like a cushion or something you can place under your pelvis, this will open the diaphragm and the ribcage and the chest so the breath deepens naturally. All you need to do is get the top of the shoulders under and relax. A few minutes there, and you’ll feel totally renewed.

My second option I thought I’d share with you is simply using the breath as a way of stabilizing the mind. Sit with your spine quite upright. If you lean against the wall, make sure you’re not leaning back – keep the crown of your head over the tailbone – and then just watch your ‘in’ breath. Notice that the ribcage is broadening. Watch your out breath, and then after a few breaths in that way, start to notice the pause between the inhale and the exhale, and the little pause between the exhale and the inhale. Just do this for a few breaths keeping an awareness of four parts of the breath, inhale, pause, exhale, pause.

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“ A simple Hand Mudra”, Joanna Najduch

Hand mudras are just yoga for your hands, and the one I’m going to share with you is prithvi mudra. “Prithvi” means “earth” in Sanskrit. So you’re going to take your thumb and your ring finger together and press those digits, and the rest of the fingers can just be spread gently open and place the back of the hands onto your knees.

You can take this mudra as a when you need it, or you can come into it in meditation for a few moments each morning to set you up for your day. Prithvi mudra eliminates any deficit in the root Chakra, so it’s really good for strengthening your foundation, helping to keep you grounded and focused, and the way the fingers are placed stimulates blood flow to the skin, and the hair, and the nails. It also improves your sense of smell.

I’d just like you to close your eyes. Take this mudra and sit quietly for a few moments preferably on the ground so you can feel that connection to the earth. Then as you inhale, feel as though you’re inhaling the energy from the earth all the way up to the crown. Hold it inside the body for a few moments. And as you exhale, feel that energy increasing as you send it back down into the earth. Just feel a sense of calm, and wellbeing, and strength. Your affirmation whilst holding prithvi mudra: “The power of the earth gives me confidence, security, strength, and focus.”

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Destination Yoga has been running truly unique yoga retreats of the highest quality for over 10 years and has an array of fantastic trips on offer, pairing some of the best yoga teachers in Europe with simply stunning destinations – The perfect restorative getaway for individuals or groups of yogis of all abilities.

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