STRESS MANAGEMENT RESEARCH WITH YOGA

Abstract

There are a lot of annoyances, deadlines, frustrations, and demands in modern life. Stress has grown so frequent for many people that it has become a way of life for them. Stress isn't always detrimental. When confronted with difficult and even dangerous situations, stress is a natural human response to pressure. That pressure comes from not only what is going on around us, but also from the demands we impose on ourselves. Stress is defined as "a situation characterised by a syndrome that encompasses all non-specifically caused changes in the biological system" (Selye, 1976b, p. 64). The influence of a stressful incident on our health is determined by how we perceive it and how we respond to it. The events in our life may drive and energise us, or they may "stress" us and cause us to react in ways that are harmful to our physical, mental, and social well-being. We can learn to handle stress more efficiently by better understanding ourselves and our reactions to stressful events. Stress management, in its most realistic sense, is not about learning how to avoid or escape the stresses and turbulence of modern life; rather, it is about learning to recognise how the body reacts to these stressors and developing skills to help the body adjust. Many studies have revealed that yoga and pranayama can be used to manage and combat stress. Yoga is an ancient science that started in India.