Stress, Yoga and Weight Loss
- Nov 9, 2014
- 3 min read
Stress, Yoga and Weight Loss
Thousands of years ago when our ancestors had to survive during the caveman/hunter gatherer period, it was necessary to have an instant fight or flight system to handle dangerous situations. If a dangerous animal or human invader was about to attack us, this emotional response was often life-saving. A nervous impulse was required so that our bodies sent a good dose of adrenalin into the bloodstream so that our muscles became turbo-charged to deal with the situation or escape. We had no time to sit around and the sensitivity of our inbuilt alarm system was paramount. Now it seems that this inbuilt survival mechanism has become more of a life destroying mechanism.
Our brains are still programmed for jungle living, the rapid release of adrenalin, constricting blood vessels, fast heartbeat and heavy chest breathing are all part of the fight or flight system which can cause us all kinds of problems in our everyday lives. In our jobs and in our social interactions we tend to focus on mole hills and turn them into mountains, even when our lives are not in immediate danger. Surely this cannot be right? Prolonged time in this fight or flight state can cause serious internal imbalances leading to weight gain or unhealthy weight loss and this state is what has become known as STRESS.
The fight or flight response would usually have been followed by heavy fighting or running, but nowadays this is not the case. Lots of powerful hormones are released including cortisol and insulin causing a number of internal imbalances. The cortisol tells your body to replace energy that it has not used, leaving you feeling hungry, and if the stress continues, so does the release of cortisol and the feeling of hunger. In these situations we usually crave for high sugar or high fat foods. Cortisol also causes blood sugar to hike, triggering the release of insulin that will then take the sugar out of the blood and store it as fat. This is how Yoga works to help with weight loss. It helps reduce stress levels to bring our hormones back into balance so we have better control over our appetite and we don’t have rapid releases of cortisol and insulin that are responsible either directly or indirectly for causing fat to be stored.
According to Yoga wisdom, stress causes an internal imbalance which eventually leads to chronic physical and mental disorders; therefore we should not remain in a contant stressful state for too long. Yoga can help to increase the awareness of this state and to give us the coping skills to deal with the demands of the outside world.
Not having these internal coping skills can lead to various responses and behaviours from our bodies:
Lack of concentration
Difficulty making decisions
Low confidence
Worry
Lack of emotional control
Smoking
Forgetfulness
Working obsessively
Accident proneness
Poor diet
Poor sleep
Unhealthy weight loss or weight gain
Inability to sit still
The Good News
Stress can be controlled. Yoga can teach us the skills that can help us avoid running away from stress and using harmful forms of escapism (smoking, drinking, overeating etc) so that we can identify harmful internal stress and deal with it. The ancient yogis had profound knowledge of man’s essential nature and what he needs to live happily with himself and the world around him. The practice of yoga, which includes more than attending a class once a week, provides us with the tools and awareness to identify stress at an early stage and to handle it gracefully.
Start with these 5 tips:
Be aware of how you are breathing all the time, chest breathing indicates stress, breathe through your nose and stomach
Improve your diet
Take 10 minutes per day to spend alone to observe your thoughts
Be grateful for what you have, don’t attach yourself to things you don’t have
Do 5-10 Sun Salutations each day (Video to follow soon)
References:
Yoga for Stress Relief, Bharat Thakur
Yoga & Stress Management, Yatendra Pal
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