Stress, a Modern Epidemic

In my journey as a yoga teacher, I always try to be updated about health, wellness, and other subjects that can enrich my practice and share with my students. I have noticed that more and more scientific studies are being published that show the benefits of yoga to treat diseases of the most varied origins.

One of them, I have seen advancing outside the classroom and in the students that enter the classroom, is stress. I attribute this growth to modern life, which overloads and imbalances our physiological functions and our general state of health. This modern evil can trigger numerous diseases from heart disease to cancer.

Yoga is effective in mitigating the effects of stress as the practice helps maintain homeostasis and physical and mental harmony. Yes, reducing negative emotional states helps minimize the health effects of stress. I am not saying that we should eliminate all stress from our lives because that would be impossible and not good for our health.

There is a positive version of stress, eustress, that can motivate us and make us happier. This is unlike the negative variety of stress, distress, which causes fear and anxiety and puts us in a state of high alert, reducing our ability to cope and react effectively to stressors.

A daily amount of positive stress will not harm you and can even improve your health. One of my recommendations for adding positive stress to your life is establishing the habit of taking cold showers. Despite the discomfort in the first few days, over time, the body gets used to it. From a neuroplastic point of view, this happens because the brain starts to recognize a cold shower as something good.

Read the full article here: 12 Kaiut Yoga – December 2022 – Stress, a modern epidemic