10 hatha yoga poses to help eliminate stress

Those who are passionate about yoga will certainly be no stranger to hatha yoga. This is also one of the most popular yoga schools in Vietnam. Hatha yoga is suitable for everyone, and hatha yoga poses can be a great solution to help you reduce stress, relieve anxiety, and regain balance in your mind.

Hatha yoga poses promote calmness and balance in life. They are often associated with meditation and intentionality. The essence of hatha yoga is that it is a wonderful practice and extremely effective in reducing stress. Therefore, do not rush to skip the easy hatha yoga poses that easyhealthylive.com shares below.

1. Mountain Pose (tadasana)

This is one of the basic yet powerful hatha yoga poses – a great way to start your workout. Tadasana is not simply standing with feet shoulder width apart, arms extended to the sides, eyes looking straight ahead.

Mountain pose is a great way to strengthen the ankles, thighs, and knees. This pose helps the practitioner pay more attention to their posture and breathing.

Doing

• Stand up straight, feet shoulder width apart, hands at sides
• Squeeze your thighs, lift your knees gently, and don’t harden your abs. Slightly stretched ankles
• Keep your back straight
• Imagine a ray of light traveling along the ankles, thighs, spine, neck, then to the head. Slowly look upwards.
• Inhale, stretch your shoulders and reach your arms up. You can raise your heels so the weight is on your toes
• Feel the stretch in your body from head to toe. Hold the pose for a few seconds then exhale slowly and relax.

2. Tree Pose (vrksasana)

When it comes to hatha yoga poses, you won’t be able to ignore the tree pose. Vrksasana is an advanced mountain pose that improves the practitioner’s balance and concentration: Place one foot on top of the thigh of the supporting leg.

This pose not only helps strengthen the muscles in the legs but is also an ideal way to dispel a stressful, tiring day at work. Because you can’t think of your irritable co-worker while trying to keep your balance while standing on one leg, right!

Doing

• Stand up straight, arms relaxed
• Do not lock the knee joint and place the stool on the left thigh, not on the knee
• The left leg stands straight and keeps the body in balance
• Inhale and gently bring your arms up or clasp your hands in front of your chest
• Looking straight at a point will help you keep your balance
• Keep your back straight, let your body relax, take a deep breath. Hold the pose for 20 seconds
• Slowly bring your hands down to your sides, drop your right leg down
• Return to the starting position and repeat with the left leg

3. Stretching Angle Pose (utthita parsvakonasana)

A basic hatha yoga pose with side angle extension, brings balance and strength to yogis, and helps reduce waist fat. Now, you might think that a smaller waist has nothing to do with stress relief, so consider this.

Stretching to the side will help the digestive system work much more efficiently. Those who suffer from stomach diseases know that a healthy digestive system helps them reduce stress significantly.

Doing

• Start standing in mountain pose and then step one foot wide
• 2 hands out to the side, 2 heels to align
• Rotate right foot to the right, turn right hip outward, and bend right knee 90°. The right thigh should be kept horizontal, the right knee should be in line with the right ankle.
• Reach to the right, placing your right hand on the floor. The left arm is stretched out, close to the left ear. Tension
• Keeping the left leg straight, press the edge of the left heel into the floor
• Hold this pose for a few seconds and then slowly return to mountain pose and then the basic position to relax the body
• Continue doing the left side

4. Standing posture bent forward

Whenever you are stressed and want to practice hatha yoga poses, never skip the standing forward bend. When you do this pose, blood will be promoted and oxygenated to the brain. This solves the problem when you have a headache, stress. It also helps you heal and rejuvenate your body.

Doing

• Stand in mountain pose, hands on hips
• Exhale and bend forward from the hip joints, not from the waist
• With your knees straight, bring your palms or fingertips to the floor in front of or next to your feet, or bring your palms behind your ankles. If that’s not possible, reach for your forearm and hold your elbow.
• Press your heels firmly into the floor and lift your hips toward the ceiling. Turn the upper thigh slightly inward
• With each inhalation, lift and lengthen your torso forward slightly. Exhale and relax forward. Let the head hang down.
• Hold the pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Don’t roll your spine to get up. Instead, bring your hands back to your hips and bend your torso. Then, press the tailbone down into the pelvis and inhale.

5. Cat Pose (marjaryasana)

Marjaryasana or cat pose is a hatha yoga pose with a curled back described by yogis as “cat and cow”. This pose helps you massage your back and spine. When you breathe deeply and focus on the movement of your body, you will let go of stress.

Doing

• Take a standing position on your hands and knees like a table. Keep your hands, knees and feet in a straight line
• Hands are shoulder-width apart and keep a 90° angle to the floor. Knees hip-width apart.
• Face facing forward
• Inhale and tilt your head slightly, bringing your chin toward your chest. Curl your back as much as you can and squeeze your hips
• Breathe deeply and slowly. Hold the pose for a few breaths
• Then slowly exhale and return to the starting position
• Perform about 5-6 times and combine with the cow pose

6. Bridge Pose

According to yoga experts, this is one of the recognized hatha yoga poses that can help relieve anxiety, fatigue, back pain, headaches, and insomnia. In fact, the bridge pose even cures high blood pressure.

Doing

• Start by lying on your back on the mat. Knees up. Feet hip-width apart, firmly planted on the floor.
• Keep your arms along your body, palms facing the floor. The chin is slightly drawn towards the chest to relax the nape of the neck
• Simply raise your hips so that your body slopes in a straight line from your knees to your head and upper body. Combination of rhythmic breathing
• Hold the position and inhale. Then exhale slowly placing each part down (upper middle back, lower back, finally hips).
• Repeat this pose for 6-8 breaths
• Finally, when you’re done, bring your knees to your chest and hug them while relaxing your shoulders. Roll your back slowly on the floor to feel your back pressing on the floor

7. Half moon pose

Half moon pose is one of the hatha yoga poses that bring balance and stability in the body. It helps you push away fatigue, anxiety and regain balance in your mind. Besides, this move also strengthens your legs and ankles.

Doing:

• Perform the right angled position, with the left hand on the left hip
• Inhale, bend your right knee and bring your left leg forward about 15 or 30 cm. Simultaneously bring your right hand forward, beyond the little finger by at least 30 cm
• Exhale, pressing the right foot and right heel firmly into the floor. Keep your right leg straight while lifting your left leg parallel to the floor. Actively open the left heel to keep the leg elevated.
• Make sure the kneecap is aligned and not turned inward
• Rotate your upper body to the left, keeping the left hip moving gently. Most beginners should keep the left hand on the left hip and the head in a neutral position, looking forward
• Gently press your hand on the floor to adjust the balance
• Hold the pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Then, lower the raised leg to the floor while exhaling and return to the extended triangle. Relax and then do it with the left side

8. Legs up the wall pose (viparita karani)

If the cobra pose helps you to become aware of the heart, the foot up the wall pose affirms that the heart is truly nourished. Viparita karani is a pose where yogis lie on their backs with their legs straight up against a wall.

Many people believe that this pose helps blood and lymph flow back into the heart. Whether that’s true or not, this pose is still one of the most relaxing hatha yoga poses when you want to relieve stress.

Doing

• Perform leg rest on the wall so that the body is perpendicular to the wall, 2 feet pressed firmly against the wall
• 2 hands down along the body, so that the palm is facing up or down
• Close your eyes and focus your mind on breathing slowly. Breathe in and out at regular intervals
• Hold the pose for about 10-15 minutes and then lower your legs. Note, bend your legs and bend your knees gently. Then hug your knees tightly, arch your body and head up. Lie on your side and relax for a moment, then sit up.

9. Baby Pose (balasana)

Baby Pose is known to be one of the great hatha yoga poses to relieve stress and anxiety. This pose requires the practitioner to curl up into a ball with the knees under the body and the chest close to the mat.

For many people, this pose can be comfortable because it is soothing when you have a strained back, neck, shoulder, or hip strain. This is also a nervous system restorative pose. You can do this move after a long stressful day to regain mental comfort.

Doing

• Start by sitting on your knees on the floor and sitting on your heels. When you feel comfortable, extend your knees and hips and breathe evenly.
• Bend forward and between your thighs. Let your toes and head touch the floor, neck relaxed. Expiratory
• Slowly widen your hips. Extend your arms straight forward, palms down
• Relax your shoulders and you will feel the weight of your shoulders, your belly relaxes on your thighs
• Hold the pose for about 30 seconds to 1 minute or longer if possible
• Relax, breathe evenly and slowly raise your body back to the starting position.

10. Corpse Pose (Savasana)

You may find the hatha yoga poses above unsuitable, but do not rush to ignore this pose. Savasana is simply lying down on the mat and closing your eyes. Small, deliberate movements like these can make a big difference in your stress levels.

Corpse pose can trigger the relaxation response inside the body, helping to relieve and release stress. With this pose, you need to slow your breathing, lower your blood pressure and improve your overall mood.

Doing

• Lie on your back and if you feel cold, cover yourself with a thin blanket
• Arms relaxed, kept straight; Turn your palm upside down and fingers slightly flexed. Feet spaced apart.
• Close your eyes and keep your body completely still as if dead. Do not move a single muscle
• Pay attention to focus on your breath and feel the peace and coolness.

With easyhealthylive.com relieve stress with hatha yoga poses

easyhealthylive.com is a smart app that helps you connect with your yogi 4.0 trainer easily. Thus, after a tiring day of work, you can choose an ideal quiet space to practice without having to go to class and still be guided by the coach in detail and exactly each movement.

Reference source

10 Hatha yoga poses for stress relief https://yogaclub.com/blogs/news/10-hatha-yoga-poses-for-stress-relief Accessed 14/2/2020

Yoga for anxiety https://www.yogajournal.com/poss/yoga-by-benefit/anxiety Accessed 14/02/2020