Stress Management Strategies

by K.V.Anjaneyulu

What is Stress?

Normally human beings will have  DREAMS. Our former President Sri A.P.J.Abdul Kalam used to advise people by saying,-

“Don’t dream about beauty,it spoils your duty.

Dream about your duty, it takes your life to beauty”

To achieve your dream, you must be successful.  To be successful you should not have any failure. Even if you had failed, you can find out the reason for failure. To be successful you may have to do hard work.

“Men do not die from over work.

They die from dissipation and worry”.

Mr.Charles Hugher, Former Chief Justice of

Supreme Court of USA
The worry experienced by a person in particular circumstances is known as STRESS.

   Stress is a state of physical and mental tension caused by certain external or internal factors in a person’s life. Nowadays Stress is common among people.

Types of Stress :

• Family Stress: (Parents / Children)
• Social Stress (Speech in a Meeting)
• Change Stress (Change in Office, Change in Department, Leaving a house.)
• Chemical Stress (Smoking, Alcohol, Sweet)
• Decision Stress (Office,  Family  –  marriage of children)
• Physical Stress (Failing to get sleep, injury, etc.)
• Disease Stress (Headache, Asthma, Ulcer, etc.)
• Workplace Stress (Mental Tension – If they are not achieving the task, they will experience mental tension)
• Environment Stress (Noisy type writer, glare of the sun, smoke filled rooms.)

Stress is of two types: positive and negative.

Positive Stress (Eustress)      Positive Stress  enables concentration and increases performance.

Negative Stress (Distress)  Negative Stress reduces effectiveness.  Due to Negative Stress people will have Physical, mental and behavioural problems

Health – related Problems :

Stress causes increase in breathing rate, headache, back pain, chest pain, heart rate increases, high blood pressure, muscle tightness, hand shake, etc.  Long term physical stress may lead to sleeplessness.

What is Health?

Health is the state of being “well”.

What is Managing?

Managing is ‘to be able to cope with, despite difficulties.”

What is illness?

Absence of wellbeing in any manner is defined as illness.

Change your I-LLNESS  to WE-LLNESS

(Instead of being ‘I’ (selfish), better to be with ‘WE” (with people))

If you are not Healthy, you may not really by Happy.

If you are not Happy, you may not really be Successful.

If you are not successful, you may not Develop.

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So you must take care of your Health, especially to cope with negative stress.

The Great Wheel of our Life is –

Family, Career and Finance is Outer acknowledgement.

For example:  If any family member gets bad name, entire family will get bad name and the  family  may not be acknowledged by others. 

If an individual person  has taken an average career, people may not acknowledge such person in certain things.

 Similarly, acknowledgement depends on finance position of the individual / family.  People must try to improve their income step by step.   To get good acknowledgement, the individual / family members must be active. Even though they are active, they may not achieve their goals.   

    Physical, Mental and Spiritual action is inner fitness.  This dream can be achieved by any body by regular practice.

Physical, Mental and Spiritual aspects ensure Inner fitness.

Practice of Yoga, Pranayama and Meditation help us to regain our Inner fitness.

Y O G A

• Yoga is a perfect practical system of self-culture.
• Yoga is an exact science.  It aims at the harmonious development of the body, the mind and the soul.
• Yoga is the turning away of the senses from the objective universe and the concentration of the mind within.
• Yoga is eternal life in the soul of spirit.
• Yoga aims at controlling the mind and its modifications.
• Yoga is the discipline of the mind, senses and physical body.
• Yoga can help you in your business and in your daily life.
• Yoga can have calmness of mind at all times by the practice of yoga.  You can have restful sleep.  You can have increased energy, vigor, longevity and a high standard of health.

Types of Yoga :

1. Bhakti Yoga
2. Karma Yoga
3. Raja Yoga,
4. Jnana Yoga
5. Hatha Yoga, etc.

HATHA YOGA

• ‘Ha” and ‘tha’ means the union of the Sun and the Moon and Prana and Apana Vayus.  ‘Hatha’ means any tenacious practice till the object or end is achieved.
• Attain good health. Without health how can you live?  Without health, how can you earn?  Without health how can you get success in Yoga or any undertaking?  Possess wonderful health through the practice of Hatha Yoga.

YOGA ASANAS

• Health is Wealth.  Health is indeed a covetable possession.  Good health is a valuable asset to one and all.  It can be achieved by the regular practice of Yoga Asanas.  The practice of Asanas cures many diseases.
• Practice a few Asanas daily at least for a period of 15 minutes.  You will possess wonderful health.  Be regular in your practice.  Asanas should be done on empty stomach in the morning or at least 3 hours after food. Do not wear spectacles when you do Asanas.  Be moderate in your diet.  Start with minimum time for each Asana and then gradually increase the period.  Boys and girls over 10 years of age as well as women can practice Asanas.

• There are 84 Asanas.  Let us use the most important Asanas for newly participating people.

 PADMASANA

Sit on the ground. Place the right foot on the left thigh and similarly the left one on the right high. Place the hands on the thighs near the knee joint keeping the palms open and turned upwards. Close the eyes and concentrate on Trikuti. This is Padmasana. TRIKUTI means “the confluence of the three”.   So in Padmasana, the interval between the eye-brows and the junction of the forehead and the nose is Trikuti.

SIDDHASANA

Place one heel at the anus. Keep the other heel at the root of the generative organ. Close the yes. Concentrate and do Japa and meditation on this Asana. Padmasana and Siddhasana are most suitable for meditation.Start practicing for half an hour and gradually increase the period to three hours. When you sit on the Asana, there must not be the least shake in the body. You must become a live marble statue. In the beginning, the body feels heavy. Later on when Asana Siddhi is obtained, you will feel a real pleasure and the body becomes very light. The body becomes your willing servant to obey your commands

SUKHASANA

Any comfortable Asana in which you can sit for a long time is Sukhasana. You must be careful to keep the head, neck and the trunk in one straight line. The above three Asanas are intended for Japa and Meditation.There are several other Asanas that are intended for keeping up Brahmacharya and good health and for awakening Kundalini

SIRSHASANA

Sirshasana is the king of all Asanas. Spread a four-fold blanket. Rest the head inside the locked fingers and slowly raise the legs up. Stay in this position for some time. Then slowly bring down the legs without jerks. Take the help of a wall or any of your friends. Do it for a minute and increase the period to 5 to 10 minutes. It removes diseases of the eyes, nerves, blood, stomach, intestines, gonorrhea, spermatorrhoea, dyspepsia, constipation. It augments the digestive fire, and improves appetite. It helps as blood and nervine tonic. Intellectual faculties develop. It helps Brahmacharya and makes you an Oordhvareta yogi.

SARVANGASANA

Lie down flat on the back. Slowly raise the legs to vertical position. Support the trunk with the palms of your hands. The whole body rests upon two shoulders. Press the chin against the chest. Concentrate on the thyroid-gland that is situated at the root of the neck. Do it from 3 to 10 minutes. Slowly bring down the legs. All the benefits of Sirshasana are derived from this Asana also.

MATSYASANA

Do Padmasana. Lie on the back. Hold the head by the two elbows. This is one variety. Stretch the head back so that the centre of the head rests on the ground and catch hold of the toes. Form an arch of the trunk. This is a contrary Asana to Sarvangasana. This must be done after Sarvangasana to realize the maximum benefits.

MAYURASANA

Place the palm of the two hands on the ground. Place the navel on the two elbows. Stand upon the hands, the legs being raised in the air plain or crossed with Padmasana. This destroys the effect of unwholesome food. Take the help of the end of a table. Practise ( here) like this in the beginning.

PASCHIMOTTANA SANA

Sit. Stretch the legs on the ground stiff like a stick. Exhale and then catch the toes with the hands. Bend slowly and place the forehead on the knees. Keep the lungs empty when you bend. This will drive out all diseases of the stomach. Do this five or six times in the morning and again in the evening. Do Asanas (with) on an empty stomach.

PRANAYAMA

• Pranayama is an exact science.  It is the regularation of breath or control of Prana.
• Pranayama steadies the mind, augments the gastric fire, energises digestion, invigorates the nerves, destroys all diseases, removes all laziness,and makes the body light and healthy.
• Pranayama should be practiced when the stomach is empty. Be regular in your practice. Do not take bath immediately after the practice.  Do not have retention of breath in the beginning. Have only slow and mild inhalation (Puraka) and exhalation (Rechaka). Do not strain the breath beyond your capacity.
• Sit on Padma, Siddha or Sukha Asana.  Keep the head, neck and trunk in a straight line.  Inhale slowly through the left nostril and retain the breath according to the ratio, then exhale slowly through the right nostril.  This is half process of Pranayama.  Then inhale through the right nostril, retain and exhale through the left nostril.  Do not retain the breath for more than one or two minutes.

Increase the number gradually.  You can go up to 16 : 64 : 32.  This is Sukhapurvaka or easy comfortable Pranayama.

• Prana and Mind are intimately related to each other.  If you control Prana, the mind will also be controlled.  If you control the mind, the Prana will be automatically controlled. Prana is related to mind, and through it to the individual soul and through individual soul to the Supreme soul.
• Start the practice this very second in right earnest.  Control the breath and calm the mind.  Steady the breath.  Restrain the breath and lengthen the life. Subdue the breath and become a Yogi, a dynamo of power, peace, bliss and happiness.

CONTROL OF MIND

• Mind is Atma Sakti.
• Mind is nothing but a collection of impressions. It is nothing but a bundle of habits.  The true nature of the Mind consists in the subtle desires. The idea of ‘I’ or egoism is the seed of the tree of mind. The sprout which spings up from this seed egoism is intellect.  From this sprout the ramifying branches called Sankalpas take their origin.
• Mind is of two kinds  –  (1) Asuddha  (impure mind) and (2) Suddha (pure mind).
• Have no longing for objects.  Reduce your wants.  Cultivate dispassion.
• Do not mix with others much.  Do not talk much.  Do not walk much.  Do not eat much.  Do not sleep much.
• Control your emotion.  Abandon desires.  Control irritability and lust.  Slay the impure mind through the pure mind and transcend the pure mind through Meditation.
• Never wrest with the mind.  Do not make (you) any violent effort in concentration.  When the mind is jumping and wandering much, make no violent effort to control it but rather allow it to run along for a while and exhaust its efforts.  It will take advantage of the opportunity and will jump around like an unchained monkey at first.  Then it will gradually become quiet and look to you for orders.
• ‘If evil thoughts enter your mind, do not use your will-force in driving them.  You will lose energy.  You will tax your will.  You will fatigue yourself.  The greater the efforts you make, the more the evil thoughts will return with redoubled force.  They will return more quickly also.  The thoughts will become more powerful.  Be indifferent.  Keep quiet.  Become a silent witness of those thoughts.  Do not identify yourself with them. They will vanish soon.  Substitute good thoughts.  Pray and sing the Lord’s name.
• Never miss for a day your meditation.  Regularity is of paramount importance.  When the mind is tired, it does not concentrate.  Give a little rest.  Do not take heavy food at night.  This will interfere with your morning meditation.
• Pranayama and Meditation will help you to control the mind and attain eternal bliss and immortality.

MEDITATION

• To everyone striving for success in life, the invariable stumbling block proves to be the turbulent state of the mind. The mind is to be brought to its source. Unfortunately, we cannot know where the mind is unless it starts working, like the thief whose presence is known from his activities.
• As long as the mind is restlessly wandering about amidst objects, ever fluctuating, excited, agitated and uncontrolled, (this) true joy cannot be realized and enjoyed.  To control the restless mind and perfectly still all thoughts and craving is the greatest problem of man.  If he has subjugated the mind, he is the Emperor of emperorers.

• “When the Mind becomes Nirvishaya of Sense (free from thinking of objects and their enjoyments), it is Meditation”.
• You can meditate only when the mind is beyond all anxieties.  Retire to a quiet room or place where you do not feel interruption so that your mind may feel secure and at rest.
• Sit in a comfortable posture and be, so far as possible, free from external disturbing influence.  Drive off negative thoughts.  Become positive always.  The Positive overpowers the Negative.  You can do nice meditation when you are positive.

How to Meditate:

• Sit in a lonely place on Padmasana, Siddhasana or Sukhasana.
• Keep the head, neck and trunk in one straight line.  Relax the muscles, nerves and brain.  Calm the  mind.  Close the eyes.
• Even if the mind runs outside during your practice in Meditation, do not bother.  Allow it to run.  Slowly try to bring it to your centre.
• If there is some strain in meditation, reduce the number of hours  of practice for a few days.  Do light meditation only. When you have regained the normal tone, again increase the period.  Use your common-sense all through the Sadhana.
• Withdraw the mind from objects.
• Do not think of anything else.  Do not allow any worldly thought to enter the mind.  Do not allow the mind to think of any physical or mental enjoyment.
• During Meditation, note how long you can shut out all worldly thoughts. Watch the mind carefully. If it is for 20 minutes, try to increase the period to 30 or 40 minutes and so on.
• Fill the mind with the thoughts of God again and again.
• Do not strain the eyes.  Do not strain the brain. Do not struggle or wrestle with the mind.  It is a serious mistake.
• Many neophytes commit this grave error. That is the reason why they get easily tired soon. They get headache and they have to get up very often to pass urine during the course of meditation owing to the irritation set up in the micturition centre in the spinal cord.

Benefits of Meditation

• Meditation acts as a powerful tonic.  It is a mental and nervine tonic.  The holy vibrations penetrate all the cells of the body and cure the diseases of the body.  Those who meditate save doctor’s bills. Certainly!

Meditation calms your mind and relaxes your body.

Meditation gives you inner strength, peace of mind,

relaxation and a sense of bliss,

which will help your mind.