Low your stress to reverse aging

Stress can do a real number on your skin and make you look older. It decreases blood flow and nourishment to the skin, sometimes causing a sallow appearance, hair loss, or brittle nails, says dermatologist and clinical psychologist Richard Fried, MD, PhD, a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Stress also leads to the release of inflammatory chemicals that can worsen acne. The good news: Stress-management techniques (like guided imagery, deep breathing, or progressive muscle relaxation) can help your skin look younger.

Fried recommends square-box breathing: Inhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, then rest for four seconds; repeat four times.

Yoga - Conscious Relaxation for Stress Release

Prana is the energy permeating the universe at all levels.
It is physical, mental, intellectual, sexual, spiritual and cosmic energy.

All vibrating energies are prana...prana is the breath of life of all beings in the universe." - Yogacharya B.K.S Iyengar

A simple way to relax all the muscles of the body systematically is the tense-relax method. Practise the following asana if you need to unwind or have trouble sleeping.

As your body temperature will drop, have a light blanket handy.
You can also use a small pillow, a rolled blanket or even a yoga block to place under your knees if you feel any lower back tension.

Remember that in Yoga we breathe in through the nose and out through the nose most of the time. This is extremely effective in relieving stress as it encourages deeper, fuller breaths in the body, thus intoxicating the subtle energies of the nervous system. I promise that you will find this asana intensely relaxing.

Savasana (also known as Corpse or Relaxation Pose)
1. Lie down on your back with legs extended, ankles hip-bone distance apart, feet relaxed and falling to the side.

2. Relax the arms at your sides, slightly away from the body, palms facing upwards, shoulders away from the ears.

3. Now close your eyes, tuck the chin in slightly and notice the sensation as you release any tension in the jaw and mouth area.

4. Consciously relax your mind and body. As you inhale, you will feel the belly rise...exhale slowly through the nose, aware of your belly relaxing...visualize a rolling wave, a blue sea, feel your body relax...continue for ten reps or as long as it feels good.



5. Now focus on your feet, tensing them as you inhale, hold for just a few seconds, then exhale as you feel the tension release. Moving up to the legs, do the same thing...next, on the inhale tense the lower back and your pelvic muscles - on the exhale, relax completely. Inhale and tense your solar plexus, chest and mid-back. Exhale and release...move on to the hands, the arms - tense, relax. Next the shoulders - tense and relax. Inhale and tense the neck, head and face...exhale, let it go.

6. Inhale and tense the entire body...hold it, hold it...and exhale.

7. Stay where you are and just relax for a few more moments...think of nothing else, just the here and now...only this moment, only this breath.... Namaste