HEALTH Three easy ways to beat stress

Three easy stress-relief techniques


Yoga
Lee Kennedy

So it’s all over for another year. The pressures of buying presents, last-minute shopping and the heightened expectations of family Yuletide togetherness (or bickering!) are gone for another 12 months. However, many of us are still carrying around residual stress, and a lot of us are anxious about the new year, with worries such finances, health and relationships filling our minds.
Here are some practical yoga techniques for getting rid of that post-Christmas tension, and to help us calmly face the new year and all it will bring.

• Standing very close to a free wall space, facing the wall. Place the hands on the wall at waist height, shoulder distance apart. Walk back until the torso is perpendicular to the wall and the legs are directly under the hips. Extend the arms by firmly pressing the hands into the wall. Extend the spine to its maximum length, and work on straightening the knees and elbows. Hold for three to five normal breaths. To release the stretch, step toward the wall and come to standing again.
• Next, sit on a chair facing into the wall, with the feet flat on the floor. Place the hands up on the wall and begin by walking the fingers higher up the wall, stretching from the lower back. Broaden the shoulders by separating and lifting the shoulder blades. Keep the throat and neck area soft. Try not to tense the shoulders, allow them to lift naturally. Once you feel the fingers are as high as they can go, rest for a moment in that position so the body can adjust, and then walk the fingers higher. Rest and repeat.
• Now, lie on a yoga mat on the floor, with the backs of your calves resting on a chair seat. Place a blanket under the head if you like. Cover the eyes with a small towel or try a homemade linseed eye-bag. Focus on the exhalations, relaxing a little bit more with each one. Stay in this position as long as you are comfortable. This pose is so relaxing, you may even fall asleep.

Lee Kennedy has a Yoga-teaching Diploma from the YTTC and an Iyengar-teaching Certificate from BKS Iyengar Yoga UK. She also specialises in natural birth with yoga and Thai yoga massage. For current local and private classes, phone 086 3906343.