by Eve Lopez

Created on: August 17, 2009

Stress and anxiety are huge problems in American society. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that 40 million Americans suffer from what may be classified as anxiety disorders. While the mainstream health care industry pushes pharmaceuticals as a way of relieving chronic stress and anxiety, there are alternative routes to take that may be just as effective.

The Mayo Clinic has extensive information on natural techniques to reduce stress and anxiety. While these techniques may not work for everyone, clinical studies have shown that they work as well, if not better than prescription drugs for many people. The top two stress management techniques recommended by the Mayo Clinic are yoga and meditation.

Yoga practice works on the mind, body and soul. The prolonged body poses, in combination with mindful breathing, works to decrease the stress-causing hormones in the human body. The physical exertion of yoga also helps increase endorphins, which have been described by medical experts as "natural pain killers" because the chemical release of endorphins is similar to the pleasure felt by people who take narcotics.

There are several yoga practices, all of which are beneficial to mental and physical health. Even people with health problems, people who are out of shape, or older people can practice basic yoga poses. Hatha yoga is one of the most popular yoga practices because it is a relatively gentle type of yoga that can be done by beginners.

Another attractive feature of yoga is that it is almost always done in a stress-free and competition-free setting. Yoga teachers will explain to their students that they should not unnecessarily "push" themselves to compete with other members of the class. Yoga instructors can also work with people individually to modify yoga poses that are difficult.

The controlled breathing that is a part of every yoga practice is a great benefit for stress relief. When the body and brain have increased oxygen, stress is lowered dramatically. Through constant yoga practice, people will generally see an increase in energy, lowered stress and anxiety, and lowered blood pressure as well.

Meditation is also moving its way into the mainstream because of the documented health benefits related to meditating. For instance, the Mayo Clinic reports that there is research that indicates the following can be helped by meditation: anxiety, asthma, overeating, cancer, depression, fatigue, heart disease, high blood pressure, chronic pain, insomnia and addictive behaviors.

Like yoga, meditation can be practiced in many ways. There meditative practices that use guided imagery (for example, concentrating on a "happy place,") and there are meditation practices that have people chant mantras.

The great thing about meditation is that it can have health benefits by simply practicing a few minutes each day. Meditation can also be done almost anywhere and at any time: during breaks at work, before bed, first thing in the morning, or whenever stress gets to be too much.

By combining yoga and meditation, people can drastically reduce their stress and anxiety, and don't have to rely on possibly unsafe or addictive prescription drugs. By taking a small step into yoga and meditation, people can start to improve their health so they can live life to the fullest.

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