A Fundamental Antidote To Chronic Stress

If you’ve made it this far into my blog, you have a basic understanding that yoga is not simply about standing on your head, or that it even requires a yoga mat. And hopefully you also have learned that Cortisol – known informally as the “stress hormone” – is first activated in the mind, not the adrenal glands.

Sustained or chronic cortisol levels put us on a path to a long list of health risks and disease. The Niyamas help us understand how we are empowered to manage stress in the mind – and, thus, manage our cortisol levels naturally, which is important for both brain health and heart health.

The Niyamas are the second limb of the “Eight Limbs of Yoga” – a starter kit, of sorts, within the greater path laid out by the Yoga Sutras. Niyama is Sanskrit for: rules, guidelines, or observances.

This particular limb and yoga sutra is a list of lifestyle principles designed to purify the mind, body and spirit, reduce distractions, and create an awareness of personal integrity.

Here too, when we start by exploring these through the lens looking at ourself, then it becomes easier to apply them to others in relationship. 

More often than not, we are harder on ourselves than others. That self-judgment narrative loop in our minds becomes a constant source or ‘current’ of stress experienced by the body, in our daily life.

If you don’t happen to have a self judgment practice in your mind, that’s fantastic! Whew! Perhaps your chronic stress comes from unnecessary expectations you haven’t met… And how is your external outlook when it comes to judgment of others? Do you find yourself frustrated or angry from a disappointment loop in your mind that is active in your day to day relationships?

With the first step of awareness, we look to the Niyamas – guidelines and observances, that can help bring us to a more neutral state of equanimity.

EVEN THE BARD UNDERSTANDS YOGA!

Here are some examples of how the Niyamas may be applied to daily life:

 1. Saucha – Purity, cleanliness (in body, mind and spirit); caring for our body – internally and externally; becoming aware of toxic self talk and ‘cleaning up our own shit’ before judging others; limiting exposure to violence or the news; cleaning up clutter in our space to feel more peaceful. 

  2. Santosha – Contentment, gratitude; physically touching your heart or activating self love daily – just like brushing your teeth…; when everything seems to be going wrong, can you take a step back and practice perspective on a glass half full instead of half empty, draw focus of the mind to clearly see the things that are going okay; accept the mystery of change and welcome growth; this sutra is a core principle of practicing perspective a.k.a. mindfulness.

The last three principles of this sutra are also referred to as “Kriya Yoga”. Just remember this as a 3-step process of the 3 ‘R’s:

3. Refine (Tapas) – the discipline to do the practice routinely
4. Reflect (Svadhyaya) – notice, raise awareness how it feels, perhaps modify a.k.a. ‘rinse and repeat’
5. Release (Ishvara Pranidhana) – let go of self-judgment, surrender to what is, leave the practice and move on to the next practice

We find this three-step process at work in any sport or endeavor that calls for practice. So why not do it with the mind activity?

The Niyamas, rich in contemplation and action, are a key starting point in a practice of perspective. Exploring the sister limb of the Yamas – Relationship Principles, makes for a more solid foundation of our yoga path. We can set free the objective of right path and wrong path and find a more peaceful path forward.