30 min de-stress yoga flow full body stretch strengthen

Have you been feeling stressed by pressures at work? Maybe waking up with anxiety about all the things on your to-do list? I've created this video to help with those feelings of being overwhelmed and stressed ~ a 30 minute full body gentle hatha yoga flow to calm and unwind from the stresses of work.
Naturally, our sympathetic nervous system (SNS) kicks in when we need it to (fight or flight), for example when we are in danger or need to run to get away from something. Our heart rate will speed up, pupils will dilate (to see more clearly) and our muscles will tense, ready to run. However, a lot of the pressures we endure in our day-to-day lives, like at work, are not so short-lived (like a quick escape might be), and our nervous system can start to treat them the same as something that is actually an emergency or even life-threatening. This is when things get serious and it's hard to 'switch off' the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and 'switch on' our parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) - which is the 'rest and digest', calming part of our nervous system.
Having a regular yoga practice will help calm down the anxiety and stress and reactivate the vagus nerve and therefore the parasympathetic nervous system, helping our bodies to repair and restore. As you probably already know, it is so important to have these times when we move the body, breathe deeply and rest in deep relaxation. If we don't allow ourselves to properly connect with ourselves, breathe and rest, then it can be really hard for our nervous systems to relax and gently calm down.
This 30-minute whole-body yoga practice is designed to help you relax during times of stress, specifically work stress. During the yoga flow, we start in a seated position, grounding and centring ourselves on the mat. We then practice a pranayama breath, where the exhale is slightly restricted by the thumb and finger (the inhale is not restricted), this slows down the exhale which subsequently calms the nervous system down. We then start to move through the asana (postures) of the yoga flow: seated warmups, with shoulders and side stretches. A cat flow (cat/cow) and into a thread-the-needle twist. We move into downward facing dog and then into uttanasana (standing forward bend) and up into tadasana (mountain). We then flow through warrior 2, peaceful warrior and side angle posture (several times with the breath). We come down back to down dog and then cat and child (balasana). From here we move onto our backs and take a wide-legged side-to-side twist movement, finally resting in a supine twist. The final relaxation in svasana completes our practice together. All of this is done with an awareness of calming the body and mind from all the stresses at work that you might be experiencing.
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Joy 🌻
Joy Prater from Yoga with Joy is a qualified yoga teacher, however, she cannot assist you with any ailments or injuries that could possibly hinder you while following any of Yoga with Joy’s videos. Joy Prater highly recommends that you consult a doctor or physician before practising with these online yoga classes. As with any exercise, participating in these yoga classes could result in physical injury. By choosing to voluntarily engage in Yoga with Joy’s videos you agree that you do so at your own risk; assuming all risk of injury to yourself.
Joy Prater, from Yoga With Joy, is a certified yoga therapist so this video could be classed as yoga therapy or therapeutic yoga. This video is all about nervous system yoga, yoga for stress, and yoga for stress and anxiety. More specifically it is yoga for work stress! This is vagus nerve activation yoga, yoga for calming the nervous system, and is a nervous system reset yoga session. This sequence is yoga to reduce work stress, and a work stress release yoga session. This 30 minute yoga flow is whole body yoga and obviously lasts for 30 mins. It is hatha yoga for anxiety and stress, a solid 30 minutes hatha yoga for work stress. This 30 mins gentle yoga for work stress is also a gentle hatha yoga to reduce anxiety and yoga for the parasympathetic nervous system, which will really help calm you down.
#YogawithJoy #workstress #stressreleaseyoga

[@YogaWithJoy]

Hey wonderful ones 🙏 This is a gentle hatha yoga flow for you ~ with a focus on calming the nervous system when we push ourselves too hard, especially around work and career. I'm hoping this yoga flow will help you relax and restore yourself, leaving behind all feelings of anxiety, stress and general overwhelm. Leave the to-do list and give yourself this half-an-hour yoga flow to reset your nervous system. Love to you all! 🥰

[@juliamortimer1638]

Thank you Joy.

[@YogaWithJoy]

A pleasure 🙌

[@vyvienn]

Oh, that was nice! I've never enjoyed warriors so much. And I learned a new breathing technique! :) x

[@YogaWithJoy]

Hi Stef 😊 lovely to see you here and I'm so happy you liked this one. Sending you lots of love! 💗

[@seecourt]

This was wonderful, thanks Joy! Really enjoying this series.

[@YogaWithJoy]

Thank you, Courtney 💕