What methods do people use to deal with emotional stress and tension?

You are not alone, you who are tense, nervous, worried, unable to relax even in bed. When you get all tied up in knots, you can feel like you're losing your mind. And you take relaxation pills, pep pills, tranquillizers, anything to give you a 'lift' And then wonder at the resulting unpleasant side effects.
Can Yoga help? Clearly, without question, it can do that.

Yoga doesn't like drugs and you know, your body does not either so if the so-called orthodox methods have failed to establish an easing of tension in your overworked body and over-worried mind then why not try Yoga's way? Yoga is proven to be effective when medicine no longer works. Proper breathing is intrinsically linked with relaxation, with the emotions, with the health of the body itself. The thoughts are reflections of the breathing habits and so if the breathing is faulty then the mind cannot but be affected.

Through your daily experiences, you can confirm this to be true. When you are watching television, absorbed in a book, or listening to an interesting talk on your radio. Your breathing processes become slow. Your breathing will become irreglar when you are mad, upset, or sad. When you are frightened you gasp and hold your breath, and when you are bored you open your mouth and yawn.
All the exercises formulated by the Yogis of ancient times that have a connection with the respiratory tract are based on a close observation of the body's natural impulses. Most people neglect this bodily function so much that they barely inhale enough oxygen to maintain living.
To clear your mind of worries learn to breathe correctly since mind and breathe are intertwined. When you are at peace your breath is slow and even so if you reverse the process and learn to breathe slowly and deeply your mind will follow suit. You cannot be worried and upset if you are breathing in a calm and controlled manner, nor can you be calm if your breath is coming in hurried jerks.
So first things first.

I want you to try the Yoga COMPLETE BREATH which employs the lower, middle and upper lung. To be a successful at the COMPLETE BREATH in yoga, your breathing needs to use three body areas-diaphragmatic, inter costa, and clavicular in one quick inhalation. You should take it easy if you are a beginner.
Lie flat on a solid surface like the floor, without pillows, and rest your hands over your diaphragm. Remember to wear nothing tight around your waist or chest, and women should always loosen the bra before doing any Yoga breathing exercise.
The Complete Breath Slowly exhale as completely as you can. Very slowly inhale through the mouth, drawing in the air evenly and without sudden jerks. With your hands placed lightly over your diaphragm you will find that this is the first area to expand.

As your inhalation progresses you will feel a very slight retraction of your lower abdomen. When you are taking a breath in you will notice your shoulders rise, and your lungs expand. Use little exertion and breathe through your mouth slowly. Contract the abdomen as you complete your exhalation to expel as much air as possible. Once you finish your first Complete Breath, stay quiet for a several moments. Do not try to sit upright for a bit of time or you can feel minor faintness or wooziness because of hyperventilation produced by an unexpected, too much, and unfamiliar inhale of oxygen.


If you get dizzy from the breathing, relax, it just means you needed to do it and it will pass.
Go carefully at first with this exercise and soon you will be able to perform it with no unpleasant side effects. When you reach this stage you can perform the exercise sitting up straight with your head level and your hands in your lap, or even standing erect with your hands at your sides. Always, of course, practise Yoga breathing exercises before an open window and if at all possible, in the open air. For the first few days do not take more than two Yoga Complete Breaths a day, but gradually increase the number ad lib up to sixty full breaths a day. This should be a slow process and you should not attempt the full quota of sixty a day straight away. At first, be content to take just a few at a time.