Stress Reduction

• Does your busy life make you feel like you are tangled up or tied in knots?
• Do you feel you are not yourself, stuck or shut down?
• Do you feel something needs to change to improve your health and life but are not sure what to do?
• Do you want to embody a sense of balance, strength and flexibility in your body and mind?
• Are you recovering from an injury or under medical treatment to get stronger?

If any of these questions resonate with you, Harmony Yoga and Wellness’s teachers are sure to help you!!

Harmony Yoga and Wellness is different from general yoga studios. Mariko has been researching the neuro-muscular system and studying Eastern medicine and energy systems throughout her career.  This has influenced the way she teaches, so even if you are already doing a yoga pose, you may get different results and benefits from the same pose when you do it with Mariko’s approach and method.  Once you have established a yoga practice that is right for you, continuing that practice on a regular basis will cause your everyday lifestyle to shift, helping you to lead a healthier life.

People in our society are suffering in unprecedented numbers from autoimmune diseases, diabetes, thyroid issues, digestive disorders, depression, anxiety, ADD, ADHD, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancers.  These diseases are often called “quiet killers,” because they are believed to result from a life style based on hiding disease rather than addressing the underlying causes.  People living under high levels of stress for extended period of time are at a higher risk for developing these diseases, though the degree of susceptibility varies from person to person depending upon genetics, coping style, personality and social support.

Yoga as Mind-Body Medicine

Yoga teaches us a different kind of wisdom, known as "Body Wisdom." Using the mind to influence the body in this way allows the body systems' functions to be harmonized, resulting in about 37.2 trillion cells starting to heal and function better. Each cell has its own intelligence which directs its natural healing ability, allowing body systems to be renewed.

Yoga combines physical and mental disciplines that can help you achieve peacefulness of body and mind, enabling you to relax and manage stress and anxiety.  Yoga uses poses or postures, breathing and meditation to unite all of the body's systems for optimal function and improved health.

Yoga has been proven to be helpful in the reduction of stress and anxiety.  It may also enhance your overall mood and well-being.  The physical benefits of yoga can include improved balance, flexibility, range of motions, strength and overall fitness.  Yoga can be useful in the management of chronic conditions such as heart disease and high blood pressure, depression, pain, anxiety and insomnia.  It can impact these conditions directly or indirectly, by managing the stress that contributes to them.

There are many yoga poses that are ideal for stress reduction because they gently influence blood flow and hormone production.  These are incorporated into our stress reduction sessions.

We Offer Many Options for Stress Reduction

• Gentle Yoga
• Gentle Yoga & Meditation
• Yin & Yang Yoga Balance / Meridian Balance
• Restorative Yoga with Sound Healing
• Restorative Yoga & Reiki
• Chakra Yoga Balance
• Ayurvedic Principals
• Mindfulness Meditation
• Yoga Nidra --- deep relaxation

Call for more details, or to book a consultation with Mariko today.

Stress Can Play a Role in Many Diseases

A study performed at Carnegie Mellon University in 2012 by Cohen, et al uncovered the reason for the connection between stress and illness.  As a result, inflammation gets out of control, contributing to the development of various diseases.

Another recent study showed that stress raises catecholamine and suppressor T cell levels, causing the immune system to be suppressed, which increases the risk of viral infection.

Heart Disease

Stress plays a role in hypertension or high blood pressure, along with other risk factors for heart disease, like blood concentrations of cholesterol and triglycerides, or plaque build-up in the arteries.  Stress can also lead a person to smoke or overeat, further increasing their coronary risks.

Asthma

Studies have shown that asthma is aggravated by stress.  The relationship is so strong that children born to women who are stressed out during pregnancy are more likely to develop asthma.

Obesity

Excess belly fat seems to be more hazardous to your health than fat on the legs or hips.  Unfortunately, stress causes higher levels of the hormone cortisol, which seems to cause more fat to be deposited in the abdomen.

Diabetes

Stress has been shown to alter insulin needs and increase glucose levels in Type 2 diabetics, as well as increasing the likelihood of unhealthy behaviors such as overeating and overconsumption of alcohol.

Headaches

Stress is known to be among the most common triggers for both tension headaches and migraines.

Depression & Anxiety

The correlation between stressful life events and psychiatric or psychological illness is even stronger than that with physical illness.  It may initially manifest as neuroses and develop into depression or in extreme cases, schizophrenia.

Gastrointestinal Problems

Contrary to popular belief, stress doesn't seem to cause ulcers, but it can make them worse. Stress is a common factor in many GI conditions, such as chronic heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Cancer

While there is no scientific evidence of a direct relationship between stress-induced changes to the immune system and the development of cancer, a link has been found between stress, tumor development and the suppression of natural killer (NK) cells, which prevent metastasis and destroy small metastases.

Alzheimer's Disease

One animal study found that stress might accelerate Alzheimer's disease.

Accelerated Aging

Stress can affect the way you age. One study showed that the DNA of mothers who were under the stress of caring for a chronically ill child showed the effects of accelerated aging as compared with mothers not under chronic stress. Ageing appeared to be accelerated by about 9 to 17 years.

Premature Death

Another study compared the health effects of stress in elderly caregivers looking after their spouses to those who were not caregivers. The caregivers had a 63% higher rate of death than other people their age who were not caregivers.

Stress is more than a felling or emotional.  It is a powerful trigger for hormonal changes that impact the body directly and indirectly.

Scientific research has shown that that practicing Yoga, Tai-chi and meditation can reduce stress levels along with learning techniques for managing stressful events as they occur.  One study of heart attack survivors found that learning to manage stress reduced their risks of a second cardiac event by 74%. There's also evidence that stress management can improve immunity.