Kundalini Yoga and Stress Management

As Kundalini Yogis we are warriors and healers. We can relish small amounts of stress like a homeopathic medicine to alert our mind and redirect the flow of our thoughts. Larger amount of stress can provoke the healing resources of the body. Can we become connoisseurs of stress and begin to observe the positive and proportionate use of stress. Nothing is good or bad in and of itself. The effect depends on a proper and proportionate use of each thing, including stress.

Each Kundalini Yoga kriya uses this sensitivity and awareness of proportion, purpose and effect. If we look at the studies of stress there are many views. Some people have tried to master stress by avoiding change, some by going to quiet retreats, by trying to eliminate conflict. It is true that positive stressors can be good for us and good for our nervous system. It is only when the stress is too extreme, too prolonged, inappropriate to the challenge or accompanied by strong negative emotions like fear that the stress load gets unmanageable.

Timing of stress turns out to be critical. Strong exercise or an icy cold shower can be great if it is intermittent. Orthopedic surgeons love baby boomers who don’t believe in the conscious use of timing – they over exercise to avoid the inevitable progress of age- “boomeritis”.

The stress response is about our own energy in relationship to stress. When we are exposed to a stressor the first thing that happens is we have to mobilize our energy and resources to meet the challenge. This shifting from one level of energy to another is called allostasis. Allostasis adjusts the body’s systems to a level of functioning that keeps the entire organism – body and mind- stable in the face of challenge or change. To fight or flee we shift our energy from long-term needs to short term needs. All repair and maintenance is put on hold.

The chemistry of the stress response is beautifully orchestrated. The master conductor is the hypothalamus. The first response is reflexive and handled by the nerves that go to the adrenal glands. The adrenals answer by pouring out the first major stress hormone – adrenaline. This heightens performance. Higher levels of adrenaline helps athlete perform well, students score well on tests, firefighters save us. Short high levels and then return to normal is a great adaptive system.

The second primary stress hormone is cortisol. Cortisol is a steroid made from cholesterol. It can restore your reserve energy supplies that are used by the adrenaline rush. A short burst of cortisol helps the immune system to mobilize its defenses but high sustained levels can create problems. Cortisol is monitored by the hypothalamus in the pituitary gland. High levels of cortisol can trigger the pituitary to send out a signal to suppress the immune system to bring the body back into balance.

Interesting is one of the characteristics of depression is that cortisol levels remain moderately elevated throughout the day, especially in the evening. We know that repeated small exposures to stress temporarily elevate cortisol and lead to a kind of toughening and endurance that we desire. Yet if the levels stay high, like in depression, there is no synchronization with the demands of the environment and the mildly depressed person may not be able to seek out the healthier forms of stress, like exercise or trying new things.

Ideally the deep relaxation response, combined with mild to moderate stimulation like regular exercise, creates a cascading healing effect that ripples through all levels of the body and mind. Depression flattens the stress response and disconnects us from the world.

The stress response shifts all the resources away from repair and maintenance. We stop repairing muscle, managing our blood sugar levels and relaxing our heart and vessels. This may explain why rest alone is not the cure for all stress. We need a deeper “relaxation response” that re-engages the innate maintenance mechanism of the body’s innate intelligence. When we are chronically stressed we don’t go back to zero. The body stays on high alert and we start to literally break down- drowning in our own cortisol soup. If we can regularly get to that inner zero point, we give ourselves the chance to heal. That is why lifestyle, meditation and exercise are very effective treatments for this.

The ancient ones knew that the brain had to be reset in some way to break the state that stress produces. In Kundalini Yoga we also emphasize self initiation – are we able to do something just for our Self? How much do we rely on something outside our Self to stimulate or motivate us? As holistic practioners we encourage all forms of treatment and as yogis we specialize in natural treatments that are gradual, proportional and systems oriented. The ability to build character and strength as we create balance is a unique part of many kriyas in Kundalini Yoga. The physical exertion and effort are not the main point. It is that the discipline and focus we gain from cultivating a stress free zone in our selves – the state of shuniya – can guide us thru the challenges and stresses of life. Strenuous exertion can then give us deep relaxation.