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One of the things I love about half lord of the fishes pose (also known as seated spinal twist) is how adaptable the pose is. You can keep your bottom leg extended if you knee bothers you or you can take the bind if you are able to. When it comes to the bind, make sure that you don't throw off the whole pose by leaning too far forward just to get the bind. It's more important to keep a nice, upright spine.

Half Lord of the Fishes Pose - Ardha Matsyendrasana Is the Yoga Pose of the Week originally appeared on About.com Yoga on Sunday, August 15th, 2010 at 23:11:00.

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I'm very excited about a crop of new yoga videos now live on About.com. Each of these short videos features demonstration and instruction by Joelle Hann, a wonderful New York-based yoga teacher and writer. You can check out her work on her blog, Yoga Nation, and enjoy her great alignment and clear explanations in this video on anjaneyasana (cresecent lunge).

Anjaneyasana Video originally appeared on About.com Yoga on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 23:53:03.

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This is why I was happy to see some recent research that demonstrates yet another one of these benefits: while virtually all long-term romantic relationships have their share of stresses, such relationships have an overall stress-relieving effect, this new research shows. We've known for a while that solid social relationships can act as a buffer to stress (read more about social support to find out how), but this new study from Dario Maestripieri of the University of Chicago shows that marriage and similar long-term romantic relationships actually have a dampening effect on stress-induced production of cortisol, the body's stress hormone. Simply put, married people and those in serious committed relationships tend to physically react less to stress. Aside from other resources that relationships provide, they also promote resilience to stress!

Maestripieri and colleagues studied a group of 500 master's degree students, asking them to perform a test they were told would impact their grades, creating a somewhat stressful experience for them. Their cortisol levels were then measured and studied, and it was found that the studied 500 masters' degree students at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. About 40 percent of men and 53 percent of women who were married or in relationships had lower levels of post-stress cortisol in their blood, showing that they had reacted less to the stress.

"These results suggest that single and unpaired individuals are more responsive to psychological stress than married individuals, a finding consistent with a growing body of evidence showing that marriage and social support can buffer against stress," Maestripieri writes. "Although marriage can be pretty stressful, it should make it easier for people to handle other stressors in their lives," Maestripieri said. "What we found is that marriage has a dampening effect on cortisol responses to psychological stress, and that is very new."

Does this come as a surprise? If your relationship seems like more of a stressor than a stress reliever, fear not--relationship skills can be learned, and relationship stress can be managed, often more easily than one might guess! The following relationship resources can help you get started toward a less stressed relationship so you can enjoy the full stress relief benefits of your romance.

• Common Marriage Problems and Solutions
  Money? Daily stress? Kids? Learn the top stressors for couples, and how to manage them!

• How To Stop Fighting About Money
  Don't let economic woes lead to marital woes! Here's how to stop.

• How To Have a Happy Marriage
  Learn about some new research on happy marriages, and find tips to make yours one of those!

• Communication Skills
  Here are some tips that can be used to keep communication happy and healthy in romantic relationships. Many apply to friends, co-workers and telemarketers as well!

• Happy Marriage Tips
  Other readers share their best--and you can, too! Stop by and swap relationship tips.

_{Like this post? Want to use it to start a discussion with your friends? Pass it on!}

_{Source:
Maestripieri, D. et. al. Between- and Within-sex Variations in Hormonal Responses to Psychological Stress in a Large Sample of College Students. Stress, August 2010.}

Research: Marriage Can Be A Great Stress Relief Tool originally appeared on About.com Stress Management on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at 07:20:31.

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Bird of paradise is one of those poses that seems completely improbable until the day comes, quite unexpectedly, when you find yourself standing there on one leg, all bound and balancing. What I like about this pose is that it can easily be broken down into stages, beginning with bound side angle. As you become comfortable with each step along the way, you are working your way up to the full pose.

Bird of Paradise Is the Yoga Pose of the Week originally appeared on About.com Yoga on Sunday, August 29th, 2010 at 22:23:35.

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In May of this year, pollsters asked 2,064 adults to rate 20 different health concerns for children living in their communities. The results are out! The top 10 overall health concerns for U.S. children in 2010 and the percentage of adults who rate each as a "big problem" include:

1. Childhood obesity (38 percent)
2. Drug abuse (30 percent)
3. Smoking (29 percent)
4. Internet safety (25 percent)
5. Stress (24 percent)
6. Bullying (23 percent)
7. Teen pregnancy (23 percent)
8. Child abuse and neglect (21 percent)
9. Alcohol abuse (20 percent)
10. Not enough opportunities for physical activity (20 percent)

"Levels of stress among children may relate to economic challenges faced by their families in the national recession and slow recovery," says Davis, who is also associate professor of public policy at the U-M Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

"The fact that stress now rates higher on the list of child health problems is a reminder that most of the problems on the list are behavioral or psychological in nature. Lawmakers often deal with adults' concerns about making ends meet. In contrast, in times like these children's stress may fly under the policy radar."

While we may not be able to change public policy overnight, nor can we completely eliminate the stressors our children face, there are things we can start doing today to help our children to better cope with stress.

Stress Relief for Kids

How do you help your kids relieve stress, or relive stress as a family? How did your parents help you to relieve stress as a kid? Share your strategies in the comments section, and please pass this along to others who could use the information.

Childhood Stress: A Rising Health Concern originally appeared on About.com Stress Management on Monday, August 23rd, 2010 at 07:19:18.

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Laughter yoga and its founder Dr. Madan Kataria get The New Yorker treatment (in-depth, fascinating) in the August 30 issue. You can check out part of the article online or pick up the print edition for the full piece.

The New Yorker Looks at Laughter Yoga originally appeared on About.com Yoga on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 22:07:55.

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While writing my review of Slim Calm Sexy Yoga, the new book from yoga teacher Tara Stiles (of New York and the internet), I began thinking about which three analogous adjectives describe what yoga does for me. I came up with Strong, Sane, and Confident. Not quite as catchy as Slim, Calm, and Sexy, but more accurate to my experience. What are your adjectives?

Slim Calm Sexy - What Are Your Adjectives? originally appeared on About.com Yoga on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 14:11:13.

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Read how Eat, Pray, Love mirrors important concepts from Positive Psychology, and how to get some of that serenity in our own lives if we don't have the time and money to travel for a year. Find ideas you can put into practice right now to make it easier to reliever stress and attain personal growth without leaving your life behind, and share ideas you come up with.

Eat, Pray, Love: The Positive Psychology Approach

Additional Resources:

• Positive Psychology: What It Is & Why It Helps

• Pleasures In Life That Help Relieve Stress

• Gratifications: What They Are, & How They Work

• Creating 'The Good Life': Working Gratifications into Daily Life

• Relaxation Tips for Stress Relief

• Readers, Respond: How Do You Get Flow In Your Life?

Eat, Pray, and Love Your Way to Stress Relief and Fulfillment originally appeared on About.com Stress Management on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 06:21:13.

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