By Sarah Court 
Exercise.com

When yoga was first created hundreds of years ago, practitioners didn't have the benefit of modern science to explain why it worked—they just knew it did.

Nowadays, we can look to science to help us understand how yoga gives us relief from stress.

What Happens When We Are StressedTo talk about stress, we have to talk about the hormone cortisol. Under normal conditions, your brain slowly releases cortisol into your body to make your muscles work. However, if you're highly stressed (late for work, deadline due, screaming baby: take your pick), your brain thinks there's an emergency and responds by flooding your body with cortisol.

If there really was an emergency, you would need this much cortisol to deal with broken bones, excessive bleeding, and so on. But if you're just stressed out by life, excess cortisol can lead to ulcers, high blood pressure, bone density loss, and can throw your immune system out of whack (why we get sick when we're stressed). It can also lead to weight gain because the body thinks it's responding to an emergency and so holds onto as much fat as it can.

                                                                                                                                                 READ MORE:

Stress is the emotional and physical strain caused by our response to pressure from the outside world. Common stress reactions include tension, irritability, inability to concentrate, and a variety of physical symptoms that include headache and a fast heartbeat.

It's almost impossible to live without some stress. And most of us wouldn't want to, because it gives life some spice and excitement. But if stress gets out of control, it may harm your health, your relationships, and your enjoyment of life.

                            Examples of "overload" situations are common in today's world:

• You and your spouse both work full time while you are raising your family. At the same time, your parents are retired, in ill health, and are dependent on your help with shopping and running errands.
• You are a single person living alone, and your salary isn't rising as fast as the rate of inflation. It's getting harder each month to pay the bills.
• You are a divorced parent and share the custody of your children with your former spouse. But the friction between the two of you on matters concerning the children is becoming more bitter and more frequent.
• The expectations and competition at your workplace is becoming fierce. You find yourself coming in early, staying late, and taking on more work than you can handle.

                                                                                                                                                      Read More: