Yoga in Stress Alleviation: a Therapeutic and Psychodynamic Approach

Abstract

Yoga has been an increasing topic of interest over the past few years. Alleviation of stress, which is the main purpose of yoga, can be interpreted from different contexts based on one’s level of contemplation and basis of understanding. Today, it is effectively prescribed and implemented as an alternate to medicine therapy. Based on the acute beneficial effects that yoga ought to enjoy, it is often considered by chiropractors, physiotherapists, clinicians as an integral constituent of their medical treatment. Yogasanas and exercise postures in inclusion to pranayama, are widely adopted today as remediations for various symptoms, which if left derelicted, can manifest to life-long impairments. The therapeutic standpoint of Yoga mainly lays stress on the clinical implications and practicality of yoga today. On the contrary, the psychodynamic approach mainly emphasizes on the behavioral regulations and apprehensions of their general mechanisms. The review primarily depicts the portrayal of Yoga from times of its inception, modern day understanding of yoga from the global perspectives, and its relationship with stress. The ultimate objective of this review is to enumerate the impacts of yoga from both the therapeutic and psychodynamic standpoints thereby justifying the validity of yoga as a patent restorer of physiological homeostasis.