Last Updated Nov 2012
Excessive stress can interfere with your productivity and your physical and emotional health as well. It may be stress related to work or your personal lives. As part of the health care industry, we are expected to take good care of our patients. Think about it, how would we manage them if we can't manage ourselves? Yoga is a good way to improve your health and relieve you from stress.
One of the many medical complaints of today is stress related chronic anxiety. How do you deal with stress? It can be such a killer! There is too much going on in our mind that is literally burning our brain cells. We worry too much which causes us to have a restless mind. Stress can lead to harmful sleep deprivation, wrinkle in our skin, unhealthy bones and wreaking havoc with our insulin levels.
Over the past 15 years in Canada and the United States, I have helped to heal over 3000 patients and students. How? Through yoga! It is an ancient 5000 year old art and science which makes use of diaphragmatic breathing, gentle stretches and relaxation techniques to increase quality of life. Yoga Nursing® is the holistic, healing practice of caring and compassion provided by licensed nursing professionals who are also certified yoga teachers. After having trained in Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga, in the mid 1990’s with the brilliant Deepak Chopra and David Simon Mds, I was inspired with what yoga can do to our health and make a difference in the quality of people's lives, including therapy professionals.
Chair Yoga: Downward Facing Dog Pose. While you are at work, you can easily try out this yoga stretch! Stand up and put your hands firmly on chair or desk. Walk your legs back, arms straightening out, then bend over making a bridge shape with your spine and melt your head and chest toward the ground. Let your head hang heavy like a ripe piece of fruit. Breathe deeply and feel the release of tightness in the entire backside of your body - back, aching shoulders and neck. Feel your chest opening, freeing tension. Enjoy this delicious yoga stretch several times on your shift.
To see exactly how it’s done, watch the demonstration video.
Restore and renew your energy by joining a gentle, restorative yoga class. Notice that I've used the words "gentle" and "restorative". You feel that you are stiff? So what? This gives you one reason to start doing yoga. 
It helps you undo the stiff neck and the knots in your body and mind.
Do a research of the local yoga studios. Find out about the styles available and the background of the yoga teacher. Keep in mind that safety comes first. Just like medicine, yoga's first law is non-violence or do no harm.
After trying this out, you can even recommend this to your patients and improve their physical and emotional health. Yoga will definitely create a change in your life, increase your self-confidence and empower you to continue to serve as the hero that you already are. Tap into the many benefits of yoga, one of them is to gain good health.
About the author: The Yoga Nurse®, Annette Tersigni R.N., educator, healer, motivational speaker, and founder of Yoga Nurse Medical Yoga and Stress management, a premier yoga teaching service. Annette specializes in Corporate Stress Management, Back Safety, Yoga therapy, and Spiritual Lifestyle & Wellness Retreats. She has dedicated the last 14 years to educating people in Europe, Canada and the USA on how to lead healthy and spiritual lifestyles.