Stress is the byproduct of the present day competitive work environment and unhealthy life style.

A little bit of stress can be productive, and helps to perform better, however, too much stress over a prolonged period can be unhealthy for the mind and body.

Everyone reacts differently to stress depending upon the skills they have to handle the situation and how they perceive that particular stressful situation.

Too much stress often leads to physical, mental and emotional problems.

Stress is the silent killer and affects almost all spheres of life such as health, energy level, work related performance and yet so little is done in this direction to cope with it.

In fact, stress when persists over a period of time become the most dangerous factor behind most of the psychosomatic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, migraine, digestive disorders, ulcer and even cancer, etc.

Stress is the second biggest cause of employees’ sickness absence days in the UK. According to the Health and Safety Executive UK, "The cost of stress to Britain’s economy is around 6.7 million working days lost per year, costing society around £4 billion".

Stress is costing an estimated £13B ($20B) per year in Europe according to a study by the European Commission. The cost of stress related illnesses is constantly increasing around the globe.

Modern medicine can’t provide effective treatment to the stress because the real problem doesn’t lie inside the physical body. It originates from the mind, and then disturbs our energy level and finally appears on our physical level in the form of a disease.

Yoga provides holistic and effective approach to manage stress. The major benefit of yoga is that it combines the practices of several stress management techniques such as breathing, meditation, visualization in addition to holding yoga poses.

The approach of yoga to manage stress is multidimensional. It not only helps on physical level but also releases stress at the level of mind and improves the energy level of a practitioner. Yoga is a complete approach towards managing stress.

The gentle yoga helps in releasing stress at physical level as stiffness of joints can be improved. Breathing exercises such as kapalabhati and alternate nostril breathing bring balance at energy level. Regular practice of meditation helps to eliminate stress at the level of mind.

People fail to realise that things don’t happen of their own; we have to make them happen. If we want to stay healthy, we need to ensure that we stay stress-free by exercising regularly such as swimming, dancing or adopting a holistic approach through yoga.

If we don’t take care about our own health then who will? Issued in public interest by celebrity trainer Subodh Gupta.

Subodh Gupta is the author of numerous books on yoga, weight loss and stress management.

He has been interviewed by various TV channels and his views and articles appear regularly in magazines and newspapers in India and the UK.