E-ISSN:2456-3110

Review Article

Occupational Stress

Journal of Ayurveda and Integrated Medical Sciences

2023 Volume 8 Number 1 January
Publisherwww.maharshicharaka.in

Yoga Intervention on Occupational Stress

Sharma K.1*, Devi D.2, H. Dave H.3
DOI:

1* Kiran Sharma, PhD Scholar, Department of Swasthavritta and Yoga, National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.

2 Durgawati Devi, Professor & HOD, Department of Swasthavritta and Yoga, National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.

3 Hetal H. Dave, Associate Professor, Department of Stri Roga and Prasuti Tantra, National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.

Health is a common theme in most cultures. The widely accepted definition of health is given by the World Health Organization in 1948 which is “Health is a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity”. In recent years, this statement has been amplified to include the ability to lead a “socially and economically productive life.” So, keeping this in mind that socially and economically productive life is not possible without stress free occupation of individual and not any single occupation is stress free. So, Yoga intervention may be helpful to overcome the occupational stress and individual can live a healthy and stress-free life.

Keywords: Health, Occupation, Yoga, Stress

Corresponding Author How to Cite this Article To Browse
Kiran Sharma, PhD Scholar, Department of Swasthavritta and Yoga, National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
Email: 		Kiran Sharma, Durgawati Devi, Hetal H. Dave, Yoga Intervention on Occupational Stress. J Ayu Int Med Sci. 2023;8(1):91-95.
Available From
https://jaims.in/jaims/article/view/2151

Manuscript Received Review Round 1 Review Round 2 Review Round 3 Accepted
2022-11-28 2022-11-30 2022-12-07 2022-12-14 2022-12-21
Conflict of Interest Funding Ethical Approval Plagiarism X-checker Note
Nil Nil Yes 18%

© 2023by Kiran Sharma, Durgawati Devi, Hetal H. Daveand Published by Maharshi Charaka Ayurveda Organization. This is an Open Access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ unported [CC BY 4.0].

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Introduction

Occupational health is essentially preventive medicine. Definition of occupational health is-“Occupational medicine is a branch of community medicine which deals with health promotion, protection and maintenance of highest degree of physical, mental, social well-being of worker in all occupations”.[1] Working population constitutes the major portion of the community not only the worker should be healthy but also the working environment should be healthy, safe and free from harmful agents. Industrial health is different from occupational health, thus it’s a component of Occupational Health. According to WHO there are 100 million occupational injuries causing 0.1 million death.[2] In India 17 million occupational non-fatal injuries and 45,000 fatal injuries occur every year, out of 11 million cases of occupational diseases in the world, 1.9 million (17%) are contributed by India. According to different data current occupational stress prevalence is between 6.0% till 71.7%. Mean prevalence of stress was 29.9%.[3] Work plays a central role in people's lives, since most workers spend at least eight hours a day in the workplace, whether it is on a plantation, in an office, factory, etc. Therefore, work environments should be safe and stress free. Poor working conditions of any type have the potential to affect a worker's health and safety. Frustrations, lack of job satisfaction, insecurity, poor human relationship, emotional tension are some of the psychosocial factor which may undermine both physical and mental health of the worker.[4] According to WHO report 15% of working-age adults were estimated to have a mental disorder in 2019. Occupational stress can be defined as harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the resources, needs, or capabilities of an employee, leading to poor mental and physical health.[5] The health effects can be classified in two main categories[6] - (a) Psychological and behavioral changes: including hostility, aggressiveness, anxiety, depression, tardiness, sickness etc. (b) Psychosomatic ill heath: including fatigue, headache, pain in neck and back, hypertension, heart disease etc. Above seeing the all psychological and psychosomatic ill heath we can plan a yoga protocol for overcome the all side effects. Yoga has already proven for good health and peace of mind.

There are several modern schools or types of Yoga (i.e., Iyengar, Viniyoga, Sivananda, etc.), each having its own distinct emphasis regarding the relative content of physical postures and exercises (Asanas), breathing techniques (Pranayama), deep relaxation, and meditation practices that create awareness and ultimately more profound states of consciousness. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Yoga began to be used as a therapeutic intervention because of the various psycho physiological benefits of the component practices. So, for occupational stress, Yoga is beneficial and can improve the quality of work.

Aim of the Study

1. To promote health and happiness of workers.

2. To detect signs of Emotional Stress and strain, and to secure relief of stress.

3. Treatment of Employees suffering from mental illness.

4. Rehabilitation of those who become ill.

5. To make a Yoga protocol for prevention of occupational stress.

Materials and Methods

The main aim of the present research study is to review the available literature to identify various stressors at work palace in the present scenario, and to understand the role of yoga in reducing and managing stress caused by them. The study is exploratory in nature, and is based on secondary data collected from various sources like journals, magazines, books, internet etc. Rigorous analysis of the available literature on stress, stress management, Yoga and its different forms has been made to ensure the validity and reliability of the conclusions drawn.

Yoga Protocol for Stress Management

Yoga is an ancient, Indian art and science that seeks to promote individual health and well-being through physical and mental exercise and deep relaxation. A person of any age, sex, caste, color, religion, financial status and health or life condition can practice Yoga and derive its benefits.[7] In present study we are trying to make an half an hour yoga protocol to overcome the occupational stress and prevention of stress related disorder.


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Name of Yogasana
1. Prayer or Om Chanting

How to perform

  • Simply sit in any comfortable posture-Sukhasana / Dandaasana / Padmasana
  • Take a deep breath
  • Hold the breath
  • Start any prayer or om chanting

Timing: 1-2 rounds

Benefits

  • Keep mind calm
  • Increase concentration power

2. Bhramari Pranayam

How to perform

  • Keeping your ears and eye closed.
  • Take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale through your nose.
  • On your exhale, make a humming or buzzing sound.

Timing: 2-3 rounds

Benefits

  • Calms and quiets the mind.
  • Releases cerebral tension.
  • Stimulates the pineal and pituitary glands, supporting their proper functioning.
  • Relieves stress and anxiety.
  • Lowers blood pressure.

3. Anulom Vilom

How to perform

  • Sit leg crossed. Keep your spine and neck straight and close your eyes.
  • Using your right hand, fold your middle and index fingers toward your palm.
  • Place your thumb on your right nostril and your ring finger on your left nostril.
  • Close your right nostril with your thumb and inhale through your left nostril, slowly and deeply, until your lungs are full. Focus on your breathing.
  • Next, release your thumb and close your left nostril with your ring finger.
  • Exhale slowly through the right nostril.

Timing: 2-3 rounds

Benefits

  • Improved breathing
  • Improved cardiovascular function
  • Stress reduction

4. Gomukhasana

How to perform

  • Sit with your back straight on a yoga mat. Keep your legs extended.
  • Keep both the feet together and place your palms on the hips.
  • Now fold your left leg and gently place it under the right buttock.
  • Palace your right leg over your left thigh.
  • Now raise your left arm and bring it to the back over the shoulder. Keep the arm upwards, bend the elbow and palm facing outward.

Timing: 2-3 min

Benefits

  • Treats high blood pressure
  • Cures stiff and frozen shoulders
  • Reduces anxiety and stress

5. Vrikshasana

How to perform

  • Stand straight with your feet at a distance of 2 inches from each other.
  • Concentrate on a point straight ahead.
  • Exhale and bend your right leg, placing the right foot on the inner aspect of the left thigh. Your right heel should be touching the perineum (the surface area between the tail bone and the joint where there the right and left pelvic bones meet).
  • Inhale and raise the arms, joining the palms together to form the Namaskar Mudra.
  • Hold this posture for 10 to 30 seconds. Ensure that you are breathing normally at this point.
  • Now, breathe out and bring your arms down. Bring your right leg down to the starting position.
  • Repeat the same steps for doing Vrikshasana on the left side.

Timing: 1-2 rounds


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Benefits

  • It brings balance and equilibrium to your mind.
  • It helps improve concentration.

6. Matsyasana

How to perform

  • Maintaining the cross-legged posture, carefully bend backwards and lie flat down on your back fully.
  • Now raise your upper back only, supporting yourself with your elbows and palms, stretching your neck backwards to place the top of your head on the ground.
  • Now, with your right hand, grasp the left foot and then grasp the left foot with your right hand, keeping the elbows on the floor.

Timing: 1-2min

Benefits

  • Relieves Stress
  • Strengthens spine
  • Detoxifies the Body

7. Shavaasana

How to perform

  • Lie back extending your legs with toes facing the ceiling.
  • Keep your head in the center and do not allow it to fall on either side.
  • Extend your arms towards the bottom of the mat, resting the back of your hands on the floor.
  • Relax your tongue, cheeks, lips, throat and neck.
  • Let your eyes sink deep and slowly turn them downwards towards your heart.
  • Stay calm and rest in pose for about 5 minutes.

Timing: 3-5 mint

Benefits

  • Calms central nervous system, aiding the digestive and immune systems.
  • Calms the mind and reduces stress.
  • Reduces headache, fatigue and anxiety.
  • Helps lower blood pressure.
  • Promotes spiritual awakening and awareness of higher consciousness.

Discussion

Stress has become a part and parcel of the present day’s life. Stress has an adverse effect on an individual’s physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing. Stress has a negative effect on an individual’s health and performance. Yoga is a way of life. It is not merely a tool for stress management but it is also practiced to ensure good physical and mental health and to live a meaningful life.[8] Pranayama calms and quiets the mind releases cerebral tension. It stimulates the pineal and pituitary glands, supporting their proper functioning. Relieves stress and anxiety. So, for any occupational stress these Yoga and Pranayama may be helpful and may prevent all occupational disorders.

Reference

1. Park Textbook of preventive and social medicine by K.Park, 24th edition, 16 Chapter, P.g.no.840

2. WHO (1962), Health hazards of the human environment, Geneva (Available on-https://www.who.int/health-topics/occupational-health)

3. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330618223_a_review_of_occupational_stress_prevalence_and_its_predictors

4. Park Textbook of preventive and social medicine by K.Park, 24th edition, 16 Chapter,P.g.no.842

5. Almale BD, Vankudre AJ, Bansode-Gokhe SS, Pawar VK. An epidemiologic study of occupational stress factors in Mumbai police personnel. Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2014;18:109-12. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

6. Park Textbook of preventive and social medicine by K.Park, 24th edition, 16 Chapter,P.g.no.842

7. Thakur, Reetika, Role of Yoga in Stress Management (2016). Hill Quest, Vol.3, Issue 2 (April- June), 2016, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3529022

8. Thakur, Reetika, Role of Yoga in Stress Management (2016). Hill Quest, Vol.3, Issue 2 (April- June), 2016, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3529022


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