In the face of challenges and threats, we can remain calm and centered, and experience balance and poise. The body is a self-regulating system. There are threats to the body's equilibrium as its environment changes and as the organism grows. These threats can be responded to adaptively, by appropriate action, or destructively, by inappropriate action. The key to self-renewal lies in the level of awareness of threats, and the strategies available for dealing with them.
Yoga is a highly effective strategy for stress management.
The sympathetic nervous system controls the stress response and the parasympathetic nervous system controls the opposite or, the relaxation response. The endocrine system also releases hormones in response to stressors. Under stress, the sympathetic nervous system sends messages to muscles, organs and glands which help the body, react. They cause increases in heart rate, in blood pressure, in stomach acid production, in muscle tension, in the circulating levels of blood sugar and cholesterol, and in blood thickness as well as producing abnormalities in immune function. For the short term, these effects are adaptive and help a person prepare for responding to the stressor.