Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Education, Alagappa University College of Education, Karaikudi, Tamilnadu, India
Online published on 28 March, 2018.
In an age of a highly dynamic and competitive world, man is exposed to all kinds of stressors that can affect him in all realms of life. Hans Selye first introduced the term stress into life science. The term stress is derived from the Latin word Stringere, which means ―to be drawn tight.‖ Stress is a complex, dynamic process of interaction between a person and his or her life. Stress can affect one's health, work performance, social life, and the relationship with family members. The stress response is a complex emotion that produces physiological changes to prepare us for fight-or-flight, to defend ourselves from the threat or flee from it. Eminent behavioral scientist Stephen Robbins defines stress as that which arises from an opportunity, demand, constraint, threat, or challenge, when the outcomes of the event are important and uncertain. Keeley and Harcourt in their study, ―Occupational Stress: A Study of the New Zealand and Reserve Bank, ‖ revealed that stress is caused by heavy work demands in the job itself, which the unskilled employee with little control over how the work is done, cannot adapt to or modify. Kulkarni, in an article ―Burnout‖ published in Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, has said that the rapid change of the modern working life is associated with increasing demands of learning new skills, the need to adapt to new types of work, pressure of higher productivity and quality of work, time pressure, and hectic jobs. These factors are increasing stress among the workforce.
Numerous studies have shown yoga to be effective in the management of stress, and yoga is increasingly accepted in the Western world. Patients of all ages, as well as doctors themselves, can manage stress through the practice of yoga
