Yoga For Stress Relief: What The Research Says, And What To Do

By Chris Lalor, Certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and Certified Yoga Therapist, and Dr Stuart McGill, Yoga Teacher, Flametree Yoga Darwin

Yoga for stress relief: the short answer

Yoga for stress relief is one of the most researched uses of yoga. A 2025 review of 36 studies found yoga lowered perceived stress (how stressed people feel) by a moderate amount, and the effect was biggest in people who started out most stressed. A 2017 review of 42 studies linked yoga poses with lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, lower blood pressure during the day and a slower resting heart rate. So yes, yoga helps with stress, and it does it through the body as well as the mind. For the whole picture, with Mr BKS Iyengar’s approach, the yoga doctors and 18 studies, read our full guide: Yoga for stress and burnout. Here is this article in short form. Last updated: 31 October 2026.

• Yoga for stress relief is backed by a 2025 review of 36 studies.
• People who were most stressed got the most out of it.
• Yoga poses were linked to lower cortisol and a slower heart rate.
• Slow breathing on its own lowered stress in 12 trials.
• Restorative poses switch the body towards “rest and digest”.
• Many people feel calmer after a single class.
• New, or away 3 months or more? 2 free classes, then 10 at half price, in Darwin or LIVE online.

For the full picture on worry and nerves, see our Yoga And Anxiety guide, which sets out what Mr Iyengar, the yoga doctors and the research say.

If nerves around speaking are your stress, see our yoga for stuttering guide.

Stress that will not switch off

Most people who come to us about stress are not in a crisis. They are busy, capable people whose minds keep running at 10pm. Work, family, money and the news all pile on, and the body stays on alert long after the day is done.

Dr Timothy McCall, an American medical doctor and yoga therapist who studied with Mr BKS Iyengar, author of Yoga as Medicine, puts stress at the centre. His poster “117 Health Conditions Helped by Yoga (as found in scientific studies as of June 2019)” lists stress and burnout among the conditions studies have found yoga helps. In a Yoga Journal article he called yoga “arguably the most comprehensive approach to fighting stress ever invented”, because it works on the body, the breath and the mind at the same time.

What does long stress do to the brain?

Stress that goes on for months or years is linked with changes in how the brain’s alarm centre and its decision-making centre work together. Dr Lila Landowski, a neuroscientist at the University of Tasmania, explained this in a 2018 talk for ABC Radio National’s Ockham’s Razor, called I stress, you stress, how do we stress less? The ABC’s summary says long-term stress alters behaviour through its effects on brain size and structure, and on how brain cells connect and work. Here is the gist of her talk, in our words.

• The alarm centre gets busier. The amygdala (a small part of the brain that sets off the stress response) becomes more active when stress does not switch off. She said people under long stress tend to have a bigger amygdala, and that a bigger amygdala has been linked with more aggressive behaviour.
• The decision-making centre is less available. The prefrontal cortex (the front of the brain, which helps us stop, think and choose) connects less well with the amygdala. She said this can make people more impulsive, snappy and impatient than they would otherwise be.
• Memory takes a hit. The hippocampus (the brain’s learning and memory centre) is affected too. She said stress hormones, especially cortisol, are linked with the hippocampus shrinking, which can bring forgetfulness and brain fog.

The effects are not fixed. She said the brain can adapt back when the stress eases, and that regular exercise, enough sleep and time with other people all help.

It helps explain why many students tell us they feel clearer and less snappy after a restful class, and why the supported poses on this page are built to give the body’s alarm a rest.

Mr BKS Iyengar wrote about stress in the same spirit. In our words, he said yoga helps to lessen stress, and that slow, unforced out-breaths in a pose bring quiet to the body.

More on the sleep and mood side: yoga for sleep, yoga for depression, and our relaxation, stress and sleep notes.

What does the research say about yoga for stress?

Here are the main studies, with what yoga was compared with.

Perceived stress: how stressed people feel

• Yoga lowered how stressed people feel by a moderate amount, and the most stressed gained the most. Rhoads 2025, Health Psychology Review: a review of 36 studies using the standard Perceived Stress Scale. Read the study.
• Yoga lowered stress in the short term against no programme, and quality of life improved. Schleinzer 2024, Frontiers in Psychiatry: a review of 13 trials and 1,026 stressed adults. No harms were reported in the trials that checked. Over the longer term, against other active programmes, the result favoured the other programme. These trials pooled many styles of yoga, not Iyengar yoga on its own. Why the kind of yoga matters. Read the study.
• Yoga ranked third of the ways tested to lower stress in older adults. Reminiscence therapy and exercise ranked first and second. Zhu 2025, Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing: a review of 23 trials in older adults. The approaches lowered cortisol when all of them were pooled together, so that result is not for yoga alone. Read the study.
• Iyengar yoga lowered stress, anxiety and low mood over 3 months. Michalsen 2012: a randomised trial of 72 distressed women in Germany, with 12 or 24 classes of 90 minutes, against a waiting list. Read the study.

Stress in the body

Yoga poses were linked with lower evening and waking cortisol, lower daytime blood pressure and a slower resting heart rate. Pascoe 2017, Psychoneuroendocrinology (the science of hormones and the nervous system): a review of 42 trials, against other active programmes. The studies varied widely. Read the study. In plain words, the body shows the change, not just the questionnaire.

Breathing on its own

Breathwork (deliberately slowing or shaping the breath) lowered self-reported stress by a small to medium amount. Fincham 2023, Scientific Reports: a review of 12 trials and 785 adults, against no breathwork. Read the study.

Slow breathing raised heart rate variability (a sign the calming side of the nervous system is working), during a session and after training. Laborde 2022, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews: a review of 223 studies. Read the study.

How does yoga reduce stress?

Your nervous system has two sides. One revs you up (the “fight or flight” side). The other calms you down (the “rest and digest” side). Chronic stress leaves the first one stuck on.

Dr McCall makes a point of his own here. In our words, he says research at the Vivekananda yoga research centre near Bangalore found that an active practice followed by a quiet one gives deeper relaxation than quiet practice alone. An Iyengar class is built the same way.

• Standing poses first. They use up the nervous energy and take all your attention, so the mind has nowhere else to go.
• Then supported, restful poses. Lying over bolsters or with the legs up a wall, the body shifts towards “rest and digest”.
• Then slow breathing. A longer out-breath tells the body it is safe.

Iyengar teaching holds that the attention a pose demands is itself the rest. Students commonly tell us the argument from work is simply gone by the end of class.

Yoga poses for stress relief: what an Iyengar class does

These are simple yoga poses for stress relief we use often. They are best learnt with a teacher first, then used at home.

1. Legs Up The Wall (Viparita Karani). A bolster under the hips, legs resting on the wall, 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Reclining Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana), lying back over a bolster with the soles of the feet together.
3. Supported Child’s Pose (Adho Mukha Virasana), the forehead resting on a bolster.
4. Standing forward bend with the head supported (Uttanasana) on a chair or blocks.
5. Supported Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) over a bolster or block.
6. Corpse Pose (Savasana), with the eyes covered, at the end.

What a student says

Sharon Kyriacou came back to yoga after many years away. In her Google review (August 2026) she wrote:

“I had many years away from yoga & kind of felt I may have missed the boat. Flametree Yoga has led me slowly & surely back to strength, stability & confidence. No more back issues, up & down ladders again with ease, better sleep & lowered stress. Highly recommend!”

When the news is too much

If the news leaves you unsettled, you are not alone, and you can look after your mind without ignoring the world. Many students tell us that current events leave them distressed. Some now read the news when they choose, rather than watch it on TV. Others keep it away from the early part of the day, before their yoga or breath meditation. You can keep your compassion without being so charged up by what is going on.

Patanjali, the sage who set down the Yoga Sutras (the classic text of yoga), taught that everyone has a quiet, still place within. His famous line, chitta vritti nirodha, is usually translated as the stilling of the movements of the mind. In the tradition we teach, yoga is a way to find that quiet place, so you can act with less emotion and, we hope, more wisdom.

A quiet-mind practice. Lie down with your body fully supported, as in the relaxation picture higher up this page: a bolster under the knees and a blanket under the head. Cover your eyes with a folded cloth or an eye bag. Let your breathing settle, then let each out-breath be slow and unforced. Stay as long as is comfortable, and go back to ordinary breathing if the slow breath feels strained.

This is about finding quiet, not about avoiding what is happening.

Stress is normal, and yoga eases it. Give yoga a try: anyone new, or away 3 months or more, gets 2 free classes, then 10 at half price.

Do some yoga first, then add breathwork

At Flametree we suggest doing some yoga (asana) before you start breathwork. The poses settle the mind, so the breathing practices of pranayama are easier to reach and to learn. If you are a current student, or returning after time away, the half price non-beginner deal is a good place to begin. If you have never done yoga, try the half price beginner deal. Both come with two free classes.

Yoga for stress relief in Darwin, or LIVE online

Flametree Yoga Studio runs restorative, gentle and beginner classes each week at Woolner and Coolalinga in Darwin and LIVE online, and early morning pranayama (breath meditation) classes. Chris Lalor, Certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and certified Yoga Therapist, has taught for more than thirty years.

• New to Flametree, or away 3 months or more? 2 free classes, then 10 at half price, to use online, in the studio, or both.
• Already practising yoga? There is also a non-beginner half price pass.
• See every class time, including online classes, on the timetable.

Can’t make a class? Practise at home with our video courses.

Read more: how to lower cortisol, how to stop overthinking, GABA, how to calm your nervous system, what is restorative yoga, simple yoga poses for stress relief and the immune system, yoga for anxiety and breathing for anxiety, yoga for sleep, and the benefits of yoga hub.

Yoga for stress relief: questions people ask

Is yoga good for stress relief?

Yes. A 2025 review of 36 studies found yoga gave a moderate reduction in how stressed people feel, and a 2017 review of 42 studies linked yoga poses with lower cortisol, lower daytime blood pressure and a slower resting heart rate. The effect was largest in people who started out most stressed.

What type of yoga is best for stress?

A class that combines active standing poses, then supported restful poses, then slow breathing. Dr McCall makes the point that an active practice followed by a quiet one relaxes people more deeply than quiet practice alone. Restorative Iyengar classes, which use bolsters, blankets and chairs, are built that way.

Which yoga poses are best for stress relief?

Legs Up The Wall, Reclining Bound Angle Pose over a bolster, supported Child’s Pose, a standing forward bend with the head resting, supported Bridge Pose and Corpse Pose. They are all supported, so they can be held for several minutes while the breath slows.

How does yoga reduce stress?

It works on the body and the mind together. Standing poses take your full attention and use up nervous energy. Supported poses and slow breathing shift the nervous system towards “rest and digest”. Reviews have found lower cortisol, a slower heart rate and better heart rate variability with yoga and slow breathing.

How long does it take for yoga to reduce stress?

Many people feel calmer after a single class, especially a restorative one. In one Iyengar yoga trial in Germany, 3 months of classes once or twice a week lowered stress, anxiety and low mood in 72 distressed women, compared with a waiting list (Michalsen 2012).

Can breathing exercises reduce stress on their own?

Yes. A 2023 review of 12 trials found slow, deliberate breathing lowered self-reported stress by a small to medium amount. Breathing is taught at Flametree as pranayama (breath meditation), usually after some poses so the body is ready to sit or lie still.

Can yoga help with burnout?

Burnout is on Dr McCall’s 2019 list of conditions studies have found yoga helps. What yoga offers is regular, structured rest: restorative poses, slow breathing and a class where nothing is asked of you except attention.

Why do I feel jumpy and tired after a stressful week?

Long stress keeps the body’s alarm switched on, which is tiring, and it tends to make people more reactive. Dr Lila Landowski, a neuroscientist at the University of Tasmania, described in a 2018 ABC Radio National talk how long stress is linked with a busier amygdala (the brain’s alarm centre), a weaker link to the decision-making part of the brain, and poorer memory, and said the brain can adapt back when the stress eases. Restful poses, slow breathing and enough sleep are what we teach to help.

Where can I do yoga for stress relief in Darwin?

Flametree Yoga Studio teaches restorative, gentle and beginner classes at Woolner and Coolalinga in Darwin and LIVE online, plus early morning pranayama classes. New to Flametree, or away 3 months or more? You get 2 free classes, then 10 at half price, in the studio or online.

If stress has already run you down, read how to recover from burnout.

Stress and your mouth are linked too: see our yoga for gum disease guide.

Sources

• Rhoads MC et al. Yoga as an intervention for stress: a meta-analysis. Health Psychol Rev 2025. doi:10.1080/17437199.2024.2420974
• Schleinzer A et al. Effects of yoga on stress in stressed adults. Front Psychiatry 2024. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1437902
• Zhu M et al. Interventions to reduce perceived stress among older adults, network meta-analysis. Worldviews Evid Based Nurs 2025. doi:10.1111/wvn.70004
• Michalsen A et al. Iyengar yoga for distressed women: a 3-armed randomized controlled trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2012. doi:10.1155/2012/408727
• Pascoe MC et al. Yoga, mindfulness-based stress reduction and stress-related physiological measures. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2017. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.08.008
• Fincham GW et al. Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health. Sci Rep 2023. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-27247-y
• Laborde S et al. Effects of voluntary slow breathing on heart rate and heart rate variability. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104711
• McCall T. 117 Health Conditions Helped by Yoga (as of June 2019). Yoga As Medicine, DrMcCall.com. And McCall’s Yoga Journal article on yoga and the nervous system.
• Landowski L. I stress, you stress, how do we stress less? ABC Radio National, Ockham’s Razor, 30 September 2018. abc.net.au

Flametree Yoga Studio, Darwin NT. This article is general information, not medical advice. Always follow the directions of any doctor you are consulting.