By Rachel Gallego

Balancing school, work and your social life can be stressful and yoga is a great remedy to address this tension.

It may seem intimidating, or even foreign, but anyone can do it and studies have shown many health benefits.

Yoga can help to reduce stress and anxiety through focused training of your physical and mental disciplines. Using breathing and meditation practices allow you to unwind and feel at ease. Yoga can help to improve flexibility, lower blood pressure and enhance heart function. It may also aid in improving chronic conditions such as depression and pain. A local yoga instructor puts it into a simple perspective and says that it releases the bad energy and supports your overall sense of well-being.

One of the great aspects of yoga is that there are many different styles that you can find to fit your own personal needs and goals. If you are a beginner, you may want to start out with Hatha yoga, which uses basic poses or postures. If you are looking to push yourself a little more, Ashtanga yoga would be a good fit. This is commonly known as power yoga, which is more physically demanding in order to increase your strength. Another common and popular style is Bikram yoga, or hot yoga, where you practice proper alignment in a setting of around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Another benefit of yoga is that instructors encourage you to explore your limits while not overdoing it. If you find yourself uncomfortable, you can always resort back to a simpler pose.

Don’t be afraid, roll out a mat and give yoga a try and watch your stress subside.

CSUSM offers free yoga. Visit http://www.csusm.edu/rec/fitnessclasses.html for more information.