Mental stress always has a physical component. In fact, that's what the stress response is: the visceral priming of the body to either fight or run away from a perceived danger. Even chronic, unpleasant stress, the kind that's so constant you consider it normal, can cause aches and pains that you might not attribute to emotions. The source of stress-related pain lies in the brain, which triggers the release of cortisol, adrenaline and other hormones that prepare the body for action by increasing heart rate, blood pressure and respiration. These hormones also make muscles tense up, which can cause aches and irritate nerves. The lower back, neck and shoulders, and the eyes are three muscles which seem to be most susceptible to these kinds of tension.

Back pain can be caused by many different factors, such as poor posture or pressure on the spine from long hours of sitting. People who are dissatisfied, anxious, and fatigued are more likely to experience lower-back pain than those who have physical stressors, like doing a lot of lifting. When the body is stressed, we use our back muscles in ways that made them even more susceptible to injury. To remedy lower-back pain, a simple exercise like tucking the tailbone under and trying to press the small of the back into the floor is marvelous. Strengthening the abdominals, which support back muscles from the front is also vital! Plank, bhujangasana (cobra), and halasana (plow) can all help reduce back pain and strengthen the abdominals. Cobra serves to strengthen the upper abdominals and lumbar region while plow alternatively stretches the lumbar vertebrae in the opposite direction, encouraging flexibility of the spine.

The neck is particularly prone to stress-related pain because it bears the entire weight of head. Pain may start with bad habits like squeezing the phone between the shoulder and ear, and tension in these neck muscles serves only to deepen the problem. In most cases, getting rid of pain in the neck will benefit the shoulders as well, since muscles like the sternocleidomastoid run down to the sternum. Postures like sarvangasana (shoulderstand), adho mukha svanasana (downward facing dog), and gomukasan (cow-face posture); where the arms are stretched diagonally behind the back, adducting the scapula, are highly beneficial. Dog pose stretches the shoulders and opens up the whole body, while cow-face works on the armpits, triceps, and shoulders; opening the chest. Simple neck rotations are also very basic and effective for strained muscles.

Our eyes are the most used and hence often the most stressed muscles of our bodies! Eyeball rotations plus using peripheral vision, and holding a thumb out to focus alternatively on, beyond, and in front of the nail can help strengthen vision. Proper sleep and relaxation are also essential. Sun-bathing the eyes by staring at the sun with eyelids closed is rejuvenating and sooths the muscles. This is also possible with the eyes directly open during dawn and dusk, when the sun is low in the sky and its radiance is not too extreme! After a session of yoga or meditation it is also very beneficial to rub the hands together to generate prana (energy) and to press the palms over the eyes.

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