ANCIENT TOOLS FOR MODERN STRESS, with Evelyne Serais

One of the simplest descriptions of stress comes from the Canadian physician Hans Selye. He described stress as simply the body's adaptation to change. It is how we respond whenever an internal or external event occurs.

Change can be as simple as a shift in room temperature or as destabilizing as losing one's job. Over time, we create our own individual stress response pattern through our thoughts and beliefs, our emotional responses, the way we breathe, and the way we hold and move our bodies. This pattern becomes set at a certain point, and although this response is intended to be helpful, more often than not it blocks the natural flow of ease in the body, and we become frequently sick, easily tired, often irritable, and generally "stressed out."

What makes Kundalini Yoga more effective for stress reduction than, say, 20 minutes on the elliptical machine at your gym? While…