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Stress is the "wear and tear" that our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually changing environment; it has physical and emotional effects on us and can create positive or negative feelings. As a positive influence, stress can help compel us to action; it can result in a new awareness and an exciting new perspective. As a negative influence, it can result in feelings of distrust, rejection anger and depression, which in turn can lead to health problems such as headaches, upset stomach, rashes, insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure and stroke. With the death of a loved one, the birth of a child, a job promotion, or a new relationship, we experience stress as we readjust our lives. In so adjusting to different circumstances, stress will help or hinder us depending on how we react to it. Although we tend to think of stress as caused by the external events, events in themselves are not stressful. Rather, it is the way in which we interpret and react to events that makes them stressful. People differ dramatically in the type of events they interpret as stressful and the way in which they respond to such stress e.g. speaking in public can be stressful for some people (social inhibition) and relaxing for others(social facilitation). Thus, stress is a particular pattern of disturbing psychological and physiological reactions that occur when an environment event threatens important motives and taxes one's ability to cope. Pranayam has been used as a coping strategy during the present study. Pranayam is made of two words "pra" meaning to fill is added to the ischolar_main word "an" (to breathe or to live) creating new the new meaning life that fills with breath. Pranayama is control of Breath". "Prana" is breath or represents the pranic energy responsible for life or life force, and "ayama" means control. Therefore, Pranayam is "Control of Breath". One can control the rhythms of pranic energy with pranayama and achieve healthy body and mind. In other words, the prana is related to that eternal divme force called 'Paramatma "God". Thus the objective of Pranayama is to stimulate, communicate, regulate and control the vital life force that exists in the body. There is no penance greater than Pranayam. It blemishes the ignorance: and helps the knowledge to rise. Pranayam helps in reducing different kinds of diseases. Moreover, because Pranayam (breathing) is the important means of supplying our body and its various organs with prana (oxygen) it is vital for our survival. Another important reason that Pranayam is important is that it is because breathing is one of the most important ways that weareable to get rid of waste products and toxins from our body. Pranayam is considered the highest form of penance. Objectives of the study are to study the stress among adolescents, to study coping strategies of stress with special emphasis on Pranayam and to study affect of Pranayam on stress. A sample of students from Vivekananda College and Amity University, Noida were taken for the study. The sample size was kept small since the study required the select group of students having high stress level to undergo rigorous training on various Pranayam techniques and it also required them to devote dedicated time for practicing the same for a period of month. Perceived Stress Scale was used to measure their stress levels and it consisted of 10 items. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used during the study. Questionnaire was filled and the respondents were asked about their feelings and thoughts during the one month. Finally the study showed that application of breathing exercises was beneficial in lowering the level of perceived stress.

Keywords

Stress, Paranayam, Coping Strategies, Adolescents.

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