Are you nervous about a presentation? Are your muscles tense from a full day in front of the computer? Have a headache? Just too tired by the afternoon to make much headway on a new project?

You can take more aspirin, gulp cups of high octane java and convince yourself to grin and bear whatever stress you’re facing. Unfortunately, you could be setting yourself up for more problems down the road -- including health woes and less on-the-job productivity.

Maybe it’s time to try yoga, an ancient approach to relaxing muscles, focusing the mind and giving you an energy boost, all at the same time.

From the Sanskrit word meaning "union,” yoga combines specific poses, called asanas, with attention to regulating your breathing. The goal? To integrate mind and body while building stamina and flexibility.

“Yoga helps with physical stress by using the asanas to work with the body gently to relax muscles and release stress, “ Barbara Nardi, who teaches yoga at the Pierce Program in Atlanta, Georgia, tells Synergy. “As we focus the mind on the body and the breath, we reduce our mental chatter and our mental stress.”

Take a deep breath, check out the facts

If you’ve never tried yoga, this may sound like hocus pocus or a fitness fad best left to celebrities like well-known yoga devotee Madonna. Over the past decade, research has accumulated backing up the idea yoga really can help conditions ranging from anxiety and fatigue to headaches, neck and back strain and more. In fact, scientists at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) say they’ve found yoga is an effective way to treat the most common cause of job-related disability and a leading contributor to missed work days -- low back pain. A NINDS study, published in the medical journal Spine, concluded that low back pain sufferers who regularly practiced yoga postures had less discomfort and better moods. What’s more, back pain patients who did yoga were far less likely to take drugs for pain relief than their non-yoga practicing counterparts.

What about the claims yoga zaps stress and might even keep you feeling younger than your years? Ohio State University scientists came up with a way to test that idea. They looked at blood levels of a cytokine (a type of protein produced by the immune system) dubbed interleukin-6 (IL-6). IL-6 is known to rise due to both normal aging and stress. Elevated amounts of IL-6 have been implicated in heart disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes, arthritis and a host of other age and stress-related debilitating diseases.

Practicing yoga exercises, the researchers found, significantly reduces the amount of IL-6 circulating in the body. “Hopefully, this means that people can eventually learn to respond less strongly to stressors in their everyday lives by using yoga and other stress-reducing modalities, “said Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, Ph.D., lead author of the study.

Other recent studies have provided evidence yoga can help prevent middle-aged weight gain (the dreaded “spare tire”), alleviate postpartum depression and effectively treat post traumatic stress syndrome. In addition, Wake Forest University researchers have documented that yoga practice significantly reduces depression and increased feelings of peace in women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Getting down to (yoga) business

The idea that practicing yoga might keep employees healthier and happier may explain why more corporations are offering yoga lessons. For example, Nike, Forbes, Apple, HBO and George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) film company all offer on-site yoga classes for their employees. If your workplace doesn’t come with that perk you can still incorporate yoga into your work day. You may want to take yoga classes (most health clubs and YMCAs offer them) in your spare time to introduce yourself to various asanas, each of which has specific physical benefits. DVDs and books can help, too. But even without any specialized lessons, you can use simple-to-learn yoga techniques at your workspace to relax and recharge.

“Yoga is all about awareness. So often we are not even aware that we are holding stress in our bodies. First we need to pay attention to how our body feels, begin specific yoga movements and slowly begin to let the stress go, “Barbara Nardi says. “Taking a few minutes out to relax and focus this way helps us to be more efficient and productive.”

Take a yoga break at your desk

Just breathe. The breath is a very powerful tool in yoga. Try sitting quietly in your chair, eyes closed, and observe your breath for a few minutes. Is it shallow? Fast of slow? Concentrate on slowing your breathing down comfortably without forcing it.

“Often when we are stressed we hold our breath or breathe short quick breaths,” Nardi points out. “By using a relaxed breath that is slow and deep we begin to release tension. Once this breath is mastered it can be used any time or place to relax -- at the dentist, on an airplane, or in a business meeting.”

Palming. Eyes tired and strained? This classic yoga relaxation technique can help. Sitting at your desk, rub the palms of your hands together in a circular motion (you’ll feel your hands become warm) as you inhale. Then, with elbows resting comfortably on your desk, lean forward, covering your eyes with your palms and slowly exhale. Visualize any tension in your face melting or floating away. Repeat several times.

Head movements. To relax your face, neck and shoulders, either sit in a chair or stand, comfortably relaxed. Inhale slowly. Exhale as you allow your head to slowly and comfortably move forward, coordinated with the breath. Inhale slowly as you raise your head. Exhale and slowly turn your head to one side, without straining. Inhale and move your head back to center. Repeat to the other side. Exhale lowering your head toward your chest, then inhale slowly and raise your head again. Repeat many times.

Forward bend. To stretch out your body try any variation of a forward bend. First remove your shoes and stand by your desk with feet about shoulder’s width apart. Inhaling slowly, raise your arms overhead, coordinating the movement of your arms with your breath. Pause. Exhale and slowly bend forward from the waist. If you are very flexible, bend toward the floor (keep knees bent slightly and do not strain or force yourself forward). Place your hands on your thighs, knees or the floor -- whatever is comfortable for you. Pause. Inhale as you slowly straighten your body, raising your arms overhead. Pause, exhale and lower arms to your side. Repeat several times. If you are not very flexible, simply bend over toward the top of your desk instead of the floor.