Of course, the sutras have an answer. They always do.

Sutra 2.1:
tapah svadhyaya ishvara-pranidhana kriya-yogah
The yoga of action consists of three parts: purifying the senses (tapas), contextualized self-study (svadhyaya), and devotion and release into that which is more than our ego-self. (ishvara-pranidhana).

(It’s worth noting that the last part is my own take on the interpretation.)

So, even the yoga sutras, which are supposed to be a guiding instruction in all this is saying “just let it go”.  Well, yeah.  That’s what the whole eight limbs is all about.  Self-control of the self, observances in relationation to others, physical exercises, breath work,  sensory withdrawl, concentration, meditation, enlightenment.  It’s all so easy, and we all have these simple lives that give us plenty of time to practice this.  Oh, wait… that first sentence up there…

That’s where I think the yoga sutras give us a little insight that can help us.

Sutra 2.5:
antiya ashuchi duhkha anatmasu nitya shuchi sukha atman khyatih avidya
There are four types of ignorance: thinking of the transient as eternal, mistaking the impure as pure, thinking those things which really bring misery will actually bring happiness, and mistaking that which is not the true self for the true self.

How much of our stress from the day, the week, the whatever, comes from this avidya (ignorance)?  Are you stressed over something in our job that we think is a big, long-lasting “THING”, that really is fairly transient in the grand scheme of our lives, and the lives of everyone around you?  Or perhaps you are stressed by thinking that completing everything on that overly detailed to-do list will make you feel happy, when you’ll just feel miserable trying to achieve an unachievable goal?

But when we’re in the middle of our stress, can we even think of these things?  I know I have trouble with it.  Taking a look at the sutras, though, using them to remind us “LOOK!”, can be a little kick in the behind, a little nudge that even if we don’t have time to go to an hour and a half long yoga class, and do half an hour of meditation before bed, we can do a little bit of work to get a little closer to an uncluttered mind, a calm body, and understanding our true self.