Learn Hardcore Russian: Йога уменьшает стресс.

In this sentence, we’re talking about a general, habitual fact (“Yoga reduces stress” in general), so the imperfective уменьшать / уменьшает is the natural choice.

How do we know that йога is the subject and стресс is the object?

Several clues tell us:

Word order
The neutral order in Russian is Subject–Verb–Object.
- Йога (subject) – уменьшает (verb) – стресс (object)
Cases and endings
- йога is in the nominative case (the form used for the subject; dictionary form: йога).
- стресс is in the accusative case (direct object), but for inanimate masculine nouns, the accusative singular looks the same as the nominative: стресс → стресс.

So even though стресс doesn’t change its form, its position and role after the verb tell us it’s the object.

What case is стресс in, and why does it look like the basic form?

Стресс is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of the verb уменьшает (“reduces what?” -> стресс).

For inanimate masculine nouns in the singular, the accusative and nominative forms are identical:

Nominative: стресс (subject) – e.g. Стресс мешает. (“Stress gets in the way.”)
Accusative: стресс (object) – e.g. Йога уменьшает стресс.

So the case is different, but it’s not visible in the spelling.

What gender are йога and стресс, and why does that matter?

йога is feminine (it ends in -а, which is usually feminine).
стресс is masculine (ends in a consonant).

Why it matters:

Agreement in past tense
The verb in past tense agrees with the subject’s gender:
- Йога уменьшала стресс. – “Yoga reduced stress.” (feminine past: уменьшала)
- Стресс уменьшился. – “Stress decreased.” (masculine past: уменьшился)
Adjective endings
- полезная йога – useful yoga (feminine ending -ая)
- сильный стресс – strong stress (masculine ending -ый)

In the present tense, like уменьшает, the verb form doesn’t show gender, only person and number.

Can I change the word order and still be correct?

Yes, Russian word order is more flexible than English, but changes often affect emphasis or may sound unnatural.

Йога уменьшает стресс. – neutral, natural: “Yoga reduces stress.”
Стресс уменьшает йога. – grammatically possible, but sounds odd and poetic/marked; the focus feels strange, like “It’s yoga that reduces stress” in a contorted way.
Стресс йога уменьшает. – possible only in very specific, stylized, or poetic contexts; not good as a normal sentence.

For everyday speech/writing, Йога уменьшает стресс is the best and most natural word order.

How do you pronounce Йога уменьшает стресс, and where is the stress in each word?

Stresses (accented syllables) in CAPS:

ЙОга – ЙО-га
уменьШАет – у-мень-ША-ет
стрЕсс – стрЕсс

Simplified pronunciation guide (English-like):

Йога ≈ “YOH-guh”
уменьшает ≈ “oo-min-SHA-yet” (the ь soft sign makes н softer, but isn’t pronounced itself)
стресс ≈ “stress” (very similar to English “stress”)

IPA (if you know it):

[ˈjogə ʊmʲɪnʲˈʂajɪt stres]

How would I say “Yoga reduces stress levels” or “Yoga reduces my stress”?

You can expand the object:

Yoga reduces stress levels.
- Йога уменьшает уровень стресса.
  - уровень – “level” (masculine)
  - стресса – genitive of стресс (“of stress”)
Yoga reduces my stress.
- Йога уменьшает мой стресс.
  - мой – “my” (masculine, agreeing with стресс)

The verb уменьшает stays the same; you just make the object phrase more specific.

Is there a difference between уменьшает стресс, снижает стресс, and снимает стресс?

All can be translated as “reduces/relieves stress,” but they have slightly different nuances:

уменьшает стресс – “reduces stress,” “makes it smaller/less.”
Neutral, very common for abstract things like stress, pain, risk, etc.
снижает стресс – also “reduces/lowers stress,” often used for levels, intensity, indicators:
- снижает уровень стресса – “lowers the level of stress.”
снимает стресс – literally “takes off / removes stress,” closer to “relieves stress”.
Often used about activities that help you relax:
- Музыка снимает стресс. – “Music relieves stress.”

In your sentence, уменьшает стресс is the most straightforward and neutral.

How would this sentence change in the past or future?

Using the same imperfective verb уменьшать:

Past tense (habitual/general in the past):
- Йога уменьшала стресс. – “Yoga reduced stress.”
  - уменьшала – feminine, agreeing with йога.
Future tense (imperfective, repeated/ongoing in the future):
- Йога будет уменьшать стресс. – “Yoga will reduce / will be reducing stress.”

Using the perfective уменьшить for a single, complete effect:

Йога уменьшит стресс. – “Yoga will (successfully) reduce the stress.”
(focus on the result of one action or period)

All of these are correct; you choose based on time and whether you stress a general habit (imperfective) or a single completed result (perfective).

How would I include the idea “helps to” as in “Yoga helps to reduce stress”?

You can add помогает (helps):

Йога помогает уменьшать стресс.
– “Yoga helps (in general) to reduce stress / helps with reducing stress.” (imperfective infinitive, generic process)
Йога помогает уменьшить стресс.
– “Yoga helps to reduce (once / to a certain level) stress.” (perfective infinitive, result-oriented)

Both are used; the second often sounds a bit more like “helps you achieve a reduction in stress.”