There are times during our days that we feel instilled with fear and anxiety, and find that there is no way out of our stressful situations. An easy way to help yourself is to use Yoga to relieve anxiety. Yoga involves deep breathing, stilling the mind and focusing on postures. It is a practice designed specifically for you. Choose movements that calm you, that are not extremely challenging, that keep you in the moment and do not make you feel rushed. It’s not competing with anyone else or listening to outside noise.
Symptoms and Causes of Anxiety Attacks
Before learning more about Yoga and how it can help with anxiety we need to learn a little more about what triggers anxiety and how we can create a calmer lifestyle. Using this information can allow you to live an anxiety-free life. It is helpful to learn how to use Yoga to relieve anxiety.
Anxiety is the body’s natural response to danger, stress and is sometimes called a “flight or fight” response. It can also be triggered by some mental health issues. This is a natural response from our body and only becomes a problem for us when it occurs in unnatural times during our day to day life. There are several different classifications for anxiety including general, obsessive, social and panic attacks caused by anxiety.
Causes of anxiety include:
- stress
- excessive alcohol
- caffeine or sugar intake
- hormone imbalance
- dysfunctional serotonin
- traumatic life experiences
- thyroid problems
Anxiety is usually characterized as a mental response to worry, tension or fear. However, anxiety can also be identified by different physical responses such as the ones below.
— irritability
— difficulty concentrating
— muscle tension
— chest tightness
— heart palpitations
— sweating
— anxiousness
— high blood pressure
— insomnia
— digestive problems
— panic attacks
— restlessness
— an inability to socialize
From the pages of National Institute of Health: The effects of yoga on anxiety and stress.
A helpful article by Harvard Health: Yoga for anxiety and depression
There are many benefits that anxiety can provide, even though most people see it as a negative thing. Anxiety has helped us with recognizing danger before it hits us, prepares for a big show, party, speech, or other events, and transforms our lives for the better. It lets us know when we need to be attentive and guarded so that we don’t face harm. It’s part of the fight or flight response that both us and our ancestors used to stay protected. This is a good thing. It’s called survival.
However, you might be one of the millions of people that suffer from excessive anxiety. You probably experience it as something that is always lingering in the back of your mind, not just something that comes in the heat of the moment. Though there are many different ways to relieve the symptoms of anxiety such as medication and therapy, you can also medicate yourself naturally. One of the best ways is to use Yoga to relieve anxiety. If you’re interested, here are a few poses that can get you through it.
6 Poses Using Yoga To Relieve Anxiety
When you practice yoga, you are learning to keep your breathing calm and steady. You’re learning to find a position, known as an asana, and be in the present. No matter what troubles are meddling about, you will be able to bring them to rest and ground yourself naturally. These poses will help ease your anxiety and bring you back to life no matter what kind of trouble or stress you are experiencing. Learn to use Yoga to relieve anxiety.
Warrior 2
This particular pose can help with relieving tension and battling anxiety. It is the perfect pose for reminding yourself that you are strong and more than capable of mastering this practice. In order to do this, you need to make sure that you have strength in your legs and core. Your balance will also be challenged. Though it may be challenging at first, completing it will prove that you can get through difficult yoga poses as well.
1 Start by standing up. Bring your left foot to the end of your yoga mat and turn it inward so that it is angled.
2 Bend your right knee so that it is at a 90-degree angle. Keep your back leg straight.
3 Extend your right arm over your leg and your left arm over the left one.
4 Keep your shoulders at ease and begin to inhale and exhale. Keep this pose for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.
Tree Pose
Take a moment to learn how this pose can help you relieve stress.
This pose can help you be more attentive, focused, and awake.
1 Make sure that your stance is straight and tall. Extend your arms up and straight into the air.
2 Keep your abdomen tight and place your right foot on the calf of your opposite leg. You can also slide it up to meet the thigh. Don’t rest it on the inside of your knee.
3 Try not to wobble or shake. Keep this pose still for 30 seconds while you keep a slow and steady breath. Repeat on the other side.
Seated Forward Fold
This particular pose can help keep you calm and alleviated.
Open up your hamstrings and keep your mind and breath and calm. This pose may be discomforting at first, but with the help of the breath, you will be able to get through it easily.
1 Sit down on the ground and extend your legs forward. Make sure that your posture is straight and erect, not slouched down or curved.
2 Breathe in slowly and extend your arms up and over your head to stretch your spine out.
3 Breathe out slowly and reach your fingers to grab your feet and bring yourself to the top of your legs. Keep lowering yourself until you can feel a deep stretch in your back and hamstrings.
4 Hold this pose for thirty seconds or more. As you do, inhale as much as you can and keep your spine lengthened.
Breathing/Savasana
One of the most important parts of yoga is your breathing. That’s the first thing you should focus on. This will help you be calmer and less stressed.
Learning how to breathe properly will big a help in with your advancement in yoga. It can also be your stepping stone to get through the hardest parts of your anxiety. In most cases, this particular exercise doesn’t start until the end of your yoga practice. But because you’re a beginner, you’ll be starting with this so that you will be better prepared for the following poses and movements.
Lie down and make sure that you are facing the sky. Put one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. Breathe in through your nose for four seconds and feel the tension as your stomach rises with your breath. Exhale through your nose for another four seconds. Your exhale should be deep enough that you feel your breath on the back of your throat. You can try to repeat this exercise for a minute but try and go longer if you’re able to do so. As you do, keep your inhales and exhales nice and slow.
Child’s Pose
This pose has also been known to help anxiety and nervousness fade away. It also stretches your back and gives you a sense of security and safety, like a child. Learning to use Yoga to relieve anxiety.
1 Get on your mat and place your hands and knees on it. Keep your knees spread so much that they touch each side of your mat.
2 Lower your backside down between your legs along with your stomach and thighs.
3 Extend your arms out in front of you and let your head drop down onto the mat. Keep your breath full and balanced as you hold this pose. It is quite comfortable, so hold for as long as you like.
Legs Up the Wall
Take a second to learn how a pose like this can easily diminish anxiety and stress. A restful way to use Yoga to relieve anxiety.
This is a basic pose that can help you with blood flow and circulation. You can do this either against the wall or on your mat.
1 Lay down on your mat facing upwards. Raise your legs up straight but don’t let them come any further than the hip point. Keep your arms at your sides. If you’re doing this pose against a wall you can use something soft like a small blanket to put under your hips for support.
2 Make sure that you are pressing up against the wall.
3 Take deep, concentrated breaths and try to hold this position for a few minutes.
4 Once you are done, lower your legs.
Are you interested in keeping these poses in mind? Use Pinterest to save this article! Let us know if you have tried any other poses and how it is working for you. Our readers all are looking for information on how to be able to create a ‘calming center’ for themselves.
Click On The Images To View A Few Similar Posts
