3 Ways Yoga Can Relieve Anxiety
You begin to feel your chest tighten. Your breath gets shallow and short, while your heart races and stomach falls. While this might sound like the rush you may get from riding a roller coaster, you’re feeling it because of some potentially mundane occurrence. It’s anxiety.
Now everyone at some point in their life feels a little anxious. The difference between feeling a little anxious and having anxiety is having this “roller coaster feeling” all the time.
Not only does it make us feel out of sorts, it can wreak havoc on our bodies. When anxiety becomes more than just a little nervousness it can cause an array of issues, such as: obsessive thinking, insomnia, migraines, intestinal problems, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, or heart palpitations. Extreme bouts of anxiety can even lead to panic attacks -- where you feel you may be having a heart attack, or an elephant is sitting on your chest, or uncontrollable fits of crying and a sense of doom.
But there are ways to cope with these feelings.
Numerous studies since 1973 have shown how aspects of yoga (poses, breathing exercises, and meditation) can significantly reduce anxiety. Those who utilized the combination of all three aspects saw the most reduction in chronic anxiety.
So what poses, breathing exercises, and meditations work best? Here is a list of a few that have helped me with my anxiety.
Yoga Poses for Anxiety
Side stretches: These help because they open up the intercostal muscles and allow for deeper breathing. Try it by standing straight, extending both arms to the ceiling. Then holding onto the right wrist with the left hand, tip to the left and breathe into the right side. Then reverse this.
Cross-legged twist: Twists warm up our spine and massage our internal organs. This allows for deeper breathing AFTER the twist. Try it by sitting in a comfortable crossed-leg position with your back straight. Place the right arm on the left knee. Then inhale the left arm to the ceiling and as you exhale, staying seated, turn to look toward the wall behind you while placing your left hand on the floor next to glutes keeping your back straight. After a few breathes here, switch to the other side.
Supported Legs-Up-the-Wall: This pose facilitates drainage and increases circulation. It also invokes relaxation in the mind and body by lowering the heart rate which helps lower anxiety, stress and insomnia. Start by taking a blanket or bolster to a wall. Sitting with your side against the wall and knees bent, begin to start lying down, walking or swinging your legs up the wall. Lift slightly from the hips and slide the blanket or bolster under your pelvis and lower back. Breathe here for 5-10 minutes.
Breathing Exercises to Reduce Anxiety
Waterfall Breathing: This technique slows the breath down and is especially useful if you feel a panic attack coming on. Begin by either sitting in a comfortable position or lying on your back. Inhale through the nose and then take three equal exhales through the nose in three parts. So it’s inhale, exhale part 1, exhale part 2, exhale part 3. Try five rounds of this and see how much more relaxed you feel.
Sandbag Breathing: Try this technique lying down as you would in savasana, or final relaxation pose in yoga. Be sure to have either a 10 pound sandbag, bag of rice, or bag of beans near you. The purpose of this breathing exercise is to slow down the exhalation. After lying down, place the sandbag or other bagged prop on your upper abdomen. As you inhale, your diaphragm will lift the bag. The sandbag will push the air out quickly as you exhale, so be conscious of slowing the breath down. Do this for five to 10 minutes.
Meditations for Anxiety
Meditation helps calm the mind and bring us back into the present moment. Start by sitting in a comfortable position, whether on the floor or in a chair. Be sure there isn’t any discomfort as you don’t want to add any anxiety to this relaxation practice. Either listen to some calming music for 5-10 minutes to begin, or check out a guided meditation. There are many apps that have these and tons of guided meditations can be found on YouTube.
Anxiety can be debilitating, but it doesn’t have to take control of your life. Try these techniques from yoga and see if they help. As always, please consult your doctor and/or counselor if you are experiencing chronic anxiety and panic attacks.
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