The 5 Best Yoga Poses for Anxiety

There is a growing body of research to finally support the huge benefits that Yoga can offer those of us who experience Anxiety. Writing this as someone who has struggled with Anxiety since I was child, I can put my hand on my heart and say with conviction that Yoga has helped improve my mental health & relationship with my body no end! 

So how can Yoga Poses help with Anxiety? The word Asana refers to the physical postures in a yoga practice and the word is derived from the Sanskrit word for ‘seat’. It’s taught in Yogic philosophy that we practice Asana to prepare the body and mind to literally take a seat for pranayama (breathing techniques) and meditation.

The last thing I want to do when I’m Anxious is sit still and try to meditate because my worries are spiraling, my heart is racing and my emotions are incredibly high – sound familiar? What Asana can do is begin to relieve some of the common symptoms of Anxiety – helping to release tension, slow down your mind & bring your focus to your breathing. 

Some of the common symptoms of Anxiety are*:

• headaches, backache or other aches and pains

• feeling tense, nervous or unable to relax or stop worrying

• faster breathing

• a fast, thumping or irregular heartbeat

• rumination – thinking a lot about bad experiences, or thinking over a situation again and again

When we’re experiencing Anxiety we’re functioning in the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), our fight or flight response, and what we need to do is signal to the nervous system that we’re safe to move into our parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS), our rest & digest. Yoga can help us do this by bringing our awareness into our bodies through mindful movement, slowing down our breathing and calming a racing mind.

So which postures are best for easing Anxiety & why? Try these 5 key poses to help alleviate anxiety, you can watch the guided practice on our YouTube channel on the link below.

So which postures are best for easing Anxiety & why? Try these 5 key poses to help alleviate anxiety, you can watch the guided practice on our YouTube channel on the link below.

1. Mountain Pose
A grounding pose to help you come back to your body and reconnect to the earth.

Come  onto your feet and bring them to hip width apart, spread your toes and stand tall with your arms alongside you. Notice your posture and lengthen form the crown of your head, draw your navel towards your spine activating your abdominal muscles. Roll your shoulders back and down, relax your expression, soften your jaws and drop your shoulders. Bring your focus to your feet, notice the earth supporting you and breathe deeply. Take 10 grounding breaths.   

2. Tree Pose
A standing  balance to help refocus your mind and recentre your energy. 

Start by bringing your weight into one of your feet (I usually start with the left) and place your hands on your hips to help find your balance. 

Once you’re ready, lift the opposite foot to above or below your ankle, kneecap (not resting on any joints) or to the top of your inside leg. Press into all four corners of your standing foot and rest your eyes on a point that isn’t moving. 

You can keep your hands on your hips, bring your hands to prayer at your heart or raise your arms above your head keeping your shoulders soft. Repeat on the opposite foot.

3. Child’s Pose or Melting Heart pose
A nurturing pose to help slow down & promote rest.

CHILD’S POSE
Bring your big toes together and open your knees as far apart as they need to be to help you settle comfortably and be able to breathe deeply in the posture. Sink into your hips and begin to walk your fingertips out in front of you, stretching through the arms. 

You can keep the arms extended out or bend the elbows and bring your hands to the back of your neck to stretch into the shoulders. Bring your forehead to rest on the ground or a blanket and you can roll your forehead from side to side on the ground to massage your 3rd eye & connect to your intuition. 

HEART MELTING POSE:
Start in a table top position with the knees under hips & wrists under your shoulders. Start to walk your fingers out in front of you so that your chest melts down towards the ground. You can rest your head to either side or rest on your chin. You might like to modify this pose by bringing a pillow or blanket underneath your chest.

4. Seated Twists – Twists help to ease tight muscles and unravel physical & emotional  tension.

Come to a seated L position with both legs extended and your spine long. Bend your left knee and step your foot over your extended right leg. Turn to look over your left shoulder and gently twist from the base of your spine to the top of your neck. You can hug your left leg in towards you or hook your right elbow to the outside of the left knee. As you breathe into this pose inhale & focus on lengthening your spine, exhale & focus on opening your chest as you twist. 

Repeat on the Right hand side.

5. Reclining Bound Angle – This soothing posture promotes a sense of calm. Bring your focus to your breathing, slowing it down and allowing your body to be completely supported by the earth below you.

By bringing a bolster/pillow behind your back helps to open into the heart space and counting 3 things you’re grateful for. Regularly focusing on what you’re thankful or hopeful for  may sound very simple but it can actually help to build new neural pathways in the brain and help to  challenge  anxious thoughts.

Bring the soles of your feet back together and let your knees fall open, you can extend the legs a little further away to make this pose gentler on the hips and draw the heels closer towards the body if you would like a deeper stretch. 

If you have a bolster or pillows, bring them behind you to support your spine and lay back towards the ground. Relax your face and close your eyes. This also helps to open into the heart space. 

Take deep breaths in this pose and imagine any stress from the day drifting away on your exhale. Count 3 things you’re grateful for. Regularly focusing on what you’re thankful or hopeful for  may sound very simple but it can actually help to build new neural pathways in the brain and help to  challenge  anxious thoughts.

The good news is that Yoga can have an immediate impact on Anxiety, granted it may not have a  life changing effect straight away but a regular consistent practice can have a huge impact  by strengthening the functioning of your nervous system, improving mental resilience,  reducing the levels of stress hormones in the body and helping to refocusing your mind & energy. 

How do I get started?

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