Yoga Poses to Ease Anxiety

Yoga Journal

Some 40 million Americans over the age of 18 are afflicted with anxiety disorders in a given year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. The American Psychiatric Association notes that these disorders are different from normal nervousness and include overwhelming feelings of panic and fear, uncontrollable obsessive thoughts, painful and intrusive memories, recurring nightmares, being easily startled, and muscle tension. Once anxiety takes hold, it can manifest in a variety of ways-from panic and obsessive-compulsive behaviors to posttraumatic stress, phobias, and generalized anxiety disorder.

Many people know what anxiety feels like, the way it controls the mind, produces achiness or nausea, and creates a sense of disconnect between mind, body, spirit, and the outside world. Under these conditions, relaxation is often a challenge; experiencing a sense of peace can be nearly impossible. But yogic breathing practices and asana sequences that slow the heart rate, drop blood pressure, and release muscles can help soothe an anxious mind. "When people are anxious, the sympathetic nervous system is revved up," says Timothy McCall, MD, the author of Yoga as Medicine and medical editor for Yoga Journal. "Yoga says calming the breath calms the nervous system, and calming the nervous system calms the mind. A tense mind can lead to tense muscles, and relaxing the muscles can help relax the mind."

1. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose), supported
With your hands and knees on the floor, place a block under your chest. Straighten your legs and lift the pelvis up. Push the floor away to extend and lift the torso. Keeping your arms straight, release your neck and rest your head on the block. Adjust the height of the block or add a blanket to rest the head easily. Keep the arms and legs strong and the face soft. Hold for 2 minutes.

2. Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand)
Place your hands a few inches away from a wall. From Adho Mukha Svanasana, walk the feet closer to the wall, lifting the hips. Raise one leg straight up toward the ceiling, and push off the other bent leg to kick up and take the feet to the wall into Handstand. Keep both arms straight and stretch the heels up the wall. Spread the palms and extend from the arms through the sides of the chest up to the feet. Lift your head slightly to look at the wall. Hold for up to 1 minute. If you can't get into Handstand, try kicking up several times, working on taking the pelvis toward the wall as you kick up; then repeat Adho Mukha Svanasana.

To see more anxiety-relieving poses click here.

Article by Rachel Brahinsky

Sequence by Marla Apt

Posted by Yoga Journal's Online Editor Erica Rodefer

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