I have experienced anxiety attacks for about 8 years now. For me, anxiety attacks can last up to 10-15 minutes. Some things I experience are shortness of breath, dizziness, chills, hot flashes, nausea, and the feeling of losing control. When I was first diagnosed with anxiety at the age of 12, I was put on medication and went to therapy. I was told that this could be the rest of my life. I was so young and having someone tell me I was going to feel this way forever was heartbreaking.
I knew I couldn't be stuck on pills and therapy forever. After years of battling it, I started getting into fitness. At first, it was because I wanted to look good and feel good. Then, I realized it was helping my mental health. After any workout, my brain felt clear and refreshed.
I started getting into yoga shortly after I started going to the gym. At first, I was just using it to stretch after lifting and to increase my flexibility. I started out watching Yoga with Adriene on YouTube. Her yoga flows helped me get started. I learned the poses, names, and what muscles they work. I fell in love with yoga when I started making up my own flows.
Lately, I've been getting into harder poses. Poses that take your full focus. Poses like Warrior III, Crows Pose, Eagle Pose, and Side plank, really take your full mind and body focus. If you have a cluttered mind, it's harder to keep the pose.
Crows Pose is one that I can really compare my anxiety too. When I am doing crows pose, balancing is like my anxiety. I'm holding the pose, constantly scared if I will fall forward or backward. I must control my breathing and focus so I don't fall.
A few days ago, I experienced an anxiety attack. I was completely alone and was stuck in my own thoughts. I started focusing on my breathing as I do in yoga. Constantly feeling like I'm trying to balance. Once I could control my breathing, I was able to calm down.
This was the first time I ever focused on my breathing in an anxiety attack as I would do in yoga. It felt accomplishing like I held a crows pose for more than 4 seconds.
Now, any time I feel the slightest feeling of bad anxiety, I think of the poses I've done that were difficult. If I can breathe through that, I can breathe through my anxiety.
If I can, I'll do yoga when I'm feeling anxious. It clears my mind and calms me down. In any pose, I give my full presence so I can receive the maximum benefits yoga can give me.
Yoga has shown me that you just have to breathe and balance through life.
