For those who suffer from anxiety and panic attacks, yoga can be a lifeline. Linking movement with the breath and focusing all energy on the present moment calms your central nervous system. Next time you feel anxiety or a panic attack coming on, try bringing your awareness to the breath and flowing into these poses. Here are some of the many yoga poses that help to reduce anxiety.
1. Child's Pose (Balasana)
Child's Pose is a resting pose. It relieves tension in the back, neck, and shoulders. Begin on your hands and knees, hands shoulder width distance, and knees hips distance apart. Taking deep breaths in and out through your nose, relax into the pose by lowering your hips and front body to the mat. Child's Pose will help to calm the central nervous system, bringing all the awareness into the body and tuning out any outside distractions.
2. Legs up the Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)
Start by sitting with one hip as close to a wall as you can. In a steady movement, swing your legs up the wall, resting your head and shoulders on the mat. Legs up the Wall Pose not only relieves anxiety symptoms, but also back pain, arthritis discomfort, menstrual cramps, and high blood pressure.
3. Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana)
Begin standing in Tadasana, feet hips distance and firmly grounded into the mat. Ground down from big toe, to pinky toe, to heel. Inhale placing your hands at your hips, and on your exhale, bend from the waist and fold. This pose is not only great for your hamstrings and back of the knees, but it also relieves all tension from the body, and changes up the blood flow.
4. Tree Pose (Vrikasana)
Tree Pose implements basic standing balances, promotes concentration, focus, and awareness, leaving no time to focus on anxious thoughts and feelings. Standing tall, grounding down on one foot, slowly bring your other foot to your ankle, shin, thigh, or as a kickstand on the mat, anywhere but pressing on the knee. Bring your hands to prayer at your heart center, and focus your gaze at your drishti, your one spot, a non-moving focus. Be sure to place your leg in the same place as the first side on the second leg to remain balanced. Tree pose is a great distraction for anxiety, focusing all your awareness on balance.
5. Corpse Pose (Savasana)
Come in to Corpse Pose by lying down flat on the mat, feet to the outer corners, palms face up down by your sides. Breathe into your body, letting all tension go from your feet and toes, from your shins, knees, thighs, hands and arms, belly, chest, and face. Be still and focus on the breath, trying not to fall asleep. You will come out of the pose feeling centered, peaceful, and re-energized
