Yoga For Anxiety and Stress
Learn why yoga is a wonderful class to try for anxiety and stress.
Anxiety and stress are exhausting.
They leave you feeling fragile, unwell and ‘not yourself.’
All you want to do is, HIDE or RUN AWAY.
Yoga and meditation are incredible tools to adopt if you’re struggling with anxiety, stress, worry or fear.
Yoga brings you back home to yourself.
It helps you to feel grounded, supported and secure, as well as stronger (physically and mentally), confident and calm.
Every time you return back to your mat, you’ll start to notice subtle changes in the mind and body.
You’ll start to listen to your intuition, observing the mind and body.
You’ll learn a lot about your physical, emotional and energetic self, becoming aware of your ego, limitations, feelings and thoughts. You’ll become more in tune with yourself.
Read on to discover why yoga reduces anxiety and stress.
Why does yoga help reduce anxiety & stress?
I started practising yoga because I was in a bad mental space and yoga was the only activity that made me feel alive and well. I would walk into a yoga class feeling absolutely horrendous, but walk back out feeling like a new woman.
Yoga creates space for the mind to breathe and to become still. To begin with it can feel challenging, to sit with your own thoughts, worries and fears. You may struggle to switch your mind off during a class, or feel out of breath or inflexible.
Don’t worry. This is normal.
Yoga just requires a little bit of patience and determination to feel fit and well. Overtime you will learn to breathe fully again, your thoughts will gradually reduce and a sense of calm and safety will wash over your body. You will of arrived home.
Start small and often and watch the yoga magic unfold, not only mentally but physically too.
There are many yoga classes to help reduce anxiety and stress, from a vinyasa flow to deep relaxation class.
There is a class to suit everyone. Read on to learn about yoga classes for anxiety and stress.
Best yoga classes for anxiety and stress
To be honest, any form of yoga is going to do wonders for your mental health, but here are 5 of my favourite classes for anxiety and stress. All suitable for beginners.
1. Yin Yoga
Yin Yoga is my favourite class and incredible for releasing trapped emotions, trauma and physical pain in the body. There are many yin poses designed to stimulate the stomach and spleen energy channels in the body, which are associated with the emotion, anxiety. You will hold poses between 2-10 minutes at a time working into deep layers of fascia, finding release and relaxation.
It can be a challenging class at times, but the emotional, physical and energetic release make it extremely rewarding.
2. Flow Classes
Flow classes (e.g. slow flow, mindful flow or vinyasa flow) are great classes to reduce anxiety and stress. You will flow gently between poses, allowing your breath to guide each movement. Although a flow class may be challenging physically, it is much easier to switch off your mind due to following the physical instructions from the yoga teacher.
It’s a very reinvigorating practise which will clear and de-stress your mind. For beginners, try slow or mindful flow classes.
3. Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra also referred to as ‘yogic sleep’ is incredible for anxiety and stress due to its deeply relaxing qualities. Often taught laying down, the teacher will guide you through a meditation which relaxes the whole body. It will leave you feeling well rested and restored.
4. Restorative Yoga
Restorative Yoga is another deeply relaxing practise, which helps to balance the nervous system, and heal and repair the whole body. Very similar to Yin Yoga in some ways, but Yin Yoga works deeply into the connective tissue and energetic system, whilst Restorative Yoga relaxes and restores the body. You hold poses as long as 20 minutes at a time.
10 benefits of practising yoga for stress and anxiety
Here are 10 benefits from practising yoga and meditation regularly, to help reduce anxiety and stress.
Releases tension in the body
Teaches you to breathe fully
Calms the nervous system
Improves mood and mind
Reduces overthinking
Improves focus
Reveals inner guidance
Improves rest and sleep
Boosts confidence
Increases self-awareness
Take a deep breath
I hope this post has provided you with a little insight into how yoga and meditation can help to reduce anxiety and stress.
Don’t be scared to give it a go. Anybody can do yoga. It’s your journey and it might lead you to somewhere wonderful.
Warmest wishes x