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How To Deal With Anxiety Through Yoga

Updated on December 26, 2015

Yoga for Anxiety

Anxiety is one of the most common health disorders shared by many. And yet, no one could pinpoint a definitive way to address its impact on your body and reduce the possibility of serious health implications. With yoga, you now have the best possible solution to your problems. Find out how yoga helps and in what way can you maximize results.

Understanding Anxiety

One of the main reason behind the difficulty of identifying an effective anxiety treatment is the fact that it cannot be linked to one specific cause. Health experts believe that anxiety is caused by a combination of triggers, either environmental or physical. Over time, it can build up and one starts to develop the symptoms of anxiety disorder.

One reason could be a traumatic experience that prompts an individual to react anxiously. A few others link it with imbalances on the biochemical composition of the brain. Therefore, natural food supplements or medication can usually do to control the symptoms of an anxiety disorder. But many would still insist on making lifestyle changes or undergo therapy since anxiety is a behavioral condition. In fact, some would even go as far as considering anxiety disorder as a genetic condition. All of these knowledge about the potential causes of anxiety would lead up to forging ahead efforts of trying to come up with an effective anxiety treatment that will address the entailing conditions and prevent it from becoming worse.

Yoga for Anxiety & Mind - HD - UK

Yoga Poses To Treat Anxiety

Aside from the multitude health benefits that can be derived from yoga, the psychological and emotional benefits are the ones that produce more profound impact on one's health. To get more effective results, always combine your execution of yoga asanas with proper breathing and deep meditation. It will release any form of tension that has built up on your body and relax you mind.

Below are some of the highly recommended yoga exercises that you need to perform to achieve relief from anxiety.

Seated Yoga Mudra

The Seated Yoga Mudra is a deeply relaxing and calming yoga position to perform. To perform this, you must start on a kneeling position. Make sure that your spine is properly straightened out while you rest your tail bones on your heels. If you have difficulty finding the most comfortable position possible, you can use some cushion such as a pillow to make it more efficient to hold in position for a long period of time.

Then, bring your arms to your back and let them met such that you can clasp both hands. Attempt a squeezing action so you must lower your shoulders in the process. Upon exhalation, bend forward until your forehead hits the floor. As you do this, bring your clasped hand on your back toward the ceiling. Extend to as far as you can manage to produce a stretching action. Perform 3-10 steady breathing exercises before going back to your starting position.

Standing Prayer Breath Pose

The relaxation benefits that can be derived from the Standing Prayer Breath Pose makes it an excellent remedy for anxiety. This will be done on a standing position with both feet spread with a wide distance in between each other. Allow both hands to meet, mimicking a prayer position. Slowly raise your hand and inhale while doing this. Keep your shoulders and the rest of your body relaxed.

By the time you exhale, unclasp your hands and rest them on both sides of your body. After some time, return to the clasping position. This marks the closing of the sequence. If you want, you can repeat the entire procedure for as many times as possible. But when you do, slow down your movements along with your breathing pace. This will aid in gaining the relaxation benefits desired.

How To Do the Corpse Pose

Shavasana or Corpse Pose

Considered as concentrated lying, the Corpse Pose is one of the most relaxing positions one could ever assume in yoga. Therefore, it suits best as a treatment against anxiety disorder. Aside from being used as treatment for anxiety, the corpse pose is often done as a transition pose that allows your body to rest before proceeding onto the next exercise in a sequence.

The most basic consideration you'd have to make when performing this pose for anxiety treatment is to find a quiet location with as little physical distraction as possible. This will enable you to concentrate on attaining complete relaxtion. You will perform this pose on a supine position, with your back against the floor. Rest your hands on the floor, placed at either sides of the body, with palm turned upwards. Then, start with your deep breathing exercises to eliminate any form of muscular tension. Continue on with your breathing exercises until all sources of tension have been addressed.

Shoulderstand

Shoulderstand is a potentially beneficial yoga asanas, which must be strictly combined with deep breathing to realize its therapeutic effects. The best thing about the Shoulderstand is that both men and women can perform it, regardless of age and skill level in yoga.

From a lying position, slowly raise your legs toward the ceiling as you inhale at the same time. Maintain proper alignment on your spine and legs to keep them vertically straight as possible. Use your shoulder and back of neck to support the weight of your entire body. You can even use your hands to leverage and add stability to your lower back area, so you can hold yourself in position over a given period of time.

Once you are stable enough, you can start with your breathing exercise consisting of slow but deep breaths. Make sure to draw air through your abdomen. For best results, hold yourself in position for approximately 2 minutes or as long as you can possibly hold.

Breathing Exercises - Introduction to Pranayama

Yoga Ujjayi Pranayama - Hatha Yoga Meditation

Performing Breathing Exercises

Breathing exercises in yoga help to merge your physical and spiritual body, which allows you to enjoy significant benefits of practicing yoga. Simply put, taking breathing exercises out of the equation will not deliver the same results as you normally would expect from yoga, if there are benefits to be manifested at all.

Deep breathing exercises are one of the most well known pranayama techniques that you need to learn. After all, it has the capacity to provide major relief from anxiety problems.

Ujjayi or Victorious Breath

The technique of loud breathing or Ujjayi is one of those that are specifically recognized for its ability to treat anxiety. Performing the victorious breath helps to eliminate tension in the muscles of your body leading up to complete relaxation.

Use your nostrils to breathe air in, while partially closing your glottis as you do this. By doing so, you can create a sobbing sound as you inhale. Be careful with placing friction on your nose though and you must avoid this as much as possible. Once a single cycle of inhalation is completed, it will be followed by a long pause. At this point, you need to completely close your glottis for as long as you can hold.

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