Living a stressful life can often lead to feelings of anxiety and panic. People who suffer from anxiety are constantly seeking ways to overcome these feelings of fear and stress. Fortunately, individuals afflicted with anxiety are now turning to yoga as a means to manage their anxiety. Yoga, an ancient form of exercise, offers incredible benefits to calm the body, mind, and soul. By focusing on the breath and staying present in the moment, yoga can help eliminate negative thoughts and mental chatter. If you are someone looking for ways to alleviate your anxiety, here are 7 yoga poses that you can try:
#1 Tree Pose/Vrikshasana
The Tree Pose is a great way to improve stability and balance in your legs. It also strengthens the ligaments of the feet, buttocks, legs, hips, and bones. Additionally, practicing this pose can help build self-confidence and achieve balance in various aspects of your life.
#2 Triangle Pose/Trikonasana
The Triangle Pose is an energizing pose that helps ease tension in the neck and back. It strengthens the knees, thighs, and ankles, while also stretching the groins, hamstrings, shoulders, chest, calves, hips, and spine. This pose is beneficial for anxiety, neck pain, infertility, and osteoporosis.
#3 Standing Forward Bend/Uttanasana
The Standing Forward Bend pose is an excellent way to relax the mind and release tension from the body. It helps calm the mind, reduce anxiety, stress, fatigue, and depression. This pose also stretches the hamstrings and calves, keeps the spine flexible and strong, and relieves tension in the back, neck, and spine.
#4 Fish Pose/Matsyasana
The Fish Pose is a great yoga pose that relieves tightness in the back and chest. It helps relieve stress, anxiety, and irritation, improves posture, and tones the neck and abdominal muscles. This pose also strengthens the upper back and stimulates the abdominal organs.
#5 Extended Puppy Pose/Uttana Shishosana
The Extended Puppy Pose is an excellent pose that stretches the spine to relieve tension. It calms the mind and body, relieves chronic stress, insomnia, and tension, and stretches the shoulders, spine, hips, upper back, and arms.
#6 Child Pose/Balasana
The Child Pose is a relaxing pose that helps ease stress and anxiety. It calms the mind and body, releases tension in the chest, back, and shoulders, and strengthens the spine. This pose is great for fatigue and dizziness, and it flexes the internal organs while stretching the ligaments, muscles, and tendons.
#7 Seated Forward Bend/Paschimottanasana
The Seated Forward Bend pose is believed to calm the mind and relieve anxiety. It helps relieve mild depression and stress, calms the brain, improves digestion, and stimulates the uterus, kidneys, liver, and ovaries. This pose also gives a good stretch to the shoulders, hamstrings, and spine, and relieves anxiety, headache, and reduces fatigue.
By incorporating these 7 yoga poses into your routine, you can experience the benefits of calming your mind and body to overcome anxiety. Remember to pay attention to how your body feels during each pose and always consult with your doctor before starting any new exercise program or yoga practice. Yoga can be a powerful tool in managing anxiety, but it’s essential to practice safely and mindfully.