Anxiety and Restlessness

Yin Yoga for Anxiety Relief

Yoga can be a real godsend for those who suffer from increased anxiety and panic attacks. Nowadays, more and more doctors recommend yoga and meditation as an additional therapy to the main treatment. But in my opinion, the benefits of yoga therapy for anxiety disorders are underestimated.

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From Personal Experience

There was a period in my life when stress levels got out of hand and I suffered from occasional anxiety disorders and panic attacks. Do I need to talk about how many doctors I had to visit and the therapies I tried? But the first thing I noticed that made some improvement was yoga. The medications relieved acute conditions for a short time, but the problem remained with me all the time. When I attended my first yoga class, of course, I did not understand anything, it was challenging and painful for me, and it was absolutely incomprehensible how these poses can help to fight anxiety. It even seemed to me that the anxiety worsened when I couldn’t make some asanas and the sense that everyone was looking at me. But I continued to attend classes, I chose a more gentle practice for myself, yoga for beginners, where more attention was paid to the correctness of the performing of the asanas. And, luckily, after a few months, I found myself in a completely new state, I realized that in two months there were no panic attacks, and I began to sleep better and worry less. This is how yoga became ingrained in my life, becoming my anchor for health and stress management.

To some extent, any person experiences anxiety and fear, anxiety is a natural response to a stressful situation, our defense mechanism when danger approaches. But in some cases, this mechanism gets out of control and we get a constant feeling of fear and anxiety, even in situations where they should not be.

In recent years, a lot of research has been done on how yoga therapy helps relieve anxiety disorders. In particular, certain types of meditation and breathing exercises have been shown to be highly effective for anxiety. Since yoga combines breath control, physical relaxation, and meditation, all this can perfectly cope even with fairly strong anxiety attacks.

Yoga and meditation programs are an effective way to control anxiety and deal with depression. Dynamic yoga practices promote concentration on the breath and the connection between breath and movement, which brings the mind back to the present moment and displaces disturbing cyclical thoughts.

I would like to highlight some types of yoga that are effective in combating anxiety: Yin Yoga and Restorative Yoga.

Anxiety and Restlessness / Mind

How Does Yin Yoga Help Reduce Anxiety?

Did you know that Yin Yoga is a great tool for reducing anxiety and stress? Anxiety can manifest itself in many ways, but usually, anxiety is defined as some kind of tension in the body and mind. In many cases, it is felt at both levels. Know that you are not alone in experiencing these symptoms, many people on the planet experience anxiety sooner or later. Many circumstances can serve as a trigger for the onset of symptoms, so each case is unique, but the mechanism of development is identical.

If you feel tension in your body as a sign of stress, you can add Yin Yoga practice to your workout plan. If you’re not sure if tension in your body is related to mental stress, try to identify an area of your body that needs attention. Quite often, stress in the body manifests itself in the largest joint systems, such as the entire spine, shoulders and hips.

Yin Yoga works on the level of the body and on the level of the mind. At the level of the body, this practice affects the connective tissues, joints and myofascial meridians. The connective tissue around the joints responds best to slow, steady pose holding, so we hold the poses for 3 to 5 minutes. A long stay in each asana activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for relaxing the mind. Energy blocks are also released during practice, and blocked emotions rise and transform.