yoga for the anxious mind by alison king tigges
We are living in wild times. We live in a world that feels like it is just whizzing by; one thing after the other and so many things to worry about. Anxiety, anyone? I know anxiety is something I have dealt with to varying degrees most of my life and I know many of you can relate.
Yoga helps IMMENSELY with anxiety!
How?
Yoga can calm the nervous system. Due to face-paced modern life, our nervous system can be stuck in sympathetic mode. This means we operate in fight-or-flight mode most of our days. Many styles of yoga (especially slower, calming ones) can help us tap into our parasympathetic nervous system. When we do that, the processes in our bodies change. Our heart rate slows down, our breathing slows down, our body can relax and therefore it is easier for our mind to experience some quiet and calm.
We work with our breath in yoga. Diaphragmatic breathing (deep, full breaths in and out of the nose) is shown to reduce anxiety. One, it gives us something else to think about besides our racing mind. And two, it’s part of the nervous system mentioned earlier and helps us tap in parasympathetically. There is a reason why people say “take deep breaths!” when stressed out.
Yoga helps us stay in the present moment. Personally, a lot of my anxiety exists in the “what ifs” of the future. We can exhaust ourselves staying hyper vigilant in the hopes of remaining in control (spoiler alert—its impossible!) and preventing the worst case from happening. When we are in our bodies and moving with our breath in a yoga class, it is very difficult to not be in the present moment. Plus, in certain poses we might literally fall on our faces if we are not fully present! Yoga helps us be with that is happening RIGHT NOW, in this moment.
Yoga is shown to reduce cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone that the body releases when we are in fight or flight mode. We need cortisol to help us get to the other side of a life or death situation! But, if our body is constantly making cortisol because it feels like we need it, that is less helpful. Doing yoga poses and practicing deep breathing can help us lower our cortisol levels.
Yoga is an ancient practice based on an 8 limbed path. Yoga poses are just ONE limb. Breath work is another. Another limb is called dharana. This means “one pointedness of the mind”. Meaning we try to focus on one thing when in meditation. The breath is an easy and common one! Again, having one focal point helps the mind stay focused and helps it not wander to all the worries.
Yoga helps our bodies feel open and mobile. When we feel healthy physically, it is much easier to feel better mentally.
Yes, yoga has made my body stronger. Yes, yoga has made my body more flexible. It is fun to do yoga poses! But a big reason I teach yoga, want to share with others and have been practicing almost 25 years? This. Yoga helps my anxious mind.
The yoga sutras states “yoga città vritti nirodahaha.” This means yoga calms the fluctuations of the mind. Thousands of years ago, even ancient yogis knew this. People felt anxious back then too. Yoga has been calming the anxieties of the mind for centuries.