Yoga has played a big part in my anxiety recover. I say that as a person who still takes beginner-level classes. Because the beautiful part about yoga is that you don’t have to be good at it for it to be effective! Practising yoga for anxiety is simply about doing it, rather than doing it perfectly.
Now you’re probably thinking yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever you say. I know I was in disbelief when people told me that, usually because these were also the people that could twist themselves up like a pretzel without batting an eye. But you can take my word as a truly non-flexible, can’t even touch my toes without really trying most days human being. If it can work for me, it can definitely work for you.
Whether you commit to some classes at your local yoga studio, put a Youtube video on at home or just do a few stretches during commercial breaks, it’s definitely worth giving yoga a try. Yoga is such an incredible act of self-care that benefits us in so many ways. Still not convinced? Below I’ll walk you through the top ways yoga has been crucial in my anxiety management journey – maybe some of them will resonate with you!
Yoga Strengthens Your Relationship with You Body
Yoga has helped me to become better acquainted with my body and the many signs and signals it sends me throughout the day. It has also improved my ability to listen to these signs and signals. All in all, I am now more attuned to my body and its needs and I truly believe a large part of that is thanks to yoga. Considering how physical anxiety can be, this is a great skill to have as you learn to befriend your anxiety and your body.
As you practise yoga for anxiety, it’s important to listen to your body’s needs and limits. One thing that a good yoga instructor will do is encourage you to take whatever shape your body is calling for if the pose they are suggesting doesn’t feel right in that moment. I have been privileged to have such encouraging and nonjudgmental instructors, which in turn has allowed me to release any judgment of my body’s needs. I no longer feel the need to do EXACTLY what an instructor suggests in class out of fear of what others might think if I don’t, and that is very refreshing.
Yoga Helps You to Process and Release Emotions
Yoga is a great somatic tool for processing emotions that might be holding a lot of space in our bodies. Emotions = energy in motion. This means that emotions show up as energy in our bodies. Normally, this energy moves around freely, ebbing and flowing as we go about our day. But sometimes this emotional energy gets stuck and might need some help. Practising yoga for anxiety can help you to process anxious energy and regulate your nervous system.
As Bessel van der Kolk so cleverly said, our bodies keep the score. Intentionally attuning to my body and moving through yoga poses helps me to release whatever my body might be holding onto. There have been times when I have moved into a certain shape and tears have literally come to my eyes. Other shapes have brought on such an expansive wave of joy. If this doesn’t speak to the incredible mind-body connection, I don’t know what does.
Yoga Helps You Cultivate More Gratitude
As mentioned above, yoga has allowed me to become more aware of pleasant emotions and how they show up in my body. The first time I truly experienced this, I was hit with such a powerful realization: our bodies hold joy too! It can become easy during our healing journeys to focus primarily on the negative emotions and sensations in our bodies. And that is important, we definitely want to help our bodies process these. But it’s equally important to notice the joy and good sensations held in our bodies and to express gratitude for all that our bodies can do.
Yoga Helps You Practice More Mindfulness
One of the key principles of yoga is mindfulness. It is about allowing ourselves the space and time to leave our worries at the door and focus solely on ourselves. Yoga teaches us to focus on our breath, our movement and our bodies – all fantastic ways to practice mindfulness.
Yoga classes also typically end with Savasana (pronounced shah-VAH-sah-nah), where we practice the art of stillness both in mind and body. When we practice mindfulness, we are showing up fully in the present moment instead of focusing on the past or future or anything that may be causing us anxiety. Yoga has provided such a great time out from anxiety for me and has encouraged me to extend this mindset outside of my yoga practice as well.
Yoga Fosters a Sense of Community
I started a more regular yoga practice in the middle of the pandemic, when I was in desperate need of some kind of social interaction that would get me safely out of the house. While there’s no room for conversation during a yoga class, there’s something special about feeling the collective energy of a group gathered for the same purpose. Plus, there’s always a bit of time to chat once the class is over! There are also often yoga events being hosted in a given area, which are fantastic ways to gather with like-minded people and foster that sense of community.
Yoga Helps You to Prioritize Self-Care
Last but not least, practising yoga for anxiety helped me to commit to more self-care. We usually have the best intentions when it comes to practising self-care, but it’s often one of the first things to fall off our to-do list. Enter yoga, which ticks off many boxes at once as it is a great form of physical, emotional, mental AND spiritual self-care. Not to mention that having to register and pay for a class ahead of time was key in keeping me accountable for actually following through with this self-care. Showing up can be the hardest part, but now that I know how much I benefit from practising yoga, I am more motivated to keep at it.
Conclusion
For those who might still be a little intimidated by the idea of yoga, I want to reiterate that it is for EVERYONE. You do not need to be able to touch your toes or hold a handstand to participate and benefit. If you spend a whole class in child’s pose or corpse pose, so be it!
Yoga is so versatile and accessible. There are many types of yoga practices, so if you don’t care for one, there’s more to try and modifications are always an option. It also doesn’t have to cost anything to start. While going to classes can be great, this is easily something that you can do at home, either self-guided or by using a video on Youtube. And while extra tools such as bolsters and blocks can support your practice, you definitely don’t need them (or you can even find good substitutes around the house!).
I could probably go on about the virtues of practising yoga for anxiety for a long time, but I won’t subject you to that. While this post highlights my personal reasons for prioritizing yoga as part of my anxiety management strategy, I hope it inspired you to consider how yoga or other gentle movement could benefit you too. Namaste!
PS – looking for some more body-based anxiety relaxation techniques to try out? Check out these posts:
