As I have mentioned in a few of my previous posts, I have anxiety, along with depression and PTSD. My anxiety symptoms are definitely the most prevalent, and disruptive to my daily life, of the three diagnosis.
Prior to getting pregnant with my son, I was on prescription medications for these conditions. Then, once I was pregnant, I weaned off of these medications, as they were not safe for pregnancy. After my son was born, I wanted to give alternative treatment methods a chance, before re-starting my prescription medications, which is how I first thought to give yoga a try. For me, yoga and meditation, along with counseling, were what I needed to manage my day-to-day symptoms.
However, it is important to note here, that if you are using prescription medication(s) for symptom management for any mental illness, that is OKAY! No one treatment plan will work for everyone - do what works for you, which could be prescription or over-the-counter medication(s), therapy, counseling, physical activity, meditation, spending time outdoors, and many other things, or a combination of them all.
If you have been considering yoga for anxiety symptom management, this article will review how it can be helpful, as well as some poses to introduce yoga to your regimen.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Many studies over the years have shown a correlation between consistent yoga practice and a reduction in anxiety symptoms. Once study from 2020 set participants into three groups - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Yoga, or Stress Management Education - to manage their anxiety symptoms. After three months of regular participation, CBT and yoga were found to be significantly more effective than stress management education.
Another study, published in 2018, showed a significant decrease in anxiety symptoms for the 52 participants who practiced Hatha yoga 3 times per week for 60-70 minutes for 4 weeks. This study found that "yoga as an intellectual and mental exercise, improves health feeling" and "can improve the psychological conditions for monitoring and managing stress and negative emotions, increase positive emotions, and help mental balance".
But, how does yoga help with anxiety symptoms? According to Psychology Today, yoga reduces anxiety symptoms in multiple ways:
Yoga promotes relaxation: When we are feeling stressed or anxious, our body responds to this physically, usually by tensing or contracting the muscles. This tension can then give feedback to the nervous system justifying the feelings of anxiety, creating a loop of anxiousness and muscle tension. Yoga relaxes the physical muscles, breaking this cycle.
Yoga regulates the breath: As with our muscles, our breath is connected to our nervous system. Your breath rate and pattern change when you are scared, nervous, excited, anxious, relaxed, and so on. As we settle and even the breath, our nervous system takes this cue to calm.
Yoga demonstrates self compassion: You may have heard the idea that if you want someone to like you, ask the to do you a (small) favor. This is a similar concept. When you take the time, even just 15 minutes, to participate in a yoga practice, you are asking your body to do you a favor. When your body agrees, it sends the idea that your body (and self) must be worth doing things for, and worth the time and effort to care for.
Yoga helps us handle discomfort: Anxiety is uncomfortable, so generally, one tries to avoid these feelings. This could mean missing out on things you really do enjoy, like special events, making new friends, or celebrations with those important to you. Some yoga poses will be uncomfortable (this does not equate to painful), but your instructor will help lead you through the discomfort. As your body realizes that not all discomfort is inherently bad, those uncomfortable anxiety symptoms may seem like less of a holdback.
At minimum, at it's most basic, yoga can simply serve as a distraction. A way to quite the anxiety-brain, as it instead focuses on coming into or holding a variety of asanas.
For those new to yoga, or new to practicing yoga as a way to manage symptoms of anxiety, give the following poses a look:
Tree Pose (requires a good bit of concentration to maintain balance)
Triangle Pose (helps reduce tension in neck and upper back)
Standing Forward Fold (releases tension in the spine)
Supported Fish Pose (allows the body to fully relax and relieves tightness in the chest)
Child's Pose (body is supported on the knees and the head can rest on the mat, creating a feeling of safety)
Cat/Cow Flows (regulates the breath by linking it with movement, as well as releases the spine and tightness in the chest)
Again, it is an important point to make, your anxiety symptom management will probably look different than mine or than your neighbor with anxiety. If your symptom management includes medications, that is OKAY. If it includes therapy, that is OKAY. If it includes physical activity, that is OKAY. What is NOT okay, is criticizing someone's symptom management protocol because it doesn't look like yours.
-Charlene 🧡
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