Yoga for Anxiety Disorders

When I see patients who suffer from excess anxiety I usually advice them to begin yoga practice. Anxiety disorders are common, and can be complex in nature, occurring as a result from a combination of genetic, environmental, psychological, and developmental factors. While the traditional treatment of anxiety disorders with medication and psychotherapy is effective, the stress reducing effects of yoga and meditation can reduce excessive levels of stress and anxiety, and can greatly enhance the effects of traditional therapies.

Recent medical studies have shown that a regular practice of yoga and meditation is effective at lowering levels of anxiety.  Excessive levels of anxiety can be alleviated through a slow, gentle yoga practice focusing on postures that calm the heart and the mind, balance the emotions, and release body tension.

Pranayama (yogic breathing) and meditation will also be helpful to calm the mind and body, and to reduce stress and negative thinking.Besides the calming effects of the yoga practice, restorative poses, inversions, and forward bends are especially calming to the body and mind, helping to reduce and prevent excessive anxiety.

The following poses are known to be especially calming: child, shavasana, crocodile, seated forward bend and seated head to knee. Simple inversions such as downward dog, standing forward fold create a temporary rise in blood pressure in the head which triggers the body’s natural calming mechanisms, dilating the blood vessels and lowering heart and breathing rates. If you feel fatigued, depressed and have heart palpitations, the energy of the heart center may be weak and heart opening poses such as cobra would strengthen and calm the heart chakra.

Emotions play a large role in anxiety disorders.  Excessive feeling of fear, worry, irritability, anger and depression can all add and exasperate our level of anxiety. Twists, hip opening poses and side bends will all help to balance emotions, and therefore help reduce feelings of anxiety.

The breath plays a major role in many cases of excess anxiety.  During feelings of anxiety, the breath becomes shallow, rapid and constricted, which in turn reinforces our nervous system’s state of anxiety. When practicing pranayama, yogic breathing exercises, the nervous system is naturally calmed and soothed. With a regular practice we can learn to consciously maintain a slow deep breath at all times to prevent and minimize states of anxiety. The mind also plays a major role in most states of long-term anxiety.  Continual focus and obsession with thoughts of fear and worry will only create additional levels of anxiety.  Yoga and meditation allow us to have control over our thoughts through mental detachment and the ability to focus the mind on the present experience.  The benefits of regular meditation are known to include the reduction of stress, tension, anxiety and frustration.

Yoga, pranayama and meditation are all powerful tools in the reduction and prevention of excess states of anxiety.  All of these practices cultivate the mental faculties of faith, self-control, concentration, determination, and patience.  And when practiced together will create an even stronger effect on calming the mind and emotions.

When using the above-mentioned practices, it is important to avoid any of these yogic practices if they scare you or make you feel unsafe, as this will trigger the body’s fight or flight response, which in turn will increase the feelings of anxiety.  When you begin your practice accept your limitations and practice at your own pace.  Additionally, while yoga is effective at treating excess anxiety, yoga isn’t a substitute for conventional treatment.