Yoga for Anxiety
Anxiety is not just something I have read about or spoken about with people who suffer from it, it is also something I have lived with for most of my life but have now learned how to mostly manage with yoga. I’m not saying that I don’t ever feel low or anxious but I am a lot better equipped with the knowledge and tools that yoga provides.
In this article I hope to share some of the reasons why we can feel states of anxiety, what exactly yoga is and how can it help when your mind feels like it’s taking over and controlling your moods and emotions.
What Is Anxiety?
People react differently from anxiety but there are some traits that are universally experienced.
Your breath becomes fast and shallow, negative thoughts run wild, the area around your heart feels tight, emotions are high, and you feel like you have no control. Everything feels like it’s spiralling, and depression can set in. Sometimes you experience just some of these symptoms, other times you can feel them all simultaneously.
There are two reasons to why a person would start to experience any, or all, of the above symptoms. The first is when we need to run or stand and fight. The second is when our autonomic nervous system thinks we are in trouble and this is when it can become complicated.
Every time a demand is made on us or we feel threatened, irrespective of its magnitude, the body automatically switches into fight or flight mode, AKA the sympathetic nervous system.
It all starts when the hypothalamus gland, which governs the autonomic nervous system, sends a message to the pituitary gland to release a stack of stress hormones such as cortisol from the adrenals.
The focus of the body’s energy moves from non-life-threatening jobs to ensuring we are ready and able to whatever it takes to survive.
Once the threat is over, the body returns to balance and the autonomic nervous system shifts back into rest and digest mode. In scientific terms, this is known as the parasympathetic nervous system, which is activated by the vagus nerve, the longest cranial nerve that runs from the brain stem all the way down to the colon. Stress-busting hormones such as serotonin and melatonin flood into the bloodstream, calm is restored and the body can return to non-life threatening functions such as digesting food and reproduction.
Unfortunately in these fast paced times and especially within the current climate of uncertainty, most of us are out of balance and we are spending way too much time in the sympathetic nervous system.
The age we are living in is relentless. Our minds are constantly bombarded with information, we’re locked into digital devices and the expectations we have of ourselves are high. We need to be the best mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, uncle, aunt, friend or teacher. We need to earn more money, have a big house or drive a fancy car. And now to top it all off we are most likely living in lock-down and our world has changed dramatically. Without even realising it we impose unwritten rules and then judge ourselves when we don’t measure up.
The potential danger we face is no longer the wild animal we’re trying to hunt to survive. Instead, our minds have become the animal. Untamed, the mind can run wild. Rather than observe the mind’s fluctuations, we identify with them and fall into the trap of believing that we are our thoughts. We get so caught up in our internal dialogue that our cerebral manifestations start to feel real. And because they feel real, the body starts to think it’s under threat and decides it needs another hit of cortisol, just in case of emergency.
Eventually, the body will find it more and more difficult to switch back into the parasympathetic nervous system and this is when chronic diseases can start.
But How Does this Relate to Yoga?
In the UK over 15.4 million people suffer from long-term chronic conditions and there’s a wealth of research that yoga can either prevent, reduce and even help cure people. Common findings include genuine physiological effects such as lowering blood pressure in hypertension, reducing resting glucose levels in diabetes, and increasing certain neurochemicals, which are targeted by anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication.
But surely anxiety can’t just be fixed by doing a few stretches every day? Well, yoga isn’t just postures. In fact, postures are really such a small aspect of what yoga means.
Patanjali was an Indian sage believed to have written one of the most revered hatha yoga texts over 1,700 years ago.
The very first aphorism of the Yoga Sutras describes yoga as ‘the stilling of the modifications of mind’, meaning that the practice of yoga helps us to manage how incoming senses interact with the fluctuations of our mind.
It’s only when we really see these thoughts for what they are in constant awareness, do we find stillness. And only then do we discover our true nature; pure consciousness, stripped bare of emotional attachments and desires.
The postures typically associated with yoga are merely the gateway to help us build awareness. What separates postures (Asana) from gymnastics is the intention with which they’re practised and they are just the gateway to accessing the remaining 7 aspects of yoga as defined by Patanjali, including self-restraint (Yama), self-observance (Niyama), breathing exercises (Pranayama), introspection (Pratyahara) and concentration (Dharana), finally leading us to the ability to sit in meditation (Dhyana), eventually culminating in alignment of mind, body and spirit (Samadhi).
There are many different types of Hatha yoga, from Iyenga to Ashtanga, from Sivananda to Jivamukti; all these schools of yoga are forms of Hatha yoga because they’re based around the physical posture and they can all help in returning the body back to balance. However, for those people that need a little bit of extra help in truly relaxing then I believe you can’t beat a lovely dose of yin yoga.
In a yin practice the postures are held for up to five minutes and sometimes longer in order to work deep into the connective tissue of the body where it’s believed in traditional Chinese medicine that the energy pathways of the body reside.
To sit for any length of time in stillness requires focus of the mind and awareness of the body achieved through led meditative practices and breathing exercises. With every in breath the lungs are replenished with fresh qi, pronounced ‘chi’ (life force/biodynamic energy) and with every exhale the body is encouraged to release and let go of any thoughts, feelings or emotions it no longer needs to hold on to.
When we practice yoga, we create the space and time to nourish our bodies, minds, hearts and souls.
We don’t practice yoga to be good at yoga, to be able to touch our toes or pop up into headstand, we do it so we can get better at life. When we are on the mat we can learn to experience and observe our emotions in a safe space with the aim of acknowledging them for what they truly are.