Many therapists now use exercises as an adjunct therapy. Studies show that it helps speed progress toward reducing depression and anxiety. Exercise is as beneficial as some medications and has no negative side effects but makes you healthier. It stimulates endorphin production, burns off stress hormones, increases circulation, and boosts the production of beneficial bacteria in the gut that affect mood. Compared to other exercises, yoga may offer even more benefits toward reducing anxiety.
Yoga can help you train your body to reduce the signs of anxiety.
Shortness of breath, heart palpitations, chest pain, and dizziness are all signs of anxiety. Deep breathing exercises from yoga can help you control many signs of anxiety. You can break the cycle of its physical manifestations by using deep breathing exercises. Deep breathing switches the body from the sympathetic nervous system that controls the fight or flight response, to the parasympathetic nervous system that puts your body in relaxed mode. You’ll feel almost instant relief from stress when you focus on deep breathing.
Yoga helps you clear your mind and meditative practices can reduce stress.
One internal manifestation of anxiety is a racing mind. Your body undergoes the same changes from the perceived danger as it would from real danger. Meditation isn’t necessarily part of every yoga session, but quieting the mind often is. In some ways, it diverts your focus from your problems and focuses them on getting into poses. Just changing your focus does a lot to reduce an anxiety attack.
Yoga can improve flexibility and stretch the muscles.
One symptom of an anxious person is muscle tension. While the cause of anxiety is more complex, prolonged stress can cause anxiety and also cause muscle tension. The movements in yoga can help reduce the tension in the muscles. By doing that, it can also reduce the feeling of anxiety. Each stretch and movement can bring relief. It can make you more aware when you’re tightening muscles so you can relax them immediately.
- Yoga can help you modulate your stress response and give you tools to help manage anxiety. If your anxiety is mild, traditional yoga classes help, but there are yoga classes specifically to treat anxiety.
- Yoga can make you more mindful of your body processes and give you more control. It makes people more aware of the body-mind connection. The practice of yoga can create new neural pathways.
- If you suffer from anxiety and don’t have time for an entire class, using breathing techniques can help. Deep belly breathing, alternate nostril breathing, and lion’s breath are three examples that help anxiety.
- Yoga can improve your posture and make you feel stronger and more confident. That boost in self-confidence can help you overcome social anxiety.
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