Practices for Anxiety

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This video is a little longer than usual. We have a few different practices to explore when you're experiencing anxiety. 

Nadi Shodhana is also called alternate nostril breathing. This practice can be done for 3 -5 cycles of breath or several minutes. Count to 4 or 5 on your inhale, and when you exhale, double the count to 8 or maybe 10. Lengthening our exhales allows the nervous system to move from sympathetic to parasympathetic (fight/flight into rest/digest).

Tadasana & Vrksasana - Mountain Pose & Tree Pose
Tadasana is powerful posture of stillness - or as my colleague says, dynamic stillness. Feel your feet as the bedrock of your physical being, your spine as the heart of the mountain, and unapologetically reach the crown of your head high.
Moving into Vrksasana, feel how rooted you are to the Earth. Feel roots grow out of your soles. This posture requires concentration to find our balance, so soften your gaze or close your eyes, and feel the way you gently sway like branches in the breeze.
After coming into Tree on both sides, return to Mountain for a few cycles of breath. This could be your standing Savasana, or explore more movements. 

Floor Yoga - Waterfall/legs up the wall
I hear you when you say, I'm too wound up to be still on the floor. It's fine to spend time on the floor exploring some intuitive movements. Slow and intentional is the key - we want to get to the place of stillness in the mind, so we can Move away from the patterns in our minds and bodies and realize what's on the other side of those reflexes.
Legs up the wall or waterfall pose gently works the heart and brings the body into the parasympathetic nervous system. It can help calm the mind and might help you fall asleep if done before bed. 

This is by no means a complete list of practices for anxiety, so if you find this helpful and are interested in learning more ways Yoga can help with anxiety, please let me know.
As always, if you have any questions or comments about the practices, be welcome to ask. It's why I'm here.

I am deeply grateful for your presence, and your trust.
Kim
OM