5 Yoga Poses that can Help Reduce Anxiety and Stress
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Stress is a part of all of our lives. We’re stressed out at school, at work, while we’re out with friends, in fact sometimes even sitting at home and doing nothing becomes stressful after a while. You need a break to stop feeling stressed out all the time, but there are times when you cannot afford a break.
On the other hand, if you leave your stress unattended, then it develops into anxiety or even depression. If you are clinically ill, your medicine will help you out. But then you need to put in some effort of your own to become stress-free as well.
Practicing Yoga is undoubtedly one of the best things you can do to relax your mind and focus on your life with a clear head. All kinds of Yoga is said to have a calming effect on us, but did you know that certain Yoga poses are as good for us as medical marijuana for depression? Let us check out what some of these poses are:
Easy Pose
Performing:
The easy pose is the very first one we will mention because it is easy to perform and master.
Sit on your yoga mat with your legs stretched out in front of you. Pull your thighs apart and bring your shins one on top of the other. Tuck your feet underneath the opposite legs. Remember that this pose is different from your usual cross-legged sitting pose because your feet are away from your pelvic bone.
If you see that your thighs and one of your shins is making a triangle, you know you are in a right state. Place your palms on your knees, straighten your back and close your eyes.
Take deep breaths in this pose while focusing on nothing. Clear your mind entirely or as best as you can. You can stay in this position for as long as you want.
Benefits:
Anyone can perform the easy pose, and its physical limitations are very few as well. It is excellent for helping people feel grounded and relaxed both physically and mentally. The posture enables you to find peace and tranquility while making it easy to get rid of anxious and stressful thoughts.
Cow and Cat Pose
Performing:
These are two poses which you move between to create a coordinated movement with your breathing.
First, get down on your Yoga mat on all fours. Then, drop your belly and your back downwards until you feel a little tension, lift your head upwards and gaze into the sky while bringing your shoulders closer together. Inhale as you perform this movement.
After this, exhale while arching your back upwards, bringing your head down and staring across your navel, and peeling your shoulders apart.
The key to perfecting is move is performing it in coordination with your breathing movements. You must always start performing this movement slowly. Never be too vigorous and keep in mind the perfect posture for this movement.
Benefits:
The movement between these two poses helps you in performing coordinated tasks that give people suffering from anxiety a hard time. This pose also brings in emotional stability to the person performing it.
Corpse Pose
Performing:
The corpse pose is known to be the most relaxing pose in Yoga, and it is said to work wonders for anxiety and stress.
You have to lay down on your Yoga mat, with your hands on your sides and your legs spread narrowly. Your palms must face upwards, and the edges of your feet should be facing the floor. Make sure there is no tension pent up in any part of your body, and you are in a state of complete relaxation.
Once you have determined that you are in your most relaxed form, you must close your eyes and breathe in and out deeply. Clear your mind of all thoughts and worries. Continue this for at least five minutes or for as long as you can.
Benefits:
Clearing your mind works wonders for relieving stress and anxiety, and that is the primary goal of this Yoga pose. Additionally, this pose helps in alleviating tiredness and sleeplessness, both of which can cause you to be anxious.
Child Pose
Performing:
Keeping legs bent and your knees together or slightly apart (in a narrow V shape), stretch your hands upwards and then bring them down on the ground, as far from yourself as possible. Try to make sure your head touches the ground or comes as close to it as possible.
Release all the tension in your body and merge with the ground below you. Relax as much as you can by taking deep breathe with a gap of a few seconds. With each exhalation, press your belly against your thighs. Clear your mind and try to focus on nothing.
Benefits:
The child pose is an excellent pose for calming your mind, body, and spirit as one. It also works in releasing tension from your body and relaxing you by undoing all the tension knots in your stomach.
Author Bio:
Carolina is a mother of two kids. She loves writing about the physical and mental behavior of the children and adults. Her passion for writing reflects every aspect of life including social issues and healthy lifestyle. She ritually writes at https://shadedco.com