Yoga for Anxiety: Does it Help?

General anxiety disorder is one of the most common mental health struggles out there, with millions of Americans dealing with it. The symptoms of anxiety vary from person to person, with many people not paying much attention to them. We often disregard the trembles and brush the restlessness and loss of sleep under the rug.

But this can be detrimental to our well-being, as it can defer treatment. The sooner you start to identify the symptoms and triggers for your anxiety, the easier it will be for you to learn to manage it.

One of the most popular ways to alleviate symptoms of anxiety is practicing certain yoga poses daily. Here are some of the benefits of doing yoga for anxiety.

Yoga helps you regulate your breathing with movement

Breathing helps us regulate the nervous system, which can keep anxiety at bay. It’s common to experience shallow breathing during a panic attack; yoga compels us to slow down and inhale and exhale deeply. This can be soothing and grounding.

It can lower stress and muscle tension

Stress and anxiety can cause you to hold a lot of tension in your upper body, primarily in the upper back, shoulders, neck, and jaw. This can be incredibly uncomfortable, causing us to feel uneasy as well.

Not being able to relax your muscles can lead to chronic fatigue and an inability to sleep. This can cause more anxiety. However, yoga allows you to draw focus on the muscles and release the stress by breathing in deeply.

It helps you be more compassionate to yourself

When you take the time out during your busy day to show up for yourself, you remind yourself that you need to take care of yourself too. It’s a way to treat your body for being there for you and to make it a habit to work on yourself.

As long as you are consistent with your practice, it doesn’t matter how imperfect you are.  It’s about your journey of healing and self-discovery, not the destination.

Learn about the benefits of yoga for kids, senior citizens and in workplaces—with our corporate wellness programs for employees. You too can try to relieve symptoms of anxiety with regular yoga sessions.  

Get in touch with our team in Chicago for more information about our corporate health programs and how these can help your organization succeed.