Why Yoga Works for Anxiety

Yoga is my saving grace because anxiety comes and goes. Yoga has helped me cope with my mental health better since yoga cures me of anxiety the day of, as well as for a week. Yoga is a huge discipline that I started practicing in 2005. I have been practicing yoga from 2005 to 2016, so that means I have 11 years of experience. Doing stuff once, even as one gives up on discipline, is what non-disciplined people do. Yoga can help me relax at the dentist’s office when they put anything in my mouth, or in other situations when I need good posture.

Good posture is another gift yoga can give. I can stand up straight without slouching. Slouching is the kiss of death for people with mild scoliosis like me. I fixed it by learning the mountain pose, which involves standing up straight with your feet together, head held high, back straight up-right. I miss yoga. I miss athletic activity making me thinner in general. At least I’m figuring out what foods keep me away from stuff like granola bars, of which I’m addicted to. I mean, some people are capable of stuff like a metaphysical addiction, as in a psychic ability that helps people get addicted to something. I could write a whole book on this by itself.

The savasana pose in yoga is the best. It helps you sleep very well. Corpse pose is the most awesome pose there is. Sometimes people feel this pose is difficult but, well, I find it easy like I find creative writing easy. Yoga combined with meditation can make my stress melt away. The thing about savasana is that you are lying there with your body comfortable and relaxed. At the gym, I learned basic yoga poses with a variety of styles.

I’m banned from gyms because of my knee according to my doctor, if only because my knee is healing, my bodies’ usual slow. Not being able to be athletic is making me just neurotic. Some say that you need to devote yourself to one style of yoga. Yoga is supposed to make you feel balanced. However, it can be easy to injure oneself in yoga given you do not do the pose right or you are in a left lunge like I was when I fractured my tibia and dislocated my kneecap. I managed to get myself to a hospital that day. This injury was going to happen sooner or later and the thing is, I was safer at the gym than I was at home.

I got pretty good at the Eagle Pose, which is to stand with your legs crossed, one over the other, and your arms crossed, breathing as you go. The key to yoga is to breathe. Yoga is pretty much a good, long stretch for your whole body. Normal stretching and breathing is a great introduction to yoga postures. Balancing yoga poses teach you poise, along with working on back problems. The hand to big toe pose was one that would make me tremble. I mean, I tried it a lot.

The half moon pose was something we did in class a lot. There are many styles of yoga, and I was good at the side plank pose. I did yoga at home for the years I was unstable. I started taking introductory classes at the adult recreation center after college. I then found my way to the gym, however. I got to the point where I was just barely able to do the headstand. Yoga is fun, exciting, and relaxing at the same time. The breath plays a huge role in that you relax, ground, and center yourself. If you do not breathe, you cannot accomplish the pose. This is why yoga is great for anxiety, mania, or depression. I can also drive better after yoga class.