Yoga For Anxiety

This gentle yoga practice is designed to support an anxious mind and a stressed nervous system. There will be breathwork, slow movement and moments of stillness. This session invites you to come back to your body and find a little relief from the noise of the day.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to today's practice. Our focus for today is really a supportive practice to help those of us who experience anxiety, Those of us who have an anxious mind. And for those times in our life where anxiety just feels a little bit lifted in the body, So these practices are really here to support. I want you to keep in mind as well that sometimes if we have a tendency towards that kind of more anxious mind, Sometimes even the practices that support us can start to pose questions like, Am I doing this right? What am I supposed to be feeling? And, You know, Is this helping? And while those questions are interesting and we could explore them as well, It's really about just being here and that's enough. There's no wrong or right in these practices. It's about noticing your own personal experience and again, Bringing in that compassion and curiosity. So just know, Showing up is enough. So when you're ready, Grab your bolster or some cushions to sit onto the floor. It is quite nice for this practice just to be connected to the ground. So even if you're on a chair, Just make sure your feet can touch the ground. That'd be great. Go ahead and grab those things and we'll get started. So as you get settled, Just make sure you feel really comfortable. Have that sense of support beneath you, However that looks for you today. I quite like to sit up onto something that gives me a little bit of a lift through the pelvis that helps my spine just to feel a little bit more at ease. We're going to start off with a very simple breathing practice and I'm going to talk you through it. If breathing practices tend to make you feel more anxious. You can go ahead and skip this part. So really start to settle. Maybe you make a little bit of movement. Maybe there's still that little bit of fidgety energy in your body. So just attend to that. Allow yourself to move in the ways that feel supportive or feel like they're attending to that desire or that impulse to move and change and fidget. If you feel like you need to continue visiting, That's also okay. Let that be. We don't have to try to force ourselves to be completely still. But once you feel ready, We're going to start to just take an even in breath and an even out breath. And we're going to do this for the count of four. It might be that four feels like too little or too much. So go ahead and adjust it as feels right for you. You can test it out with the one that I'll suggest and then see how it goes for you. Yeah. Have a sense that you're Chest is a little bit lifted. And your sitting bones are dropping into the seat. So you feel grounded. And we're gonna maybe close the eyes if that feels okay. And just start to take a couple of normal breaths. No wrong or right here, Just a couple of your own natural breaths. And just start to notice. As you're here. If there was a scale. Of anxious feelings, Where would I be? On that scale. It's between one. And 10. And start to notice. How do you notice? Where along that scale you are. What do you feel in your body? Like fizzy energy. Quick and tart beat. Shortened breath. Okay, Once you have that number in mind. Remember it and check in again later after we finish. Or practice. So we'll begin our breathing practice and even in-breath and out-breath. When you're ready, Take a breath in for three. Out. Three. Out. Oops. Three. Out. At three. Return to two natural breaths. Notice what you sense and feel in your body. After each practice. Feel free to move or change or adjust how you're sitting so that you feel comfortable throughout. And then we're gonna begin our second practice. This practice is about extending our exhale. So we begin with that same count of four for the in. But then we're going to slowly incrementally increase the exhale. You can stop wherever feels like the right amount of exhale for you, Or you can follow along as I make my way up to count of eight. So we're just again returning to a natural breath. Watching the flow. Of your breath as it moves in and out. Take another inhale. And exhale. And breathing in. Seven, Six, Five. Out. Return to your natural breath. And just notice checking in. What do you sense and feel in your body? Start to check in with where you feel and hold tension. Maybe it's around your shoulders. Maybe surround your neck. Good job. And we're going to bring little micro movements into those places. So for example, If it's your shoulders, Just really small movements. To start with. Just saying. What feels tight, What feels tender. Again, There's no wrong or right here. We're just exploring a little bit of movement. Around the place that feels tender. For example, You might. Move it around a little bit, Just to the point that feels comfortable. You know, Deep pal tension, Tension in the jaw. We don't want that over. Stretch. Maybe it's the neck. Bringing small movements in. In the small movements, You might notice that actually doesn't feel too bad in that small range of movement. Maybe explore slightly larger movements, Maybe circles. Maybe that's where you start to need a little bit of tension. We're not pushing or forcing the tension to go away. We're just. . . I'm exploring where we meet the edges of it. Just allowing yourself, Giving yourself permission. Maybe move in ways that you don't usually move. Exploring kind of non-linear movements. See? What you find. Good, And just take a little pause again, Just notice. Just to move in those kind of more subtle ways. So not kind of big. Stretches. Just really small. Exploratory movement. And then we will invite in a little bit of figure movement. So the arms go wide and we might reach the arms all the way up. Stretching upwards. And then as you exhale, Allow your right hand to float down towards the earth and take your left hand onto the outside of your ear and take a gentle stretch. Inside of the neck. Breathe into any sensations. Stretching your field. And then gently reach both arms up once again. Stretch upwards and then. The opposite hand comes down. The opposite hand to the side of the head. I'm not pushing or forcing with this hand, Just kind of allowing it to rest there. Sideways movement of the neck. It invites that little bit of opening. You can breathe into. Gently release, Both arms stretch up once again. Interlace the fingers this time at the top and then cup the hands just to the back of the head. The chin slightly comes in. Elbows draw back. Can you push the head gently into the hands and resist with the hands? And vote for three. And release the effort but keep the hands there. We'll repeat that twice more. Pushing the head back into the hands. Relax the effort. Keep the hands there. And last one, Pushing back. And then release the hands all the way up once again. Maybe you take a little bit of a. . . Bigger reach towards the sky for the side body lengthen. Allow the right hand this time to come to the earth. We'll take a side stretch over to the side, Opening up through the side waist. Feel free to turn your body. In any way that feels interesting, So maybe. Chest has turned more towards the earth, Maybe the chest has turned more towards soothing. And then bring it all the way up, Both arms lift. Opposite hand comes down. And to the other side. Notice how this side feels. Maybe a little bit different. And again, For you to explore that little bit of feeling. Range. Returning up or down. Take a breath in, Come all the way up. And then exhale, Allow the hands to release. Back by your sides. We're going to place the right hand now onto the centre of the chest. The left hand. We'll touch down to the earth, So your fingertips. Feel that sense of contact with the ground. You might feel your heartbeat under your hands. And at the same time, Can you feel? Fingertips of your left hand really in contact with the earth. It's almost as if we're sort of. . . Plugging ourselves into the ground. Connect to that. Energy, Stability. Kind of solid foundation. That is beneath us. Supporting us. Breath through the nose. A little bit low and slow as if you're trying to fill up the lower belly space with your breath. Feel your hand connected to the ground. Through your hand connected to your body. Stay here for as many more breaths as you need. Let's do final check-in. So coming back to our scale. One to ten. Noticing where you're at now. Might have changed a little bit, Might have changed a lot. Might be the same, That's okay too. Doesn't mean you did anything wrong. When you feel ready. Relax the hands. I'm going to take my palms to touch to close our practice today. Take a little bow down. Expect to. Heart and our internal wisdom. Deeper bow forward. Reverence to this ancient practice. The culture and people from which it comes in India. Thank you so much.